Maligning Lupin

[Renee]

No: HPFGUIDX 149745

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" <foxmoth at ...> wrote:
>
> > 
> > Renee:
> > ?? I thought I was talking about zero evidence, actually. If every
> > sheep anyone had ever seen in the world was black, would we have
> > reason to believe in the existence of white sheep?  
> > 
>  Pippin:
> 
> We haven't heard from everyone in the wizarding world.
> 
> We might, if we knew something about animals but not much about 
> sheep, remind ourselves that animals come in all colors, and be 
> suspicious of the motives of anyone trying to convince us that sheep 
> are different by virtue of being sheep.

Renee:
We haven't heard from everyone in the wizarding world, no. But
werewolves are classified as non-human and considered Dark Creatures.
When Snape says "Who knows how the mind of a werewolf works?" he is
not just making a nasty remark, he is referring to the non-human
status of Lupin while in human form (in non-human form, werewolves
don't even have minds). 

The official view of the Wizarding World is that werewolves *are*
different by virtue of being werewolves. Unlike vampires, they're not
even considered part human, despite the fact  that they are human most
of the time. Even Hermione, who wasn't raised to hate and fear
werewolves, falls for the suggestion that they're no good at the very
first opportunity: the moment she suspects Lupin of being in league
with Sirius she shouts out that he's a werewolf, as if this would
automatically explain why. We're lightyears removed from Ben-Gurion's
ideal here. 

(Maybe the werewolves need a state of their own?)      
 
 
> Pippin:
>  > I firmly believe that JKR will show us that ESE!Lupin's efforts to
> > be good weren't  futile because  he was a werewolf. They were 
>  futile because he never had the courage to make himself accountable 
>  for what he'd done.
> > >
> > 

> Renee:
> > If your ESE!Lupin's failure to be good was not caused or
> > influenced by his lycanthropy, then neither was his turning evil. Yet
> > you do relate his fall to his rejection by society, if I recall
> > correctly. And his rejection by society has everything to do with his
> > being a werewolf. I also seem to recall it had something to do with
> > being sent to spy on the werewolves during the first Voldemort War,
> > and identifying with them to such a degree that he turned against the
> > Wizarding World. 
> 
> Pippin:
> The rationale for Lupin joining Voldemort can be 
> foreseen in the Marauder outings and in his failure to report what he 
> knew about Sirius:
> 
> a)  society presented him with a forbidden, guilt-inducing opportunity
>  that was more attractive than doing what he felt was right
> and
> b) Lupin chose to pursue it
> 

Renee:
Both the Marauder outings and his failure to report what he knew about
Sirius are related to his being a werewolf, the former directly, the
latter indirectly. (The former seems a pretty weak motive to me, and
the latter happened after he'd allegedly joined Voldemort, so this
doesn't count as a motive, but that's less relevant here). I asked for
a non-werewolf related motive. Apparently such a motive doesn't exist.
But I've come to realise it's a moot point anyway. Even if a werewolf
were to join Voldemort for reasons that had nothing to do with his
lycanthropy, the Wizarding World would still maintain it did, instead
of ascribing it to human fallibility.   

Renee