[HPforGrownups] Re: The Huge overreactions from a five minute time span

[Kemper]

No: HPFGUIDX 150175

Joe wrote:
>
> Julie:
> >> <snip> James isn't GOOD and Snape isn't BAD (especially if he
>
> turns out to be DDM), just as very few people in the real world are
> GOOD or BAD but a mix of both positive and negative traits and
> tendencies. <snip> <<
>
> Joe:
> Now here I have to disagree with the good/bad issue. For one I think
> there are a number of good people in the world and I think there are
> a number of bad people in the world as well. Now are there any
> totally flawed or totally perfect, no probably not.
>
> Snape is almost certainly a bad person. Note, I'm not saying he is
> on Voldemort's side. However you don't add up his actions that we
> know of and get the sum of a good person. James was a good man who
> has had some of his teenage errors blown way out of proportion. I
> would also like to say that I don't think Snape's jinking of James
> and others are part of his character issue. I have a feeling that it
> happened all the time in a school divided by Houses and that somewhat
> encouraged rivalries. Add into that picture that Snape and James were
> what the other more than likely most disliked.

Kemper now:
I appreciate that you're not identifying Snape as with V, but it makes
me think like we need to define Good v. Bad.  Do we mean Light v.
Dark?  Or Charasmatic v. Charmless?  Or something else.

I don't think knowing a dark spells makes one dark.
Snape seems the person, at eleven or as an adult, to know the counter
spell to a dark spell  That said, he may have come to Hogwarts knowing
more Dark spells than most 7th years, but I bet he knew the counter
spells to them as well.  And I'm guessing those counter spells are
mostly Light.  (e.g., the singsong charm he did for Draco which he was
sure to have developed)

Peter probably knew no dark spells upon his admission into Hogwarts. 
And that mofo is super Dark as far as I'm concerned.


>
> kchuplis:
> >> <snip> We have no idea how much bias colors a pensieve memory.
> And seeing anything in isolation can be deceiving. I really can't
> see everyone calling James a great guy (and everyone HAS except
> Snape) if he was really as big of a git all the time as the pensieve
> scene showed. <snip> <<
>
> Joe:
> Thanks, I thnk you put it better than I did. You don't get almost
> universally loved by being horrible. You can get that way having made
> a few mistakes though.

Kemper now:
>From the Leaky/Muggle interview last year with JKR:
Q: Do the memories stored in a Pensieve reflect reality or the views
of the person they belong to?
A:  It's reallity.

Might be time for a rethink on this one.

Kemper