Hermione's Hex vs Snape on the Tower LONG (was:Re: Views of Hermione)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 160613

> >>Alla:
> <snip>
> The comparison I made was condemning Hermione for the hex         
> regardless of why she did it ( no matter which traitorous actions 
> brought  it up, etc) and Snape's actions on the Tower.
> I really do not  remember DD!M Snape theorists condemning Snape   
> for committing the murder  on the Tower. Nooooo, multitude of the 
> reasons had been brought up and the  main one of course Dumbledore 
> made Snape do it.
> That is of course  the possibility, but I just find funny that 
> reasons for the murder are  being constantly brought up as         
> justifying circumstances, and the reasons  for the hex as         
> punishment for traitor are being  discarded.

Betsy Hp:
This is a fascinating question, Alla.  And one I've had to think 
about for a bit, because I do feel so very differently about each 
case.

[Totally OT moment: Another reason I pulled out of the discussion on 
Friday was the Battlestar Galactica episode that night perfectly 
illustrated everything I found repulsive about Hermione's actions.  
Very hard to watch and I knew I'd devolve into hysterics if I 
posted.  Seriously kick ass show, and Roslin is so very cool (and 
beautiful and graceful and loving and wise). End OT]

I've ruled out character bias.  It's the hex that turned me against 
Hermione.  And it took HBP, when we first get a hint that the hex 
might be permanent, for that to occur.  So I certainly didn't go 
into the scene looking for reasons to dislike Hermione.

So why does the hex strike me as an example of human behavior at its 
most repulsive and the Tower scene, well, doesn't?

To start, I tend to approach the Tower scene as Snape being 
Dumbledore's Man.  But, honestly, even if Snape viciously cut 
Dumbledore down as a hidden agent of Voldemort, I'd still rank the 
hex as worse.  

Which is interesting, because it means that the context *still* 
doesn't matter to me.  Which means I must really see a difference in 
the two actions themselves.  And I think the difference is this: one 
is trying to masquerade as justice; the other is an act of war.  

THE HEX AS JUSTICE:

There have been attempts within this discussion to say that the DA 
was formed in a time of war.  That those who joined up were actually 
signing on as little soliders, that they really were forming a 
private little army.

I don't buy that argument.  Yes, the threat of Voldemort's return 
made learning DADA an imperative.  But no matter what Hermione may 
have felt in her heart, she told her recruits that they were signing 
up for a study group.

"...the point is, are we agreed we want to take lessons from Harry?" 
[OotP scholastic hardback p.343]

It's also been suggested that Hermione set the hex up as a defensive 
tactic.  Canon clearly tells us it's a punitive move.

"Believe me, if anyone's run off and told Umbridge, we'll know 
exactly who they are and they will really regret it." [ibid p.354]

So, coming at the hex from the point of view (my pov <g>) that it 
does not take place in a war footing and that it was created to be 
punitive, the hex becomes a repulsive mockery of justice.  It stinks 
of lynch mobs and kangaroo courts.

Hermione takes upon herself the position of judge, jury and 
executioner.  She sets a trap that could have been (and almost was) 
sprung by an innocent. (As I've said before, Harry came very close 
to wearing matching spots when Fudge questioned him.)

Marietta was counted as guilty without ever hearing the charges 
against her, without ever having a chance to mount a defense.  That 
she was guilty (apparently) is of no matter.  The point is that 
justice was spat on.  And by a girl who constantly wraps herself in 
the flag of justice and righteousness.

And of course, the hex falls directly under "cruel and unusual 
punishment", something directly forbidden in my country, and I 
believe in the UK as well.  Since we've not seen anyone running 
around the WW with court sanctioned brands on their faces or court 
removed limbs, I think it reasonable to suspect that the WW draws a 
similar line.  Which means Hermione not only managed to pervert the 
meaning of justice beyond the WW, she was actually more brutal than 
the WW.


THE TOWER AS WAR:

> >>Julie:
> The problem with judging Snape right now is that we don't know 
> what happened on the Tower.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
One thing we do know for sure, the Tower took place at a time of 
war.   It could have been the actions of an enemy spy, it could have 
been the opening gambit on the side of light. But rules always 
change during war time (as Eggplant has often pointed out <g>).

During WWII (a recent war where the good and bad sides are pretty 
clear) the Allies firebombed Germany and Japan, knowing that they 
were decimating cities filled with civilians.  Churchill allowed an 
English town to be destroyed by Nazi bombers in order to hide that 
the Nazi code had been broken.  The USA dropped two nuclear bombs on 
two Japanese cities to force a more immediate and unconditional 
surrender.

Ugly things happen during war time.  Whether Snape was acting for 
Voldemort or Dumbledore, his actions fell under that particular 
purview.  That his actions are debatable is also a given, just as 
the above examples I gave have been debated.

But Snape's actions are *recognized* as brutal.  If Snape is an 
agent for Voldemort than he faces death (or life imprisonment) as a 
traitor and spy.  Even if Snape is an agent of Dumbledore's and 
receives a medal for his work, if he did really kill Dumbledore 
(also under question at this point) I expect he'll be haunted by his 
actions.  No one is attempting to wrap Snape in a flag of justice 
and righteousness.

DDM!Snape folks who think Snape actually killed Dumbledore (a real 
AK, in other words) see him as having performed a necessarily brutal 
act to win a war.  I can live with that.

But to say that Hermione was right to hex Marietta means we have to 
throw out all of the civilized world's beliefs about justice.  This, 
I am not willing to do. 

Betsy Hp (took *way* too much time to write this <g>)