Nitwit? - Remus John Lupin

[Neri]

No: HPFGUIDX 168062

> zgirnius:
> But I don't think the text makes clear that Snape would be right 
> *because* he is a bigot. I don't think Snape's issue with Remus, the 
> individual, is that he is a werewolf, but rather, for the things 
> Snape believes he did and failed to do while they were students 
> together. <snip>

Neri:
The connection between bigotry and hate may not be that of a direct
cause here, but IMO it's still too close a connection for comfort. We
see Snape in the Shrieking Shack making several comments about Lupin
and werewolves that just smell of bigotry. Then after reading DH
(going by Ceridwen's speculation upthread) we are going to read the
Shrieking Shack scene again and think "the hero DDM!Snape was warning
us again Lupin and he turned out to be right, well maybe he was also a
bit right in warning us against werewolves in general". The connection
is there and isn't denied by the Author. Thinking: "well, Snape was
right about warning us against Lupin, but his words against werewolves
*in general* were just bigotry, and it isn't clear that the first was
a direct result of the second, so it's really OK, we can continue
thinking about Snape the bigot as the hero in this scene" is IMO too
complicated a message. And JKR could have easily avoided this whole
complication simply by wording Snape's comments so they only refer to
Lupin and not to werewolves in general. As you say Snape has enough
reasons to hate Lupin personally. The fact that JKR did bother to word
Snape's comments as derogatory suggests to me that Snape will not turn
out to be the hero of this scene.


> zgirnius:
> If you don't acknowledge the personal content of Snape's dislike for 
> Lupin, it's really the same argument as why Snape can't be ESE 
> either. Harry and other characters have expressed bigotry against 
> students Sorted into Slytherin House.
> 

Neri:
I'm not going to go again into the old argument whether the way Harry
and his friends think about the Slytherins is bigotry (I don't think
it is, I think it's defense against bigotry) but I'll say this much:
if, in any dramatic confrontation between Harry and Snape in the
series, Harry would have referred to Snape several times as "the
Slytherin" and "a Slytherin", using this word as a derogatory term the
way Snape uses "a werewolf" in the Shack, I'd personally be *certain*
that Snape is going to turn out DDM. I'd also be certain that JKR
would make Harry pay dearly for his words. 


> > Neri:
> > Note that no good guy got credit for exposing or stopping Kreacher,
> > certainly not those that could appear even remotely as prejudiced
> > against house-elves, like Sirius or Ron. 

> zgirnius:
> It seems to me she would need to take extra care to arrange for 
> someone other than Dumbledore to expose him.<snip>

Neri:
She still could make somebody suspect him before that and the others
not listening to him, the same way that DDM!Snape is supposed to
suspect Lupin in the Shack. In fact, Harry himself indeed suspected
Kreacher had left 10GP when Sirius shouted "out!" and he even warned
Sirius about it. Now this was fine because Harry isn't suspected of
bigotry towards house-elves. But suppose Ron would have been the one
to warn people against Kreacher, adding that house-elves can never be
trusted, then you'd get an equivalent situation. In retrospect Ron
would have got the credit for warning us against Kreacher, when the
warning was a result of (or at least closely coupled with) bigotry
against house-elves in general. 


Neri