[HPforGrownups] Re: good and bad Slytherins/Disappointment and Responsibility/Sirius' choice

[Irene Mikhlin]

No: HPFGUIDX 175235

Lanval:

That last example is about the Dursleys specifically, not about 
Muggles in general. I don't recall Ron saying anything condescending 
about Hermione's parents. 


Irene:

Well, that's funny in a way, because it's the very same Petunia. :-)
If I wanted to argue for argument's sake, I could say that Snape, who was observing the sisters for a while before approaching Lily, made the same conclusions as McGonagall - Petunia is the worst sort of Muggle. :-)


Lanval:

That's all. As an argument that nine-year-old Snape is already a 
raging Pureblood fanatic and a contemptuous bigot, it won't fly.

Irene:

Excellent, that acknowledgement is all I wanted - because some listees did use this word to build all of the above.

Lanval:

 But 
come to think of it, I seem to recall discussions in which Arthur 
and Molly Weasley were accused of precisely that -- contemptuous 
bigots, full of pureblood superiority. Why? Because Arthur's 
interest in Muggles was considered "condescending". And because 
Molly once mentioned King's Cross as "packed with Muggles".

Surely, if *that* deserved attention, the case of Snape, future DE 
and ardent supporter of LV, might deserve some?

Irene:

I would not necessarily call them bigots, but of course they are condescending. I don't want to go through Weasleys visiting Dursleys episode again - book 7 didn't shed any new light on the events. But my general impression of wizarding world being a very Muggle-unfriendly place is even stronger after book 7.

Yes, the bad guys would hold Muggles upside down for their pleasure, but the good guys would wipe Muggles' memory for their convenience. I, as a Muggle, would like to stay as far as possible from both kinds.

Irene