Snape - a werewolf bigot?? Was: Say it isn't so Lupin!!!

[Dana]

No: HPFGUIDX 170120

houyhnhnm:
> Lupin, in human form, may not relish the thought of 
> biting or killing humans (though the fear of doing so 
> is not enough to make him cautious), but without 
> Wolfsbane, Lupin transformed is, in his own words, 
> "a fully fledged monster."
> 
> Being HIV positive or having a seizure disorder (to 
> name just a couple of conditions that do excite prejudice 
> in the real world) do not put other people at risk.  
> Being a werewolf puts other people at risk.
> 
> If Lupin is supposed to represent people in the real 
> world, I'd say he is a little closer to the guy with 
> multiple drug resistant TB who insisted on flying half 
> way round the world without a mask, than he is to an 
> AIDS patient or someone with a physical disability.

Dana:

Interesting because Lupin only puts people at risk once a month and 
only at night time, yet he is treated like he is a danger all the 
time.  

People with HIV are a risk to other people if they do not take 
precautions, like having safe sex, being careful with blood products 
ect. In Afrika women infect their children but with medication this 
could be prevented. People with HIV however do not posse a risk to 
people in normal life just as Lupin doesn't either. 

In my country currently there is a scandal about 4 people who at 
parties injected people with HIV infected blood without their 
consent, does this mean that suddenly all HIV positive people are 
going to do this? That we are therefore having to ban these people 
from their job, deny all of them a normal life because they might be 
possing a risk at some time in their life's because that is what you 
seem to be saying. 

> wynnleaf: 
> Here's JKR's quote:
> "His being a werewolf is really a metaphor for people's reactions 
> to illness and disability."
> 
> The fact that JKR said that Lupin is a "metaphor for people's
> reactions to illness and disability," does not mean that whenever 
> any character dislikes Lupin, it simply *must* be because he's a
> werewolf, and that Lupin can't possibly turn out to do anything
> *really* wrong, because -- well, I'm not sure what the reasoning
> actually is.  Because people with illnesses and disablities in
> literature are bound to be good and anything wrong they do has to 
> be excused because of their disability?  I doubt it that's the 
> message of JKR.
<snip>

Dana:
But the problem is that people actually do judge his mistakes harder 
because he is a werewolf. It is constantly said that he put the trio 
in danger because it was a full moon night and he forgot his potion 
and therefore he was wrong because he should remember under all 
circumstance including emergencies that he is a werewolf first and 
not just a human. Let's say you are HIV infected and you are the 
only person around that could prevent someone from bleeding to 
death? Should you do nothing because there is a chance that you 
could infect that person? Or is it even reasonable that a person 
under these circumstances first takes the time to have a rational 
debate with himself about what is the morally right thing to do, 
instead of reacting instinctively to the impulses he receives in 
that moment? Should the victim in hind-sight drag the person to 
court for endangering his life by saving him because he was HIV 
infected? 

That is what people say Lupin should have done while they are 
forgetting that Lupin actually never was a threat to anyone because 
Sirius was there and Sirius, like he did during their school days, 
can keep a werewolf in check. Lupin did not think about taking his 
potion, he forgot the time but there was still a safety precaution 
present and although not consciously thinking about this probably 
Lupin did know Sirius was there before he went to the shack. Does 
this mean he should not think about what could have happened if 
Sirius had not been there to get him away? Yes, he should and he 
takes responsibility for it like he should but it is in hind-sight. 

Lupin did not forget to take his potion or the time because he is 
ESE and wanted to provide Peter with an escape route, he forgot it 
because he is a human that got overwhelmed by the information thrown 
at him in these few minutes he saw Peter on the map and then Sirius 
dragging Ron into the willow.  He forgot about the pressing time and 
it being a full moon night because of the unfolding events in the 
shack and him trying hard to mend the bridge between Harry and 
Sirius shared past. These mistakes were human mistakes and had 
nothing to do with him being a werewolf, yet his mistakes are judged 
because he is a werewolf. 

Snape on the other hand is giving a total pardon for his actions in 
the shack because he might think Harry was in danger, while him 
going to the shack had nothing to do with Harry. Lupin, if he 
transformed in the shack, actually would not posse a threat to 
anyone needing of saving (in Snape's mind). Mhhh should he not under 
all circumstances remember that he should go to DD and let DD handle 
Lupin and Sirius? Especially because he can't deal with the 
situation without the prejudice has for these men, because what he 
feels they did to him? Even Snape who mocks Lupin about not taking 
his potion, mocking him for never believing there is such a thing as 
a tame werewolf, wants to drag Snape out of the shack the only place 
where Lupin would not posse a direct threat to anyone. It was not 
Snape's problem but he made it his the moment he decided to 
interfere and gag and bond Lupin. 

Lupin's mistakes are judge differently because he is a werewolf and 
why JKR puts this in PoA to precisely evoke people to think about 
it. Should Lupin because he made these mistakes never be allowed to 
work with kids? Should not be allowed to have a job? Should not be 
allowed to have a normal life? Should not be allowed to be 
considered a human first? 

JKR is not going to make Lupin ESE for the simple fact that Remus as 
a human does not have it in him to want to hurt other humans and him 
being a werewolf does effect his view of life and why he puts 
himself down constantly but he will not be going out to help utterly 
destroy the WW society because he is to human to ever want this to 
happen. 

toonmili:

> Greyback: Likes to bite little children even when he is not
> transformed.
> 
> Supporters of Greyback: Which is just as bad as being greyback
> himself.
> 
> So history tells him werewolves want to hurt you, eat children and
> bite at will.  SO really he doesn't know how a werewolf thinks.
<snip>

Dana:
Greyback is not an evil werewolf. He is an evil human who uses the 
fear for his werewolf part to inflict more fear. His werewolf part 
can't plot anything, has no evil thoughts or feelings. It just is 
running on instinct, nothing more nothing less. It is Greyback the 
human, who has made the decision to live the way he does not 
Greyback the werewolf. And the proof in that is that he needs to 
place himself within striking range when he is still in human form 
because if he is not close enough as a werewolf he would forget what 
he is doing there and miss the change to strike his chosen victim. 

Greyback the human is using his werewolf infectiousness to punish 
people and thus install fear in people to force them to do as he 
tells them. Even Draco is using Greyback to install fear. 

Snape was totally out of line to state that he can't phantom the way 
a werewolf's works while he is dealing with Lupin the human. Snape 
would be singing a much lower tune if he actually had been dealing 
with werewolf Lupin.

JMHO

Dana