[HPforGrownups] Hermione and 'Evil is a strong word' (WAS Re: CHAPDISC: HBP30, The White Tomb)

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 165897

From: a_svirn <a_svirn at yahoo.com>
>Bart:
>Just to set a context: Do you think soldier/snipers in times of war 
>are
>murderers? Say, if they take out the radioman? If someone is carrying 
>secret
>information, and is about to be captured, and another soldier is 
>assigned to
>kill him if he gets captured. The first soldier does get captured, 
>and the
>second soldier, following orders to which both soldiers agreed, kills 
>him. Is
>the second soldier a murderer?
>
>a_svirn:
>Frankly, I'd rather not to go there. It would only lead to a 
>discussion on whether wars are fought for the Greater Good or for 
>some other goods, which would be decidedly OT. And anyway, your 
>example doesn't work for Snape, does it? It's not like Snape killed 
>his enemy in a battle. He killed his ally and his commander-in-chief 
>in an ambush. 

Bart:
Well, there IS a war going on, albeit a civil war. And, sometimes, it is necessary in war to take out one of your own people to avoid their capture. Also, in espionage, if one spy is going to die anyway, it is not unusual for a double spy to do the dirty deed, so as to ensure the double spy's postion. 

Bart