First lesson WAS: Re: Marietta, was Slytherin's Reputation

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 185703

> Magpie:
> Conceding that it wasn't whether or not Slytherin accepted 
> Muggleborns about which hesitated, but still thinking the hesitation 
> about the more straightforward question of whether it made a 
> difference indicated there was already a conflict between things he 
> had heard and his friendship with Lily. It reads to me as young Snape 
> making a declaration of his feelings about Lily, whatever her 
> background.

Montavilla47:
At the risk of stirring up what is currently at rest, there's a couple
points I'd like to make.

One is, although JKR probably didn't think much about it, Snape's
family likely contained more than just a mother and father.  Even
if his mother was the most tolerant, Muggle-loving person in the 
world, he could easily pick up the prejudice from his grandparents,
cousins, uncles or aunts.

The second is that anti-Muggle prejudice (which Snape clearly
has) is pervasive throughout the Wizarding world.  Hagrid and 
McGonagall both use "Muggle" as a derogatory term.  So, his 
anti-Muggle prejudice is not out of line with the majority of 
wizards and doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to be
anti-Muggleborn as well.

But I think my main problem with the whole Snape backstory
is the "rules" of Wizarding racism are as confusing as the 
rules of the Elder Wand.  Or the rules of Dark Magic.  None 
of it is very well explained, and all of it seems created solely
to make Snape as bad as possible.  Hehe.