[HPforGrownups] Re: Voldemort's Intentions & Snape's Expectations

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 189823

Shelley:
> Bart, your premise still states that Voldemort could treat people
> "nicely" (as in what you would do to a useful tool) on purpose. Name
> even one other Death Eater than Voldemort considered the feelings of or
> did anything remotely nice for? The only reason he keeps people around
> is that he needs them, but he doesn't give anyone a choice in it, and
> neither does he play favorites or dote affection, as much a Bellatrix
> desired it. They were all fighting to be claimed as his favorite, but as
> we see, Voldemort doesn't care for their feelings unless it's a
> manipulative tool for him to use. Snape's love for Lilly had to have
> been seen as a tool for Voldemort to use against Snape, otherwise he had
> no reason to even grant Snape's "personal favor". As we see with
> Wormtail, the hand that Wormtail was really thankful for was a curse
> that would murder him. What is missing in this case is something that is
> painfully required of Snape in exchange for his wish granted.

Bart:
I change the oil in my car regularly. That doesn't mean that I give a 
damn about the car's feelings.

While Morty didn't care, or for that matter even understand the feelings 
of his underlings, he DID see how he could use them to manipulate them. 
He didn't care if the follower was following him out of fear, love, 
gratitude or whatever, as long as the follower did what he was told. If 
it weren't for Snape, Morty wouldn't care one bit if Lily lived or died, 
as long as Harry died. Snape pushed the equation a little bit, but not 
too much, towards leaving Lily alive.

The problem is seeing Morty as arbitrarily evil, and he was not. He was 
not immoral as much as he was amoral. The major way in which he does not 
match the textbook definition of the sociopath/psychopath is his ability 
to take a long-term goal and stick to it. Whatever it took to reach his 
long term goal, he did, only paying attention to whether or not the rest 
of society considered it good or evil insofar as it had an effect on the 
long term goal.

     Bart