[HPforGrownups] Re: The impact of SWM (very long)

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 189922

Pippin:
> I think so too. But JKR shows us that, alas, it doesn't always work that way. People don't see the nastiness and get concerned. They have to be  concerned before they can see the nastiness, especially nastiness that's outside their experience. If James had used the cruciatus curse on Snape, people would have recognized that as evil, IMO. But hey, he's just making Snivellus blow bubbles, right? I don't think they care enough about old Snivelly to perceive what James is doing as really bad.

Bart:
     Here's the thing: while we witness James & Sirius's antics, we only 
hear about Snape's side more or less second hand from sources that are 
prejudiced (Lupin) or have reason to hide some of the facts (DD). So we 
have to use clues. Snape was skilled in curses (from Lupin, Sirius and 
HBP notes), gave as good as he got (from Lupin), and it was a rivalry 
rather than a case of bullies and a victim (DD). Still, as Snape came 
from an abusive background (Snape's memories), he was a good target for 
Morty's followers (Snape's memories).

     Let's take a look at SWM. Consider his use of the term, "Mudblood" 
for Lily. Now, as half-Muggle himself, one can be reasonably certain 
that "Mudblood" is NOT a term he grew up with. And for the Sorting Hat 
to put him into Slytherin, he needed to have factors which were more 
important than his half-blood status (I'm not going to go into fuzzy 
logic systems, but generally, when a multi-factored decision is made, a 
much higher than required level in one factor tends to reduce the 
relative importance of others; Hermoine and Neville ending up in 
Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, respectively, being good 
examples). While he was vulnerable to the need to be friends with his 
fellow Slytherins, he was not helpless. If the attacks were two-way, 
that would explain the other students' relative lack of concern over 
Snape's predicament.

     Now, here's where we go into my own personal experience. I grew up 
in the 1960's. I lived near a fort, so the children of the soldiers 
stationed there attended my elementary school, which meant that my 
school was fairly well integrated. I lived in a household where the 
so-called "N word" was never used, to the point that I had never even 
heard it until I was about the age of the First Years. And the thing is 
that even though I have heard many times since, even if I was in great 
anger at a person of sub-Saharan African descent, I would not use the 
word, not because I have that much self control, but because the word is 
not filed in a place where my anger would reach (I would certainly have 
a bunch of other insults in that area of my brain; the point is that the 
term in question is filed under "abstract insults", and would be as 
likely to use it as I would use, say, "mudblood").

     In order for Snape to draw upon it in anger, he must have been 
using it on a sufficiently regular basis that, when his angry brain 
searched for an appropriate response, that was the word that came up. As 
we find out in the final book, the problem wasn't his humiliation by 
James; it was that, when it came down to it, he reflexively chose the 
DE's and rejected Lily. Those who have read 1984 may recall the pivotal 
scene in the torture scene, where the victim (I'm avoiding spoilers for 
the few who are NOT familiar with the novel) makes a similar choice. 
Rather than taking the blame himself, he blames James for his own 
failure, to the point that he is unable to believe that James' motives 
in the Prank were altruistic in nature (as an aside, I had REALLY hoped 
that JKR would have a "good Slytherin" who would join with Harry and/or 
the DA's, one with the attitude "This rivalry stuff is just a game; 
Morty is REAL.").

     JKR does not write in "omniscient reader mode". We have to deal 
with the limited information we have. But I find it hard to believe 
that, especially considering DD's attitude towards Snape as revealed in 
Snape's final account, Snape was the simple victim of bullying; DD would 
have had a lot more sympathy towards him if he had.

     Bart