Snape (was: New Guy Hi)

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Mike" <mcrudele78 at ...> wrote:
>
> --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Judy" <judy@> wrote:
 
> I have met a fair few Snapes. Those folks that were predisposed to 
> disdain for the "jock" types, like me. Whether lacking the aptitude 
> or the competitive urge mattered not, they were sure that "sports" 
> were for the feeble of mind. They also can't be bothered with the 
> mundane act of socializing and are sure that their superiority of 
> intelligence over all things worth knowing excuses them from being 
> civil to the lesser beings of this world. 

"Jock" in my next paragraph. Competitive urge can manifest in
non-physical ways -- did any of the jock-haters you met participate in
chess tournaments? Socializing -- young Snape, in the Pensieve
memories, clearly didn't have the skill, rather than couldn't be
bothered with doing it. Somehow he learned the skill in time to use it
when Cissy and Bella visited him at Spinner's End. 

I also don't have the skill and have never learned it (altho' around
age 30 I learned how to say 'thank you' to a compliment) and have been
slapped down so much in my childhood by 'peers' that a form of
solitude seems preferable. I think there may be a gene for being able
to learn social skills and a few of us losers don't inherit it and
before like the 19th century would have died in childhood from
violence ('accidents') or neglect as a result. As far as I know I'm
not mean and nasty to people, but maybe that is how they perceive my
lack of small talk, my having to pause to think to answer "How're you
doing?" or else mumble an unenthusiastic "Okay", and so on. 

whether I like Snape depends entirely on whether he would include me
in the small list of people he likes, and therefore spares from his
venom: Draco, Lucius, Cissy, Minerva, probably some more members of
Order of the Phoenix because no Order member backs sirius's hatred of
him... His sarcasm is very funny when aimed at someone other than me
and mine.

> The Snape I know would look down his nose at me, that is if his 
> vision is good enough to see that far. ;) He would have neither the 
> time nor the inclination to see me as anything other than the stupid 
> jock and park me into that slot without a backwards glance. 

The Snape in the Potterverse seems to hate Gryffindors rather than
jocks. He doesn't go easy on Neville and Hermione for not being jocks.
He doesn't get mean to Draco for being Seeker on the Quidditch team,
nor to Crabbe and Goyle who are clearly stupid -- perhaps too stupid
to take part in any sports where the player must remember the rules
and the strategy. Maybe they could excel at lifting big rocks if their
coach could stand beside and continuously instruct them.