I'm an unapologetic Sirius fan, a Remus/Sirius OTPer who also throws James into the mix on occasion but is mostly content to keep him as the best friend, and a general MWPP-L fan.
Is Sirius a bit of a cock? Sure. So are James, Snape, & Draco, and even Molly, Hermione, Ron and Harry can be annoying at times where you want to smack them. He's got plenty of flaws, but for all that, he's loyal to his dying breath to those he loves, he would have died for James and Lily, would have for Remus and Peter, too, and he did die for Harry.
I know a lot of people hate him especially because of the sending Severus to the shack thing when they were 15/16, and yeah, it was a horrendous thing to do. I still don't think he intended for Severus to be outright killed - I tend to think of it in the mindset that he himself wasn't particularly "deathly afraid" of the werewolf, and by that time had likely spent a couple of full moons with him as Padfoot. Not to mention in his mind I can see him thinking "it's Remus", not really "slavering killer werewolf". Not that it excuses him by any means, but we have no idea what transpired beforehand, what was said, what the circumstances were. When you're 15/16, even the tiniest slight can seem monumentally insulting, and it's not necessarily an age thing. We see adults do stupid shit all the time.
I don't get bothered so much when people hate on him because of the Willow prank incident, but I do raise my eyebrows and get a little exasperated when similar behavior in those same people's favorite characters is excused with little more than a handwave. Snape claimed some responsibility for - crap, not Amelia Bones - the other one who died - Emmaline was it? - in HBP. He and his friends Avery and (crap - Mulciber?) weren't exactly innocent themselves as teenagers, and he became a Death Eater which involved more than lip service and making potions. He was indirectly responsible for the deaths of James and Lily.
I'm also of the opinion that Snape wasn't a poor little woobie who couldn't stand up for himself either. And his conversation with Lily after the worst memory scene lends a bit of credence to that. It wasn't his worst memory because he was pantsed or nearly so, it was because that was the finally straw that broke his friendship with Lily. Not to mention that he treated Neville abominably, and there's no excuse for a teacher terrifying a kid into thinking he's going to poison (and kill) his pet. He had his reasons for hating Harry, yes, but Harry didn't start the animosity between them, Snape did.
I still find him to be a fascinating character though. *shrug*
And then Draco, who nearly killed Katie and Ron in HBP, who Imperiused Rosmerta and the only reason he didn't Crucio Harry in the bathroom was because Harry hit him with the hex first (which, you know, if people are going to bitch about Harry using unforgivables and then handwave Draco's using them...)
Lucius likely killed a number of people - wizards and muggle - during his lifetime and tenure as a Death Eater, and he also gave 11 year old Ginny Weasley Riddle's diary with the hope of killing more people and harming her in revenge against Arthur.
So nobody is a saint, not the "good" guys nor the "bad" guys - they ALL have flaws, just as we do. It doesn't matter why we like them or who we ship, but what bothers me most when people exhibit character hate is when there's blatant hypocrisy - glorying in the flaws and behaviors of the hated character while simultaneously excusing and/or whitewashing flaws in favored ones.
*btw - good post, if I forgot to say so! I always enjoy discussions like this one! (And I will stop editing for typos now! :-P)
no subject
I'm an unapologetic Sirius fan, a Remus/Sirius OTPer who also throws James into the mix on occasion but is mostly content to keep him as the best friend, and a general MWPP-L fan.
Is Sirius a bit of a cock? Sure. So are James, Snape, & Draco, and even Molly, Hermione, Ron and Harry can be annoying at times where you want to smack them. He's got plenty of flaws, but for all that, he's loyal to his dying breath to those he loves, he would have died for James and Lily, would have for Remus and Peter, too, and he did die for Harry.
I know a lot of people hate him especially because of the sending Severus to the shack thing when they were 15/16, and yeah, it was a horrendous thing to do. I still don't think he intended for Severus to be outright killed - I tend to think of it in the mindset that he himself wasn't particularly "deathly afraid" of the werewolf, and by that time had likely spent a couple of full moons with him as Padfoot. Not to mention in his mind I can see him thinking "it's Remus", not really "slavering killer werewolf". Not that it excuses him by any means, but we have no idea what transpired beforehand, what was said, what the circumstances were. When you're 15/16, even the tiniest slight can seem monumentally insulting, and it's not necessarily an age thing. We see adults do stupid shit all the time.
I don't get bothered so much when people hate on him because of the Willow prank incident, but I do raise my eyebrows and get a little exasperated when similar behavior in those same people's favorite characters is excused with little more than a handwave. Snape claimed some responsibility for - crap, not Amelia Bones - the other one who died - Emmaline was it? - in HBP. He and his friends Avery and (crap - Mulciber?) weren't exactly innocent themselves as teenagers, and he became a Death Eater which involved more than lip service and making potions. He was indirectly responsible for the deaths of James and Lily.
I'm also of the opinion that Snape wasn't a poor little woobie who couldn't stand up for himself either. And his conversation with Lily after the worst memory scene lends a bit of credence to that. It wasn't his worst memory because he was pantsed or nearly so, it was because that was the finally straw that broke his friendship with Lily. Not to mention that he treated Neville abominably, and there's no excuse for a teacher terrifying a kid into thinking he's going to poison (and kill) his pet. He had his reasons for hating Harry, yes, but Harry didn't start the animosity between them, Snape did.
I still find him to be a fascinating character though. *shrug*
And then Draco, who nearly killed Katie and Ron in HBP, who Imperiused Rosmerta and the only reason he didn't Crucio Harry in the bathroom was because Harry hit him with the hex first (which, you know, if people are going to bitch about Harry using unforgivables and then handwave Draco's using them...)
Lucius likely killed a number of people - wizards and muggle - during his lifetime and tenure as a Death Eater, and he also gave 11 year old Ginny Weasley Riddle's diary with the hope of killing more people and harming her in revenge against Arthur.
So nobody is a saint, not the "good" guys nor the "bad" guys - they ALL have flaws, just as we do. It doesn't matter why we like them or who we ship, but what bothers me most when people exhibit character hate is when there's blatant hypocrisy - glorying in the flaws and behaviors of the hated character while simultaneously excusing and/or whitewashing flaws in favored ones.
*btw - good post, if I forgot to say so! I always enjoy discussions like this one! (And I will stop editing for typos now! :-P)