Taboo Topic: Severus Snape wasn't a good guy he was just really selfish.

[Thu Thu Train]

Think about it he didn't do what he did because it was the right thing! He absolutely loathed Harry but knew that without him he could not get revenge on the man who killed the love of his life. I'm sure that if it had been Neville Longbottom who became 'the boy who lived' Snape would never have changed his allegiance and would have been a 'reformed' death eater before the tragic events that took Cedric Diggory's life instead of someone who was pretending to be a death eater.

[pi]

I agree with you, he did it for his love for Harry's mum and for no other reason (other than Dumbledore kicking his ass if he didn't).

[Thu Thu Train]

He only became a true death eater after Lily was murdered.

[Felicity Wishes]

EDIT: Oooh, you people manage to influence my thoughts. Unsure of my answer now.

[brenden]

Exactly, revenge was his motive and not some sort of selflessness. Not to take away from his bravery at all, for surely he was a very courageous man, but the fact that he played a part in Voldy's downfall does not make him a saint. Repentance and atonement are not the same thing. + If he was such a white knight like everyone says he wouldn't have spent six years being an absolute prick to Harry. He was still a sadist - Occlumency lessons, anyone?! Get it together people.

[nisha]

^^To put it into perspective, revenge is not always a bad thing. Say if you were in his shoes...it would be almost inhumane not to be selfish and want that satisfying sense of vengeance.

[brenden]

^^To put it into perspective, revenge is not always a bad thing. Say if you were in his shoes...it would be almost inhumane not to be selfish and want that satisfying sense of vengeance.

Whilst revenge can be in ways justified and still immoral, wouldn't a more 'humane' motive run along the lines of bringing down Voldemort so no more life was lost? It'd be like bringing down Hitler because he killed your ex-wife instead of bringing down Hitler because he was killing people. Especially if you were going to help Hitler kill people anyway. He wants vengeance because he is, overall, self-centered and when Voldemort denied his plea to let Lily live he was jaded and angry. Ultimately, it was his preoccupation with himself that led to his dissent from Voldemort's aims.

[Hutchoo]

I think the reason why Snape was such a selfish man was due to his childhood experiences. Sources tell me that Snape got caught playing with his 'wand' in the bathroom at the age of 17, ultimately inducing his nihilistic traits.

Source:
Page 66.59 - Section 9.49 - Subsection 99.44.3.1.4.0001 of the HutchooXu theorem of Wonders.

[pi]

Split off-topic

[duhherro]

Well IMO, he wasn't really a good guy to begin with. But at the same time, not a true evil. He was just doing what he wanted due to his history but also not picking any "sides".

[paulsterio]

Something I wish to ask is, if you do something for your own selfish self but by the nature of your action, you end up helping others, does that make you a good person?

[Felicity Wishes]

Something I wish to ask is, if you do something for your own selfish self but by the nature of your action, you end up helping others, does that make you a good person?

Imo, no.
Although the actions are "good" they don't make one a "good person" because I believe a good person has good intentions and acts on them, rather than being led by selfishness and coincidentally helping someone along the way.

[monkeywantsabanana]

Something I wish to ask is, if you do something for your own selfish self but by the nature of your action, you end up helping others, does that make you a good person?

Now you're getting into the altruism debate - to what extent are you doing it for others and what extent are you doing it for yourself. This debate will never end.

[bluehorizon]

loving someone else is not selfish. doing something for love is then not selfish either.
how many saints like what you delineated will you find in the world? to be able to love everyone equally and act only for others is a generosity tthat approaches impossibility.

also, it's probable that the people who hated hitler most of all, who wanted to bring him down more than usual, were people who directly lost those they loved to his schemes, rather than people who only saw the suffering of others. then, their hatred would be closely bound to their love for others. it might not be fully accurate to say that this is immoral, or that loving some people more than the general public is the most moral route.

[Limista]

Think about it he didn't do what he did because it was the right thing! He absolutely loathed Harry but knew that without him he could not get revenge on the man who killed the love of his life. I'm sure that if it had been Neville Longbottom who became 'the boy who lived' Snape would never have changed his allegiance and would have been a 'reformed' death eater before the tragic events that took Cedric Diggory's life instead of someone who was pretending to be a death eater.

Further supported by the fact that Snape said to Harry "look at me" prior to his death, just so he could see 'Lily's' eyes. He loved Lily, and that's why he was protecting Harry. He wasn't protecting Harry for Harry's sake. Snape was protecting Harry for his own sake, his own raw emotion which he felt towards a woman whom he had played a card in murdering.

But then, you could argue that he was protecting Harry for Lily's sake? From this perspective, can we not consider him selfless? He was playing spy for Voldermort and Dumbledore at his own life's expense for a girl he loved. He expressed regret at his betrayal of Lily and ventured to protect her son to bandage his blunder.