Severus Snape
Severus Snape
This picture, of this expression, is perfect for him because I am still so unsure of him. I remember reading the 6th book and becoming even more uncertain (thou, of course, a large part of that was probably confusion from reading it within 48 hours while travelling cross-country) and still am to this day. But as the biggest contradictory and confusion, he has a lot to teach us.
Bullying is horrendous. I remember that Lily separately both (1) ended her friendship with Snape because of the whispers/rumours of him and his friends that were all related to pre-Death Eater activities and (2) later dated, fell in love, and married James Potter (which is a whole different thing that I need more information on because he really was privileged asswipe). But while they both hurt Snape tremendously, this was just on top of the years of torment James, Lupin, Sirius and Peter bullied him. In the flashbacks and history, we know that Snape had a terrible home (unlike James) and then, with this hatred of the world, goes to a school where he thought things would get better and this guy just beats down on him for being poor and odd. Dumbledore’s statement that “maybe we sort too early” was accurate, and came a bit too late. As later expressed Snape was courageous in the moment and whom you are housed with matters and maybe had Snape been in a different house he would have had more time with positive and loving peer influencers like Lily and less with future Death Eaters. So yeah, things could have all been very different. That picture of Daniel Radcliffe probably not, but could have been an outcome for Harry with his parents being Lily and Snape but the things that happen to us when we’re young may not break us but do define us.
This one is also tricky and not one I 100% agree with but see accurately represented in the books. Albus always insisted Harry call him Professor Snape. While I don’t believe in “respecting your elders” and, yeah, Dumbledore could’ve done more to ease this relationship he was overall right. Snape had a very traumatic life and while he was selfish and only came thru when it came to Lily, he still did with great harm to himself and was someone who should be respected because there were things he could teach Harry, thou not easily as both were incredibly stubborn. But on the other side, while Snape really needed to grow up when it came to Harry personally, there are teachers who are truly terrible and because of tenure stick around and should be fired and looked at to more by parents and teachers. On the other hand, especially in the states, teachers do so much more than parents and students and outsiders who don’t listen to the teachers they know realize. In one of the best funded and elite public-school districts we have, there are still young teachers I know who shell out a minimum of $400.00 a semester for thing their students NEED, let alone extra things they think can help their students progress. So before we whine and moan, remember that in most cases our teachers (and most people in public service) do more than we realize and are human; but there is a chance they might not be and if after a bit of reflection see that a teacher is either lazy or a bully report them, and parents, please listen.
Touched on by both parts above, we are reminded by Snape that (1) Bullying is bad, and (2) People are Human, both of these combine and remind us about the terrible cycles that people and generations can get involved in. The bullied become the bullies, the abused become the abusers. You never know what someone is going thru. Like the Dementors, Snape (which I feel weird referring to him now from writing our passage two) represented a lot of rough and upsettings things that can happen in life. But as with most clouds, there is a silver lining. If given another chance Snape would have tried to have been a better person, hold his temper more, see evil for what it truly was earlier on. If not able to change a thing, then I have no doubt he would have relived his life again in order to save Harry for Lily, all in the name of love. Always.
Side note: As contradictory and confusing as Snape is, and why with no one really knowing him, Harry felt he and those like him should be honoured. I get that part. But I will never accept that a child was named after him instead of Hagrid. Never! (But that’s a different issue of course).
More Posts from Jjayolsen and Others
Kevin Malone
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“You’re, like, a terrible person. These guys care about you, and you’re just using them.”
Kevin’s “Worst” Moment: Season Seven, Episode Nineteen: Garage Sale When he lets Darryl and Andy "play" him with his incomplete Dallas board game where they frustrate him by playing by whatever rules they want and he storms off. Only for us to see later that was all part of his plot to get the full $30 gamble.
Kevin’s Best Line: Season Six, Episode Five: Niagara Part 2. "The peeing is fast, Oscar. It's getting my tie back on."
Kevin’s Most Memorable Moment: Season Nine, Episode One: New Guys
Kevin runs over a turtle.
"Saves him" by gluing his shell back together with parts of his shell, part of a key chain, a spoon, bottle cap, yogurt lid, mini coffee creamer container.
Crushes him again by leaning on him with this knee.
Patches up the turtle again, mostly with a helmet.
Only to realize the turtle was probably dead the whole time.
Cinderella--Grimm
There are a million different ways we can all go into the Disney manipulation, white-washing and ending the loss of the Grimm stories that managed to capture the ‘grandfather tales’ passed down thru generations, previously only spread by word-of-mouth.
Rook di goo, rook di goo! There's blood in the shoe. The shoe is too tight, This bride is not right!
But sometimes, the joy of truth is just that it’s funny
Scrimgeour and Fudge
There are many different types of leaders in our world, teachers, pop stars, activists, CEOs and of course, actual political or governmental leaders. As within our daily world, the wizarding world showed Harry Potter and the rest of us that there are all types of leaders, even within the same field. Two of the biggest political leaders that would show different ends of the spectrum were Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour
Before we knew how bad things would get, we knew Fudge was an oaf. While some of his calls were good (increased efforts in protecting Harry Potter from Sirius Black), most of them were done out of self-preservation, for glory and prestige. Why he ever got involved in government, probably stems mostly from that wanting to see important as he portrayed no backbone, showed extreme jealousy and little critical skills. His role in the rise of Voldemort is not large, but important. As the spokesperson and leader of their world any small thing he did differently would have had a tremendous impact, but when the opportunity finally rose not only did he freeze at the challenge, he purposefully put everyone at greater risk just so he could keep his glory days. Seriously thou, what did he think was going to happen?
As former Head of the Auror Office, Scrimgeour was more experienced with the current priorities the ministry faced and was expected to be better at handling the situation when compared to Fudge as a leader. However, in terms of leadership, they were unfortunately, very similar. Considering the threat everyone was under and previous year of administrative secrecy, Scrimgeour should have operated with as much transparency as possible for both the safety and trust of the wizarding and muggle world. Instead, he was very much like Fudge: temperamental, would push for ridiculous propaganda with Harry Potter and bogus arrests, and an illogical paranoia and hatred against Dumbledore. While his death and life focused on the greater good, one cannot help but wonder what would have happened, how many more lives would have been saved, if he were more like Potterwatch being honest, hopeful and encourages those to not only fight for themselves but for others.
Libraries
I love libraries, I always have. The insurmountable access to books and all the information they contain and may provide, always makes my heart completely burst (especially the reference sections that discuss religion, culture, and historical past times).
Here is Trinity college, a famous library. Most people don't appreciate their local library as much as they fawn over this one thou. My local library, the library I grew up with, that’s the one that just makes me happy and comfortable, just thinking about it as I am now.
Whether it’s those little boxes on a yard where people can exchange books for free, a large historic university library inside an old castle or cathedral where some King once studied, or your modern library down the street that lets you take out electronic books: love your local library! GO to your local library! There are movies, there is music, there are boos, there are sessions about plays and scientific questions and just so much can be done at libraries.
Think of a library as the Wood Between the Worlds, every book can take you to an entirely different place, and you won’t feel so bored, or lonely. Love your local library, be loving to your local library
"Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it."
JK Rowling
Words, like books, are everything. Every experience, almost every emotion that we experienced can be told to others with the use of words and we understand each other by reading and listening to the stories of others. The most beautiful love song, the worst phrases that turn a friend to an enemy.
Act with kindness, speak with compassion, and keep reading
The Gift of Fear
Not all books can be comforting, not all books are make-believe, not all books are heart-racing suspenseful; Gavin De Becker’s The Gift of Fear is all three. Gavin De Becker, the author, shares with us the stories of his clients who were raped by strangers, celebrities stalked by ‘regular people’, obsessed coworkers and more. He dissects them to show them, and us, where and when we should trust our gut and how it really isn’t our gut, but our logical mind setting off warning flags that society has told us to ignore.
I’m reminded of an SVU episode wherein thinking she’s just being racist, a young white girl allows a big black guy into her apartment to help her unload her groceries—she didn’t need the help, and she wasn’t being racist, there was something about him that she knew was off but told herself she should ignore it and then got raped. There are people who are racist, this book nor I ignore that, but just as women have been taught to smile, we have all been taught to be kind and understanding—even when we shouldn’t be. Sometimes it doesn’t matter much, but sometimes it means the end of our lives. He reminds us, me, of the phrase “look at someone’s actions, not at someone’s words”—he reminds us that people choose to be nice, charming—it doesn’t mean they are. He gives a list and more descriptions about Pre-Incident Indicators: methods used by those trying to get something from you that they are used to people ignoring:
Trying to make you two a team
Making you feel sympathy
Locking you down and trying to force a connection
Making a situation where you feel it’d be rude to not speak to THIS COMPLETE STRANGER
Trying to get you into your debt
Trying to make a deal with you, when really they could just leave
Refusing to hear the word no
People say this book could save your life, no. It reminds you that you already have the power to save and fight for your life, you just have to recondition yourself to listen to yourself and trust what someone is showing you. The aspects of this book being real and harrowing are obvious, the issues of comforting is how it allows us to trust ourselves again. This book isn’t just for young women, mothers, or the elderly. I’ve shared this book with managers, coworkers, friends and more. Share this book, read it’s tales and learn how you can survive. It’s awful, but as we know have work-place shootings as part of our fire safety, and the access the internet provides others with our personal details, this book is only becoming more important
Jim Halpert
Jim's Best Moment: Season Six, Episode Eleven: Shareholder Meeting When he asserts himself as a manager by moving Ryan's office to the closet in front of everyone.
Jim's Worst Moment: Season Three, Episode Thirteen: The Return When he “pranks” Andy by hiding his phone in the ceiling; more because he already saw how Andy reacted in Scranton when Jim put his calculator in Jell-O.
Jim's Best Line: Season Five, Episode Twenty-One: Two Weeks “About a week ago Michael gave his two weeks notice, and surprisingly, there is a very big difference between Michael trying and Michael not trying.”
Jim's Most Memorable Moment: Season Five, Episode Twelve: The Duel When he walks between Andy and Dwight as they shout at each other before their duel.
I still read
but I definitely read for different reasons now as there is less companionship that I need to fill in books or stories from far away
Relatable
Jan Levinson (Gould)
Jan’s Best Moment: Season Two, Episode Fifteen: Boys and Girls
When Pam mentions the obstacles of not going for the Corporate Graphic Design Internship (her current job, cost, and time), she tells Pam “There are always a million reasons not to do something”.
Jan’s Worst Moment: Season Three, Episode Nine: The Convict
When she tells them it’s Martin who was the ‘reformed convict’. Maybe she had to, but honestly, she should have known how this would go.
Jan’s Best Line: Season Four, Episode Nine: Dinner Party
“This will be great to cook with—really”.
Jan’s Most Memorable Moment: Season Four, Episode Fourteen
When we find out she’s pregnant with *not Michael’s* baby.
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jjayolsen reblogged this · 7 years ago
