A theory, yeah, but that shouldn't make anyone like him. I mean, it's fine if they do but I can't really see why

it is very likely to slip from your own lips, with or without your consent

Oh no! It slipped? Ok, never mind, I forgive everything. Maybe he should've told it to slither back into his lips. Perhaps he could've asked it if it was ok after that horrible tumble. Consent is important. Maybe he should have a talk with that slur (not a curse, mind you, a slur) of his about boundaries.

^ exactly

Just thought I'd come back and say a little more since I've calmed down a little.

You're using the fact that Snape was (possibly) abused to justify him doing it to others-? Kinda weird point to make, if you ask me. If anything, if he were a decent person, he would understand what it's like and never do it to another person. Also, you're minimizing what other characters have gone through in order to defend Snape. Remus and Sirius arguably went through worse, but you seem to be very against them. Why is that? Is it possible that it's the result of double-standards in order to justify your love for Snape? Also, they didn't go on to become Death Eaters, so there's a little bonus for you.

In my experience, people who sympathize with Snape, are people who have been the victim of schoolyard bullying themselves. Maybe schoolyard bullying is relatable to you, maybe it's the worst crime in your eyes because it's the worst thing that has happened to you. If that's why you like him, I'm sorry. I know that torture spells, blood purism, genocide, dark arts, abusive teachers, and joining a group of terrorists are probably just fairy tale concepts to you, something you'd only see in a book and not applicable to your life. But this isn't about your life right now. It's about the many people that have experienced prejudice, torture, and torment at the hands of Severus Snape. Don't ignore the context, the fact that he invented Sectumsempra, used it on James, and called Lily a slur. Take your experiences out of this, separate yourself from Snape. Think about the situation and only the situation without projecting onto it and hopefully you're left with a realization.

@Jellooooooooooooooooooooo Do you like Harry Potter, the character? Because say what you will about Snape, Harry might not have been able to defeat Voldemort had Snape not acted on Dumbledore's orders after his death. Also, he became Headmaster. While his reputation was in ruins, he took that place to protect the students. He might not have been able to keep the same order (after all, Death Eaters took over and he had to play the role) but I'm sure if one of the true Death Eaters became the head of school, the situation would be a lot worse. Hogwarts wouldn't be a place where students felt safe anymore. Also, that reminds me, you might be adding stuff to Snape's mistakes' list that he was forced to do since he had to maintain the double agent identity. We have been highlighting on his darkness and cruelty, but he still had good in him, till the end.

Do you like Harry Potter, the character?

Not my favorite character, but I suspect whatever comes after this has more to do with the Wizarding community as a whole than just him.

Because say what you will about Snape, Harry might not have been able to defeat Voldemort had Snape not acted on Dumbledore's orders after his death.

Oh, how I love being correct. Cool, so just give Snape all the credit. After all he was the one who killed Voldemort. Oop wait nvm, he was too busy being dead. And it's not at all like the trio could've found another way to destroy the horcruxes. Like they were so incompetent that they destroyed 5 horcruxes without his help.

Also, he became Headmaster. While his reputation was in ruins, he took that place to protect the students. He might not have been able to keep the same order (after all, Death Eaters took over and he had to play the role) but I'm sure if one of the true Death Eaters became the head of school, the situation would be a lot worse.

"The longer Harry looked at Neville, the worse he appeared: One of his eyes was swollen yellow and purple, there were gouge marks on his face, and his general air of unkemptness suggested that he had been living rough." "'What? This?' Neville dismissed his injuries with a shake of the head. 'This is nothing, Seamus is worse. You’ll see.'" "'We’re supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who’ve earned detentions'" "'Yeah,' said Neville. 'That’s how I got this one,' he pointed at a particularly deep gash in his cheek, 'I refused to do it.'" "'I got this one,' he indicated another slash to his face, 'for asking how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got.'" "'Michael Corner went and got caught releasing a first-year they’d chained up, and they tortured him pretty badly.'" "Seamus Finnigan, whom Harry had not recognized until he spoke: Seamus’ face was bruised and puffy."

You're right. It totally could've been worse. Voldemort could've made Snape minister.

Hogwarts wouldn't be a place where students felt safe anymore.

I'm sure they felt really safe being beaten to death.

Also, that reminds me, you might be adding stuff to Snape's mistakes' list that he was forced to do since he had to maintain the double agent identity. We have been highlighting on his darkness and cruelty, but he still had good in him, till the end.

Never mind, I guess he's excused from all the bullying, torture, and overall evilness. The best thing he could've done for Harry was died; I'll give him that one for sure.

Overall, I just don't think he made up for any of his mistakes. Doing one good thing does not erase all the bad, especially if the bad is happening coincidingly with the one attempt at redemption or whatever that lame excuse for a good deed was.

It seems you are very rigid in your opinions, and cannot be swayed, even with sensible arguments. So, that's it, this was a futile effort. I respect your thoughts about Snape but mine are very different :)

I don't usually go into debates with the intent to change opinions, only to have fun and make people think about things that they haven't yet.

Efforts will always be futile when it comes to getting me to like Snape, but as usual, I saw some new interesting arguments and can begin creating counters for them for future debates.

Thanks for your help and I hope you had as much fun as I did!