I formed the impression that James Potter and his gang were the real bullies, and Snape is a tragic character traumatized by their bullying.
Yes, but then he went on to be an adult bullying children.
The book strongly implies that Snape turns into a horrible person as a direct consequence of James Potter's bullying. He seems to be a nice kid before that.
Do you honestly think hed be able to keep undercover if he didnt act like a slytherin asshole?
I formed the impression that James Potter and his gang were the real bullies, and Snape is a tragic character traumatized by their bullying.
Yes, but then he went on to be an adult bullying children.
The book strongly implies that Snape turns into a horrible person as a direct consequence of James Potter's bullying. He seems to be a nice kid before that.
Do you honestly think hed be able to keep undercover if he didnt act like a slytherin asshole?
Tragic and also an asshole.
Oh wow, you found my epitaph.
Remember that we see this scene through Snape's memories - something wizards are able to distort to varying degrees.
It may well be that we aren't seeing the full story. It is revealed later that tit-for-tat behaviour was quite common to the both of them.