Young Sirius and James actually remind me a lot of Draco - they were, to a large degree, arrogant bullies, just like he is. And Draco might well have his good qualities (he seems to be a devoted son, for instance, as misguided as that devotion may be, considering his father's evilness), it's just that those sides of him are rarely - if ever - shown "on page".
The only aspect (well, apart from the good qualities that he also has) in which Sirius was better than Draco is that he wasn't conceited about his "noble heritage", even though he was just as pureblooded.
That seems to be the difference between the Gryffs and Slyths - the Slytherins (as portrayed by JKR) pick on those who are poor (like the Weasleys) or lacking "blood purity"; the Gryffindor just pick on anyone they feel like picking on, whenever they feel like picking on them. So, is one really that much better than the other? Sure, racism and classism is evil; but is it okay to be a bully just as long as you aren't a racist/prejudiced bully?
"Gryffindors are Slytherins with better PR"
Young Sirius and James actually remind me a lot of Draco - they were, to a large degree, arrogant bullies, just like he is. And Draco might well have his good qualities (he seems to be a devoted son, for instance, as misguided as that devotion may be, considering his father's evilness), it's just that those sides of him are rarely - if ever - shown "on page".
The only aspect (well, apart from the good qualities that he also has) in which Sirius was better than Draco is that he wasn't conceited about his "noble heritage", even though he was just as pureblooded.
That seems to be the difference between the Gryffs and Slyths - the Slytherins (as portrayed by JKR) pick on those who are poor (like the Weasleys) or lacking "blood purity"; the Gryffindor just pick on anyone they feel like picking on, whenever they feel like picking on them. So, is one really that much better than the other? Sure, racism and classism is evil; but is it okay to be a bully just as long as you aren't a racist/prejudiced bully?