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Fascinating thoughts on the subject of Dark Magic! I don't agree with everything here, but I do agree that wizards don't all agree on what Dark Magic really is, and that there are different definitions floating around in the wizarding world (specifically those three).
I especially like your comparison to Dark Magic and 'guns in the USA'. Very apt, I think. (I'm a town girl and my husband is a country boy, and I've worked in the city, so I've seen all three views first hand).
To take the gun analogy a bit further (and apply it to a few more things RE the Dark Arts):
Just as reading about guns and being an enthusiast in that way is different from wielding (or even owning a gun), so to is reading and studying Dark Magic enthusiastically different than working Dark Magic or owning Dark objects. Although Severus did work *some* Dark Magic as a student (Sectumsempra), he wasn't mowing down the student body with it, and Lily doesn't accuse Severus of using Dark Magic, so Sirius and James seem to assume that because Severus knows a lot about it and studies it, that Severus is Dark. Just as some people in real life would see piles of Guns n' Ammo magazines and may be alarmed and assume that said subscriber is a 'gun nut'.
Also, just as owning a hand gun or a shotgun (legal with permit/license) is different than owning an AK-47 or bazooka (illegal for anyone but the military), there are similar degrees with Dark objects and spells. Some are dangerous but legal and others are very dangerous and illegal (for good reason). Sectumsempra is dangerous but not indicated as illegal in the text (I assume a wizard in proper control of his Sectusempra casting abilities, using it in self defense, would not be arrested), whereas anyone other than an Auror caught using Crucio or AK is in danger of being arrested and sent to Azkaban for life.
I especially like your comparison to Dark Magic and 'guns in the USA'. Very apt, I think. (I'm a town girl and my husband is a country boy, and I've worked in the city, so I've seen all three views first hand).
To take the gun analogy a bit further (and apply it to a few more things RE the Dark Arts):
Just as reading about guns and being an enthusiast in that way is different from wielding (or even owning a gun), so to is reading and studying Dark Magic enthusiastically different than working Dark Magic or owning Dark objects. Although Severus did work *some* Dark Magic as a student (Sectumsempra), he wasn't mowing down the student body with it, and Lily doesn't accuse Severus of using Dark Magic, so Sirius and James seem to assume that because Severus knows a lot about it and studies it, that Severus is Dark. Just as some people in real life would see piles of Guns n' Ammo magazines and may be alarmed and assume that said subscriber is a 'gun nut'.
Also, just as owning a hand gun or a shotgun (legal with permit/license) is different than owning an AK-47 or bazooka (illegal for anyone but the military), there are similar degrees with Dark objects and spells. Some are dangerous but legal and others are very dangerous and illegal (for good reason). Sectumsempra is dangerous but not indicated as illegal in the text (I assume a wizard in proper control of his Sectusempra casting abilities, using it in self defense, would not be arrested), whereas anyone other than an Auror caught using Crucio or AK is in danger of being arrested and sent to Azkaban for life.