Rowling Hates Slytherin?

So in the last release we learned more about Slytherin in a sort of vicarious way, through Draco. In truth, I would call Half Blood Prince the best book on Slytherin in general. However, because of the recent release I heard the following: "Rowling hates Slytherin" "Rowling thinks people are nuts for liking Draco" and while I know that Rowling is capable of defending herself... I would like to defend her, and Slytherin as a house.
Now, first, let's look at Draco, as I think he is for all intents and purposes, the archetypical Slytherin on Pottermore. This is not what I would call a bad thing, so much as it is one that deserves a bit of an eye, as from my time, I would say what we learn about him best determines the current traits of the house as a whole. To sum up what we have learned, Draco was a bigot, but only because it is what his family believed. He was a jerk because that was how he was raised. He was raised to hate, and he only began to question his beliefs when he was confronted with them. He found that he was not cut out to do the evil things he was asked to do. They were not "Draco" and his wand core (unicorn) even hints at this from the start. This was not to say that Draco had no redeeming traits. He, along with the other Malfoys, was loyal to his family. To a point where they would betray Voldemort for each other. And after his experiences at Hogwarts, Draco raised a boy, studied alchemy and for the most part has renounced what his father believed as he and his wife teach their child not to hate. Rowling, in this, also says that she thinks Draco wants to be a better person. He is not searching for the Philosopher's stone, but more for cures and things. Draco, at his core is defined by three things, loyalty to his family, desire for praise and fame, and a desire to improve.

If you asked me, I would say that this ties heavily into the house. There are notions of loyalty and family among the users in Slytherin, and we are all ambitious in one way or another. But lastly... we seek to improve ourselves and the world. To borrow a theme from Doctor Who, we will ask if we are a good person, but the answer, while unsatisfying, is unknown, but all that is shown is we very well hope to be. So what of others that take more after Voldemort or Bellatrix? I'd say it is a small and sorry minority. This is where I will agree with something Rowling said when it's concerning the admiration some of these characters get. When she commented on that, regarding Draco's fangirls, I understood. It is not a love and apprecciation of the character because of his story arc, but rather praise for his antagonistic actions, as if they are to be lauded. No Slytherin should aim to be Voldemort. No Slytherin should aim to be Bellatrix. Our house is not cruelty and those that aim to take that persona because of an infatuation with being the evil, the other, it is not truely being a member of the house, any more than an admiration of knowledge would make one a ravenclaw. Those poor souls that wish to besmirch the house with such actions, this is where I think Rowling's concern was laid. They are the people she was confused about. Why espouse pure-blood centered opinions, when you know it to be evil? Why take pleasure in the cruelty, when you know it is not good? A Slytherin is not one that is evil, so much as they have the potential to be.

The problem is, if you confront any of these poor impostors, I do not think they would be able to defend themselves, but it is the bulk of the house, the Dracos, Snapes, Slughorns and Merlins that I believe make up the majority and the truest members of the house. So no, I don't think Rowling hates Slytherin. I think she likes us, but we are the children she is most concerned about in the long run. Not because we are evil. But because we have that potential. We may cloak ourselves in the reputation as armor and shed it when in the presence of friends, but we need to ensure that the armor is not so applied that it cannot be taken off. Our infatuation with the dark cannot be so strong as to lose our own way. Slytherin is, in that sense, the house that Rowling realizes has become the problem child, the one that needs a bit of doating and a firm hand to guide the way.





(With that, I'll add on that if she makes a secondary protagonist in Fantastic Beasts a Slytherin I will almost squeel with glee, but it's going to be in NYC so houses won't matter at much but still... Merlin's good, but it'd be nice to have some more good examples)