[Lord of Angmar]

the orcs themselves were not evil. To say they were is to say their fea was evil.

I wonder if we are having a semantics thing here.

I daresay we may be [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]. In my opinion, evil is not a state of the fëa (which is Eru's creation alone and thus must ultimately be good), but simply a state of being. If a creature is inclined towards evil acts and is in its essence unrepenting of its evil deeds, then it is evil. I doubt that any orcs (at least the ones born of other orcs and not the originals) ever repented of their evil deeds or showed mercy in life.

maybe even the stuff of their hroa was evil (I don't think so)

I believe that after their initial corruption, all offspring of orcs were born into Arda with corrupt hroa. Since their bodies were not originally envisioned or created by Iluvatar in their corrupted forms, then their hroa is inherently 'evil'. However, the blame for this can be placed wholly on Morgoth.

I think the semantics problem we were having is a hard one to sum up. When I state that they are inherently evil, I mean that orcs will not think twice about doing an evil deed and will not repent of it without outside intervention (and I doubt even that much intervention could be found for them while they were still alive). I am simply saying that evil is in their nature, that no matter what they will be inclined towards and unrepentant of evil deeds. While there is a possibility of redemption and absolution, I do not think that orcs can redeem themselves or repent of their deeds solely of their own will.