Seems Like Someone's Rooting for the Wrong Side

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by TGWBS

Isn't the whole argument about morality pointless, seeing as what evil is is entirely subjective? Can't we just accept that if somebody likes orcs, then they are evil according to the 1000th reader, Raynor or Thenamir, and not evil according to Lalwende and Davem?

I think that there is a legitimate issue here. To depersonalise it somewhat, I would suggest the following proposition:

If X is regarded as immoral within the moral norms of a particular society or group, is it immoral within that society/group genuinely to delight in, sympathise with and support the fictional representation of the perpetration of X?

I would say that it depends upon the fictional context, but would disagree that it is necessarily not immoral to do so. In other words, depending upon the fictional contest, I would say that it can be immoral to do so.

Edit: To contextualise it in terms of Tolkien's works, I would say that it is immoral within the society/group in question genuinely to delight in, sympathise with and support the perpetration of X within Tolkien's works.