Virtues and flaws are sometimes in the eyes of the beholder.
When I write, I attempt to show the cause and effect of actions. I try to deliver them with as little moral tone as possible, for one man's hero is another mans terrorist - I'm not here to preach.
I'm a great believer in characters not accepting that they are just bad or good, but having them choose the path to take at each crisis. Good men are called on to do harsh things, and the basest of self-interest can sometimes have beneficial unforseen consequences.
I think to be truly evil, you have to cause to happen or participate in events that have no justification whatsoever. What's more, you have to do this for such trivial reasons as to be inconceivable to society, and with full understanding of what you are doing.
A child that steals a loaf of bread from a baker is committing a crime, and potentially preventing the baker from earning enough to keep his family going. The child is hungry, and in that act of criminality is not seeking to punish others, just to survive. Most would consider this a justifiable act. In terms of justice however, a crime has been committed, and one that has potential knock on ramifications. What happens to the baker's lad who has to explain to his master that he has lost potential earnings, he may be beaten and be turned out of his lodgings, falling to desititution. When one looks at the cause, one cannot dismiss the effect. Obviously, this is a simple 'old world' example, but I think it makes the point.
The moral ambiguity of it is something each of us deals with on a daily level, and because we understand it, and see it everywhere, realism demands that this is played out in fictional worlds too. Characters that are "rough diamonds" or antagonists that are "misunderstood" tend to be popular. The terribly noble knight, or the evil black knight, are positions that we cannot fully empathise with. In the above case, the truly noble knight would be forced to carry out justice on the boy, and yet the evil knight would most likely support his actions (though would then rob the hungry kid and twirl his mustache a bit).
I suppose this is all a rather long-winded way of agreeing with the post above (provided no one has snuck in while I pontificate).
