Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-24098614-20140411233703/@comment-3279282-20140416144551

Ten Tailed Fox wrote: They don't have to use the word "excuse". What they're saying is that Sasuke is somehow a redeemable character, in terms of his goals and ideology, because he had a crummy childhood. That somehow, as one of them put it, because he didn't have anyone to talk to about his "feelings" after the clan was massacred, that makes his genocidal tendencies completely normal (it isn't) and understandable (its not).

Which is, by definition, an excuse.

No, his tendencies are not normal, but they have a reason. Sasuke was traumatized as a child, corrupted by other people with no help from anyone. That led to a destructive mindset, which is perfectly comprehensible (not the mindset, but its existence). You can't condemn him for having such a mindset, only for acting accordingly.