Quote Originally Posted by Alex_Ivanov
Seeing everything as black&white results in impossibility to analyze complicated fenomenas (like Stalin's rule in this particular case). Sometimes I think it's general western problem - they can't consider something simultaneously good&evil or neither good, nor evil - only plain good or plain evil, only balck or white instead of different grades of gray.
black+white=gray

i don't think it's necessarily a western thing
-nor a western problem--no one wants to admit a shortcoming --or admit stubbornness

it's perception of an individual, shaped by culture, etc... not only "western"
but, using if-then:

IF black+white=gray
THEN grey-black=white
and THEN grey-white=black

it may appear gray, but it's still "black" and "white".
if stalin's rule was good,then it was not evil
and IF stalin's rule was evil, THEN it was not good. When you mix up good and evil, and say stalin can be both, you get...gray.

no consistency

Actually, to me, it seems MUCH easier to analyze the obvious..the black and the white...before diving into the gray, and sorting it out there. and, so, thank you for bringin that up, alex, that it is now impossible to thoroughly analyze such things as stalin's rule. but i don't think that's going to be solved by seeing things as neutral or "gray". that's being purposely blind to the truth of good and bad. our own perspectives are so limited. we all have our prejudices. pretending we know what we don't. and carrying on about what little we do (or think we do?) pointlessness, seemingly

thankfully, most are capable of seeing in color (even those of us in the west )