The unfriendliness of Elves

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Sharkû

No elf, even if he could be considered a rebel or be accused of nefarious deeds, would, on the other hand, see himself as truly evil. ...

In the Silmarillion, Chapter 1, we have the straightforward sentence
'Yet the Elves believe that Men are often a grief to Manwë, […] for it seems to the Elves that Men resemble Melkor most of all the Ainur […]'.

But isn't this in fact one of the most significant factors about those who have fallen to evil, that they themselves cannot see themselves as evil? Was this not supposed to be Saruman's problem, that he was unable to see how his delight for lore led him to use that lore the wrong way?

And, secondly, it is always easier to absolve oneself of error if one can point fingers towards others and accuse them of greater error. Let he who is without sin cast ...

The problem seems to be that none of the creations are in fact as perfect as the creator, assuming the creator to be perfect as we have been told.