Of course was Eraqus acting out of a position of desperation and therefore I am also firmly of the belief that this attempted action of him (while indeed objectively spoken awful/"evil") cannot be equated with the several crimes Xehanort commits while indeed thinking clearly and just not giving a single crap about it or be used in any way to relativize those.
Unlike Xehanort, Eraqus also realized how idiotic and hurtful he had been acting soon afterwards, but any further development that could have come from this was cut short with his removal from the active story curtesy by that very same MX.
Him having those flaws certainly brings some variety to the table and there are indeed several things he could have done better, but in regards to the original OP of this thread I still think that actually comparing Eraqus to Xehanort and/or even lumping them in the same category of being "wrong" or "dangerous" goes quite too far as it overexaggerates Eraqus' flaws while simultaneously playing down and trivializing Xehanort's devious actions and mindset.
Well, it could be a case of Eraqus willingly turning a "blind eye" and wanting to see/believe there is still something good left in Xehanort and that he abandoned his obsessive ambitions.
It is implied they were rather close once. Possibly a similar situation to Sora and Riku during KH 1 with Eraqus obviously in Sora's shoes.
We do not get to see either what explanation Xehanort gives when he brings Ventus to LoD four years before BBS (and he does manage to spin quite a touching well-acted false account of what happened to Terra in-game) nor Eraqus' actual reaction to what Xehanort tells him.
In Xehanort's letter MX states that Eraqus was apparently very forgiving and in one scene Yen Sid too states "I had hoped, Xehanort, your heart would no longer lead you astray.".
It's as if both Eraqus and Yen Sid were willing to give Xehanort a second or even a third chance and now the whole KH universe is paying dearly for this benevolence.
It is odd though I agree as Eraqus practically gets two instances of Xehanort going off the deep end somewhat, first being himself scarred by a Darkness attack and the second being coming to learn that he literally broke a kid's heart apart and left him with severe mental damage.
Even if Xehanort managed to spin it as a tragical accident-sob story like he did with Terra, Eraqus as one of the big masters should be able to figure there was more behind it.
He could probably have saved the whole universe a lot of grief if he stopped Xehanort when he had the chance and I do think he himself knows or realizes that as he makes such a sort of comment before even turning against Ven in the first place.
Why he wouldn't go and at least try to stop Xehanort now instead of offing Ven I don't know, but that was possibly plot-demanded-stupidity as several things and situations in BBS as a whole were.
Birth By Sleep: "Forgiveness is dumb (e.g.: Eraqus inviting Master Xehanort to the Mark Of Mastery despite said scarring, and Ansem The Wise's amnesia due to losing the anti-Organization feelings that previously helped him survive the Dark Realm), and hatred is the best solution (e.g.: the Lingering Will)."
You know, for kids!
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