'Maybe,' I would protest, 'but explaining why he is awful doesn't show that he isn't awful. On the contrary, it assumes he is.'

Wow, way to miss the point entirely, Mr. Best-and-Brightest. News flash--your parents were not trying to refute the individual's awfulness; they were trying to instill in you a modicum of human sympathy so that instead of plotting your merciless and bloody revenge you might turn your attention to something more productive. Sheesh.