Sociopolitics of Orcs and Drow?

This has been making the rounds lately in the roleplay circles I view. And... mrrf... I dunno... My gut reaction was:

"Well, okay. I mean, this seems a bit like caving to sociopolitical pressures of the times to make changes that aren't really necessary, but whatever?"

When I see orcs defined as evil, I think of origins founded in Tolkien's tales in which they are... pretty fundamentally evil? Particularly in a fantasy world in which evil is a real thing (which I've discussed before), species that embody or are corrupted by evil forces don't seem out of place or problematic to me.

That isn't my preference. Heck, when I first really dove in to create a fantasy world of my own, one of my guiding tenets was "shades of gray" - no nation or faction or race would be inherently good or evil, just motivated by interests. Defining any group as monolithic in personality isn't very realistic.

But then, fantasy is often about exploring things that are not realistic. So I feel there is space in the genre for such things.

But...

The one argument I've seen that gives me pause says something along the lines of "teaching players that all orcs are evil" conditions them to think of groups in such broad, absolute terms - and that's bad for people." I'll admit, I can sort of see that.

Which got me wondering why my own experience seems to run counter to that theory.

As I think about it, I suppose a lot of the fantasy I grew up with focused on exceptions to the rules. Drizzt is a prime example. Drow are evil! But Drizzt was good (rangers had to be back then). That proves there are exceptions, which forces a reader to acknowledge... hey, not all drow actually are evil. That is certainly the message, if any, that I got out of it.

Now, sticking with that example, I find myself wondering what would be the better/healthier portrayal:

• Drizzt, as exception to the rule, proves not all drow are evil.
• Drow are portrayed as individuals without any cultural bias toward evil to begin with?

The latter is certainly more realistic. Would it have been as impactful? Would it have been as interesting? What message would I have taken away as a reader?

I'm not sure...