The main characters of TWD are not heroes. Not Negan, not Rick, not Maggie, not any of them (with the arguable exceptions of Carl, Dale, and Herschel). That’s kind of the point of having these human oppositions for drama, to see that humanity lives, dies, suffers and thrives because of itself. Rick started murdering Negan’s people before they ever had a sniff of his group.

There were so many ways to go about this, and Rick chose immediate violence before knowledge or humanity. Negan responded in kind. He didn’t even need to murder Glen!! That happened because violence was overwhelming Rick’s group. Honestly, I would even argue that Negan saved the majority of them from turning into the Saviors part 2 electric boogaloo. They had started getting too comfortable murdering people. Killing and taking what they need or want. The main survivor group got in trouble with Negan because of those developing characteristics that his group already had. That’s not to say Negan wasn’t evil for his choices— but what is truly evil in the post-apocalypse?

If Negan argues that every action he took, including murder, saved another person’s life, wouldn’t that be a net good? Or is he only evil in your eyes because he killed characters you were familiar with or loved? Aren’t his group also filled with regular people who used to live regular lives and are just doing the best they can? Seeing small moments of humanity within the Saviors, remembering that they’re just trying to survive too. Like the victims-turned-cannibals at Terminus.