Who says this and what makes them think this phenomenon is exclusive to the US?
Che Guevara, Julius Ceasar and Galileo are household names globally and martyrdom is–in the words of religious leaders everywhere–“a whole thing, y’know”
Blackbeard, Colonial Revolutionaries, Jesse James, Billy the kid, Butch Cassidy, Wild Bill Hickock, Guy Fawx, Al Capone, John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffery Dahmer, OJ Simpson, Mike Tyson, Donald Trump.
I’m not arguing but there was a clear delineation where it went from like 20s outlaws to like 1990s pop culture criminals.
I don’t think Manson, Gacy, or Dahmer are idolized.
Simpson and Tyson are idolized for their non-criminal activities, not because they’re criminals. They’re not famous for being criminals, whereas most of the others are.
Trump is definitely an interesting one though…lol
Dahmer is one of those who had prison groupies. As do the Columbine shooters, Harris and Klebold. Apparently there’s a certain kind of chick that gets lubed up for mass murderers.
That’s a good point. I wouldn’t call that mainstream, though.
I’m not sure if Al Capone gets support the way that Walter White does or if he’s more of a Robin Hood…but a lot of the “heroic criminals” in US folklore (especially the criminals of the “wild West” who robbed banks and supported the poor) are purely the Robin Hood types.
Dahmer’s fans are crazy. As are the Columbine Shooters’ fans. But Robin Hood-types could generally be supported by the general person without raising an eyebrow these days.
I was thinking about that as I was typing them up. It’s really hard to draw a line on how criminal they are, or fame vs infamy, etc.
Yeah. The serial killers are definitely infamous, but nobody normal is thinking “Boy, we could sure use someone like that again”.
…but someone who goes around stealing from big banks and insurance companies while also destroying people’s mortgages (so they don’t have to make payments on their houses)? I’m sure some people could get behind that.
Especially with the reaction we’re seeing to the murder of the health insurance company CEO. I’m sure people have been coming up with lists of other deserving CEOs.
Julian Assange, Edward Snowden…
I think it comes from America’s roots – America was founded on liberty and freedom, and to some extent, questioning authority, and I think since then it’s been somewhat cyclical with socioeconomic changes.
It’s also part of the American mythos that is perpetuated in film and music. We have superheroes like Batman, Spider-Man, Green Arrow, western heroes like Zorro and the Lone Ranger, movies like Star Wars, The Hunger Games, Bonnie & Clyde, shows like Mr. Robot…
Mickey and Mallory Knox
Just look how some people still see the civil war as the “war of northern aggression”, and how they still treat so-called “heroes” of the south.
