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 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.
You just started naming criminals.
Gotta be honest, that’s literally what outlaw means
I’m not arguing but there was a clear delineation where it went from like 20s outlaws to like 1990s pop culture criminals.
That would be “time”… you go through history and eventually you get to 1990.
I think it crossed over with Manson which was 60s/70s but I think your point stands.
Some of the criminals after the crossover were cult leaders though…
Came back around with Tyson and Trump (depending on your preferred political party).
I noticed that too. And I think it has to do with WW2. Hitler and his allies were the bad guys, and it seems there was a period going into and after the war where didn’t pay much attention to any other criminals. During this time we saw the birth of Super heroes, and we rallied around the good guys.
I mean, yeah. The whole outlaw bit sort of implies crimes.
What did you expect?
Bonnie and Clyde, Killdozer man, Al Capone, Christopher Dorner, Billy the Kid to name a few.
There are a few different common themes amongst them, either functioning as part of a gang or as a lone wolf, Bonnie and Clyde captured attention for the romantic twist attached to it.
There are also greater numbers of outlaws during periods where laws are hard to enforce due to remoteness and isolation (old west) or due to the laws being flaunted by basically everyone due to the laws being considered ridiculous (prohibition).
The key common theme is that they are viewed as fighting against an (what the public view as) unjust system, though often it’s more to do with their goals coincidentally aligning with the publics perception of an unjust system.
Its part of the western tradition. Bonnie and Clyde for example.
PS. I’m not american.
They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians.
Woody Guthrie - Pretty Boy Floyd
Yes, as through this world I’ve wandered I’ve seen lots of funny men Some will rob you with a six-gun And some with a fountain pen
And as through your life you travel Yes, as through your life you roam You won’t never see an outlaw Drive a family from their home
From the Youtube comments: “This is the acoustic version of ‘Fuck the Police’”
He was seen positively by the public because, during robberies, he burned mortgage documents freeing many people from their debts.
Shit seems relevant.
I tend to think that Trump is getting idolized, too.
For being a criminal or by being a grifter?
Grifting is often illegal too.
There are people that will idolise all of these, even though they may be a minority. I don’t think that this is what OP meant.
You can see it in our media, even comic books. The Punisher is wanted by law enforcement all the time. Just look at the United Health Care shooting. Guy does what the Punisher does and he instantly becomes an American hero.
How is Jesse James not at the top of this comment section?
Billy the Kid.
Bonnie and Clyde! Billy the Kid! I haven’t yet met the cute got girl who doesn’t have a list of favorite serial killers!
The rap genre
Well classic rap.
Today’s rap doesn’t have as much bragging and flexing. Not to say it doesn’t happen, it’s just not as significant as classic rap.
Today’s rap doesn’t have as much bragging and flexing
What rap are you listening to🤨? And what do you define as classic rap?
Yeah today’s rap definitely has bragging and flexing, it’s just sort of flanderized from “I’m a thug who is tough, fight hard to get what I’ve got, look at me now” to “I’ve got money, I get women, I get fucked up”
Hehehe
The entire eastern genre
Slightly off topic but there was an escaped monkey around and people would never report it until they were sure it was gone, they didn’t want it caught.
Was Robin Hood a real dude?
Watched a thing on him recently. Sure he was, cause apparently he was from Doncaster, not Nottingham.
Can’t remember his name, but the right love to fawn over the guy who built “killdozer”
John Dillinger had his fans too. I recall going to a wax museum in Indiana dedicated to him. There was a display with an electric chair in it.
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.
