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.
You just started naming criminals.
Gotta be honest, that’s literally what outlaw means
I think outlaw also implies being on the run.
Being an actual outlaw literally means you have been declared outside of the law for your presumed crimes. Anyone can kill you without question because society has washed its hands of you.
On the way to that status you will typically rack up some warrants and bounty offers.
Or not, depending on how corrupt the judge was.
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 mean, yeah. The whole outlaw bit sort of implies crimes.
What did you expect?
George Floyd
That’s more of a “minor crimes don’t deserve execution” thing
I think George Floyd is mentioned by people to highlight how out of control the police in America are. They are thugs with badges, and they need to be reigned in, but that’s not likely to happen due to America leaning more toward “bootlicker” these days. George Floyd was murdered by shit cops. He should be remembered so we can hold bad police actions accountable. Fuck the police.
Jesse James.
Billy the Kid.
Jeffery Dahmer.
Charles Manson.
Al Capone.
Baby Face Nelson.
And many, many more.
Out of all these, though, the only one I have seen still be idolized in some capacity is Dahmer. Women seem to love him, despite the fact he was gay. And a cannibal.
Do people really idolize dahmer?
Yes
Bonnie and Clyde
also the most prominent idolized today isn’t Dahmer; it’s the guy who just got elected for president
Is it just america? robin hood. guy fawkes.
Ned Kelly is an Australian icon, primarily known for an armoured shoot out with the cops.
Guy Fawkes isn’t idolised, the festival is about burning him alive and even if you don’t agree with that his reasons for doing what he did were shit
Ah. I guess V for vendetta made me think it was celebrating him.
That was an alternate history where he was successful and celebrated.
Guy fawks is British
“is it just America? Guy Fawkes” means “is it just america? Guy Fawkes is an example of an outlaw idolized by Americans who is not himself an American”
Yes, that is the point
I’d love to hear where you think Robin Hood is from
I thought both were from the uk.
“is it just America? Guy Fawkes” means “is it just america? Guy Fawkes is an example of an outlaw idolized by Americans who is not himself an American”
yeah I thought he was idolized by ukians and maybe europeans.
They are
Yeah I can’t refute stinkys comment without actually living there or at least having a friend or something I stay in close contact with or something.
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…
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.
Bonnie and Clyde
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”
The guy who shot that CEO, is probably the most recent example…
Billy the Kid.
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.
the entire western genre
How is Jesse James not at the top of this comment section?
Was Robin Hood a real dude?
He is an established folklore character, but it may never be proven whether he was a real person or no.
True. But whether his actions were inspired by real events or purely fictional the character demonstrates the tendency of people to venerate the righteous outlaw.
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.
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.
