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Fantastic, legendary musician, but a monster as a person; a man who turned some of his female fans into prostitutes and beat them when they didn't make enough m
by gotofritz 10y ago
Fantastic, legendary musician, but a monster as a person; a man who turned some of his female fans into prostitutes and beat them when they didn't make enough money to sustain his heroin habit.
This is common with a lot of figures from the past, of course, from Picasso the wifebeater to Wagner the antisemite, Washington the slave owner, to Gary Glitter the child abuser.
- nicolas_t 10y agoTo be fair to Washington, he was also the only slave-holding founding father to free his slave in his will and spoke against slavery. And this in an era when owning slave was considered normal. It's different from Picasso for example who abused women in an era when it was not considered ok to do so by society.
- maroonblazer 10y agoYet another reason to dispense with the idea of the 'self', which is illusory. No need to be conflicted about crediting the person with accomplishments like how talented, or tall, they are. You can simply appreciate their output on its own terms.
- hansjorg 10y agoWashington was probably a lot more troubled by slavery and his culpability in it than most people are now.