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Jacques Cousteau was a horrible person, both personally (bigot, anti-Semite, pathological liar) and professionally. It's inexplicable that he passes for a defen
by bambax 6y ago
Jacques Cousteau was a horrible person, both personally (bigot, anti-Semite, pathological liar) and professionally. It's inexplicable that he passes for a defender of nature when in reality he "explored" things by blowing them up with explosives and destroyed unique sites, etc.
The grandson is a different person of course; but he invokes his grandfather's name as a reference and proof of competence. Don't fall for it.
- gregoriol 6y agoDo you have sources for such accusations?
- mschuster91 6y agoApparently his biographer: https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/jun/18/jonhenley1 https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/jun/18/jonhenley1
- postsantum 6y agoI was surprised too. The anti-semite part seems to be dubious at best - the only link I found is someone's very liberal interpretation of some words
- shakna 6y agoIt doesn't take much to find it. Here's a quote from the man himself: > Ici, nous n'avons toujours pas de logement. Nous sommes actuellement campés dans un petit pavillon d'une pension de famille sur la Corniche. Ce n'est pas gai pour Simone, mais il n'y aura d'appartement convenable que quand on aura fichu à la porte tous les ignobles youtres qui nous encombrent. [0] A rough translation of the last sentence might be: > It's not cheerful for Simone, but there won't be a suitable apartment until we have kicked out all the vile youtres [slur for Jew] that plague us. But, to be more charitable to the man, it was a time where anti-semitism was wide spread, and doesn't seem to be more than the norm of the time. But it isn't really ambiguous. [0] https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/06/18/la-plongee-antisemite-du-commandant-jacques-yves-cousteau_3551090_1819218.html https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/06/18/la-plonge...
- rsynnott 6y agoThis is actually arguably _worse_ than it seems, when you put it in context. He wrote this is May 1941, in Vichy France. In 1942, Vichy France started 'kicking out' its Jewish population to occupied France, and thence to the concentration camps. Maybe Cousteau got his apartment after all...
- bambax 6y agoIn many letters written during WWII Cousteau wishes to get rid of "youtres" which is a derogatory word for Jews much worse than the N word in English. The defense of Commandant Cousteau's anti-Semite private writings usually goes along the lines of "okay, but everybody did the same at the time". But this is not true. Most people did not actively call for the physical extermination of Jews in occupied France. They did nothing to prevent it -- but rejoicing and calling for more is on another level. His brother was a frequent contributor to "Je suis partout" during WWII and was sentenced to death for his writings at the end of the war (later commuted to life in prison). And yes, Cousteau is not his brother. Yet -- not a good family.
- YeGoblynQueenne 6y agoSo far you and others here have only shown one example of a letter where he is calling for jewish (and muslim) people to be kicked out. I have seen nothing about extermination etc. Even more so- what the hell is this "not a good family" business all about? Seriously? The whole family? Because of one member? This is just mud-slinging.
- rsynnott 6y agoCousteau probably didn't realise _exactly_ what was likely to happen to Jewish people who were 'kicked out' to make room for important filmmakers; this was the year before the Wannsee Conference. But one would have had to be extremely naive to think that anything good was happening to the Jewish populations the Nazis were then deporting across their empire.
- bambax 6y agoBy "family" I meant Cousteau's family during the war, not all his descendants of course. Sorry if that was unclear. But he was a Nazi sympathizer and was protected by the Germans during the war. Then he falsely claimed to have been a member of the Resistance. This is all documented in his biography.
- YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
- usrusr 6y agoAlso surprised. I was taking the dark sides of the Steven Zissou character in Anderson's The Life Aquatic as an added twist, not as art imitating life.
- lm28469 6y agohttps://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.europe1.fr%2Fculture%2Fsortie-de-lodyssee-la-part-dombre-du-commandant-cousteau-2870890 https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https... Dozens of other articles
- bambax 6y agoPlenty of sources (in French). For example: Anti-Semitism: https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/06/18/la-plongee-antisemite-du-commandant-jacques-yves-cousteau_3551090_1819218.html https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/06/18/la-plonge... Cousteau's first wife Simone was independently wealthy and financed his boat (Calypso) and expeditions. She lived on board most of the time (yet never appears on camera). But he had another secret family (with kids) on the shore with a former flight attendant, since the late 70s. Simone only learned about it in 1990. Letters were published where she asks a friend in disbelief if this can be true. She then died within a few months. Can't find the letters right now but I did read them then. Critique of "Le Monde du silence": https://www.rtl.fr/culture/medias-people/video-pourquoi-le-monde-du-silence-de-cousteau-est-il-naivement-degueulasse-7779029379 https://www.rtl.fr/culture/medias-people/video-pourquoi-le-m... In that movie from 1956 which won the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or, the team blows a whole coral reef with dynamite in order to "count fish living in it". They also catch live sharks on board and kill them with shovels "because seamen don't like sharks". You can watch the documentary and see for yourself.
- NeutronStar 6y agoFrom your very own article: > Et d'ajouter : "Cette réaction est normale, mais il est nécessaire de remettre le film dans son contexte : notre planète comptait 2,7 milliards d'habitants, la mer était une donnée inconnue, et à nos yeux, elle représentait une corne d'abondance inépuisable." > And to add: "This reaction is normal, but it is necessary to put the film in its context: our planet had 2.7 billion inhabitants, the sea was an unknown data, and in our eyes, it represented a horn. of inexhaustible abundance. " Context is everything.
- henearkr 6y agoThis is his private life. It has nothing to do with your allegations of "bigot", "liar", etc. If this is your references, you end up having denigrated him. About your allegation of J. Cousteau having protected marine life "by blowin' it", it is his work that has raised the current awareness of the richness and fragility of marine life. Compare his positive achievements at the scale of the whole planet (or at least Western world) versus some small part of a coral reef he blew up.
- system2 6y agoI totally wasn't expecting this comment. First time hearing it, can you share some links?
- xsace 6y agoMost people don't know this truth, in particular here in France where the name Cousteau still holds its aura. I know because I watched and enjoyed the shows as a kid and most people at the time liked him. The only person I knew back then who didn't like the man was my dad (a sailor). What I mean is the name is still strong enough to attract some interest.
- hobbescotch 6y agoWas this not the premise of the Life Aquatic by Wes Anderson? Essentially we are shown a satirical representation of Jacques Cousteau where Zissou (the Cousteau-type) wants to blow up a shark and fakes discoveries of obviously made up sea creatures.
- raxxorrax 6y agoOne of my favorite movies, really a piece of art if you like the humor. But I didn't actually notice the reference although it is really obvious thinking about it. Even the red cap.
- usrusr 6y agoBut did he also have a real life Seu Jorge who could only play Bowie? Those scenes are when it hits me hardest: all the characters are lost, somehow bound to Zisou with no outside life that they could defect to, but the environment they are trapped in is one of extreme beauty.
- yodsanklai 6y agoI don't know to what extent this is true (heard similar claims before but never checked), but you should provide some sources when making such strong allegations.
- mongol 6y agoAt least the blowing up parts of nature with explosives was prominently featured in one of his films. Also the killing of "vicious sharks".
- dusted 6y agoHe may have been all that, but it's hardly relevant. What's relevant is whether he made a net positive or negative impact on the world with his actions. My guess is he made more kids (and adults) happy with his programs, than he made sad with his personality and opinions. Say I listen to a LGBTIOAQ+* muscian who hates straight people like myself (they exist), who is a feminist who hates men like myself, but I enjoy their music, their personality is definitely horrible to me, but I don't care because I love their music and I will listen just the same :)
- bambax 6y agoListening to Michael Jackson's songs is one thing. Saying he was a great human being and wanting to put things to his name is another. If you like Cousteau's movies, good for you. But invoking his name and making him a hero is, I think, wrong.
- dusted 6y agoNobody said he was a good person to begin with ? It's hardly relevant to the discussion. But the name is connected to the ocean and the grandson wanting to do somthing with the ocean, its not surprising that his name is invoked on that basis.
- henearkr 6y agoHe was a great oceanographer, engineer, filmmaker, and he opened the eyes of multiple generations on what lies in the oceans and how it's fragile and important to protect it. Isn't that worth a monument? He may have said/done/been bad things at the same time. Do we bury all bronze busts of Wagner?
- mytailorisrich 6y agoPeople want to see the world in black and white, and absolutes, today more than ever. It's fashionable to topple statues. But the reality is grey and whatever his flaws might have been he contributed a huge amount to diving technology, to make the public discover the marine environment, and for the protection of oceans.
- flippinburgers 6y agoInterestingly it is the writer of the article who wrote the headline! The grandson's NPO is named after himself. "The founder of the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and preserving the planet’s oceans, coastal areas and marine habitats, is building the world’s largest underwater research station." It would be one thing if people knew Jacques was a bigot and touted his science as being great because it promoted bigotry. I had no idea. But I do think of ocean conservation when I think of him and that is the truly important part. And, as you point out yourself, its the grandson. Sins of the grandfather?
- saint-loup 6y agoAlso: “Cousteau was a showman, nothing more – a man prepared to do anything to sell his films and books, even if it meant martyring animals.” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11726747/Row-erupts-in-France-over-famed-sea-explorer-Jacques-Cousteaus-disgusting-abuse-of-marine-life.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/117...
- eplanit 6y agoI think The Life Aquatic was an excellent parody of Cousteau (though it wasn't really about Cousteau). The character played by Bill Murray was probably more sympathetic than Jacques.
- themaninthedark 6y agoI wonder if we could get a number of people to destroy their Apple devices by pointing out the fact that Steve Job was an absolutely horrible person. Drove a car without plates so he could park in handicap spaces, Denied his daughter was his, etc. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and the entire culture was dictated by him, it is inexcusable to say that Apple products are separate from that. Or we can say that unreasonable, and even bad people also have good points and that we want to try and take the good they have accomplished and build upon it. This does not mean we have to celebrate the person. Jacques Cousteau much like Steve Jobs did not develop many of the things we think about when their names are mentioned but they both worked to promote and popularize their fields.
- bambax 6y ago> This does not mean we have to celebrate the person. Yet that's what we are doing when we introduce an article about an underwater device by the name of the grandfather of the promoter of said device. "Joe Shmoe's grandson wants to build something" doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?