<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"> I actually do support hero worship. I understand the impetus, and at a certain level, the need, for hero worship. <div><br></div><div>Humans engage in hero worship because it creates for them a perfect role model to look up to, someone with only good qualities, whom they strive to emulate.</div><div><br></div><div>Humans naturally and subconsciously model behavior. If someone only has poor behavior modeled for them and they choose to consciously model after their own “white-washed”, idealized hero-figure, I see that as reasonable. </div><div><br></div><div>I doubt that the majority of people who engage in hero worship are seeking to emulate the real life negative traits of their hero — they’re trying to emulate their perfect fantasy figure. And usually, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.</div><div><br></div><div>The vast majority of people I have met who were Robert E Lee fanboys didn’t think of him as a slave owner or as defending slavery. They’re the type who doesn’t see the Civil War as about slavery. </div><div><br></div><div>They view the “Lost Cause” as a people claiming their sovereignty, but as the US claimed theirs from England. As defending the right to self-determinantion. As defending and protecting the culture and atmosphere of the South. </div><div><br></div><div>One can find a similar and surprising trend in Japan. You can find memorials to those who died defending the old government, and those who died establishing the new government within a stone’s throw of each other. There are many who are honored not for fighting “against” progress, but rather for putting honor and loyalty above their own lives. </div><div><br></div><div>Hero worship of “bad” people doesn’t usually come from a bad place, I think. </div><div><br><div dir="ltr">SR Ballard</div><div dir="ltr"><br>On Jul 9, 2020, at 7:50 PM, Dan TheBookMan via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">On Jul 9, 2020, at 8:32 AM, SR Ballard via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">>Some of you are just small people: mean, petty, picky. You know who you are. — bill w</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">That’s me. </span></div></div></blockquote><div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In my view, it's better to be seen as 'mean, petty, picky' (by one person here) than to overlook the serious flaws of leaders and national heroes.</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Regards,</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Dan</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></div></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>extropy-chat mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a></span><br><span><a href="http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat">http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat</a></span><br></div></blockquote></div></body></html>