why do we look up to the infamous??

[Ralphael Romeo Draw]

why are negative people people we look up to?such as Al Capone, or Lucky Luciano or Osoma Bin Laden??they seem to be awesome and kicking butt even in rap Chief Keef, Jay-z and Nas but whose positive and just as cunning?

 

[Laika]

Saints only remind us of how broken we are. Villans make us feel better about ourselves.

that's my take on it anyway. *shrugs*

 

[BSM1]

I don't we look up them as a whole, they are just to big to ignore.

 

[rocala]

This is true in many ways. I have been involved in quite a lot of family tree research. I find people are usually more excited about a criminal ancestor as opposed to a Doctor for example.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Because we are animals, because there is a beast that lies dormant in all of us, there is a fascination with those who act in out on their animal instincts. They are shocking, they are not normal, they aren't "normal," and they disturb us while provoking feelings of curiosity, fascination, and interests. Serial killers especially we like, and we immortalize them in song, literature, and film (Edward Gein has especially made his way around, having been invoked in the book and movy Psycho, and other movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs, as well as songs like Nothing to Gein, Dead Skin Mask, Skinned, and Ed Gein).

 

[Jumi]

Don't know. Usually when I know more about infamous people I found out they were just broken or deluded people.

 

[Skwim]

I think very few people look up to the infamous, but are rather interested in their infamy. The hows, whys, and wherefores of it, just as they're interested in the fame people have acquired. As for rappers, who knows? To me they're a breed unto themselves.

 

[Nietzsche]

Feeding a thousand people won't get you in the history books. Kill a tenth of that and see your name in lights. Kill them creatively and get a movie deal!

 

[Covellite]

bad habit, bad education, inadequate parenting styles, etc...

 

[rocala]

Because we are animals, because there is a beast that lies dormant in all of us, there is a fascination with those who act in out on their animal instincts. They are shocking,

Very true Shadow Wolf. When I was eighteen a middle aged neighbour invited me to join him for an evening in a local pub(this is in East London). Some people came in who he knew and the conversation made it obvious that these men were all recently released prisoners and were not to be messed with.
Also in the pub were a group of young men who I knew of from school days. They were the opposite of 'hippyish me'. They were all fashionable former school bullies with attractive girlfriends. It was obvious that there was to be some fun at my expense, the guys were whispering to giggling girlfriends and all were looking at me. I remember putting a cigarette in my mouth and then this lighter appeared in front of me. A mountain of muscle, one of my neighbour's friends, was lighting my cigarette but staring at the bullies. The whole world changed, for one evening I was one of 'them' and it can be an incredible high.

 

[David1967]

Saints only remind us of how broken we are. Villans make us feel better about ourselves.

that's my take on it anyway. *shrugs*

You know, I never thought of it that way, but, you may have a point.

 

[columbus]

Feeding a thousand people won't get you in the history books. Kill a tenth of that and see your name in lights. Kill them creatively and get a movie deal!

And you wonder why I think humans should not go beyond earth orbit for more than a day trip? It's because you are right about this.
Tom

 

[Quintessence]

We? I don't know who this "we" is, but it doesn't seem to include me.

 

[George-ananda]

why are negative people people we look up to?such as Al Capone, or Lucky Luciano or Osoma Bin Laden??they seem to be awesome and kicking butt even in rap Chief Keef, Jay-z and Nas but whose positive and just as cunning?

Who looks up to those people? Osama Bin Laden is looked up to????

 

[Mycroft]

why are negative people people we look up to?such as Al Capone, or Lucky Luciano or Osoma Bin Laden??they seem to be awesome and kicking butt even in rap Chief Keef, Jay-z and Nas but whose positive and just as cunning?

Because society is backwards. And as a result we live in a world where people know more about the Kardashians than they do people like Tesla, Darwin, etc.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Do we look up to them? I'm not sure about that. I would agree with @Nietzsche's point about their fame, but being interested in someone doesn't strike me as the same as looking up to someone.

 

[Corthos]

Osama Bin Laden.... Huh...

I'll have to disagree. =)

 

[Jainarayan]

*** Thread moved to General Discussion ***​

 

[Wirey]

why are negative people people we look up to?such as Al Capone, or Lucky Luciano or Osoma Bin Laden??they seem to be awesome and kicking butt even in rap Chief Keef, Jay-z and Nas but whose positive and just as cunning?

Only morons look up to them. The rest of us are eyeballing the car wreck.

 

[Nous]

Ironically, earlier this week on my PBS station, the American Experience program was about Bonnie and Clyde. I think it is true (as the program suggested in myriad ways) that many Americans somehow admired and exalted this couple to some degree, and continue to do so--or perhaps it is a case of admiring and exalting the popular myths about them. One could write a lengthy dissertation on this phenomenon of the American public’s seeming veneration and affection for this couple--and even then I’m not sure one could explain it entirely. It seems there is an inextricable tangle of reasons for Americans' glorification of this couple. In the end, they and their gang were ruthless murderers and thieves (though sometimes they were reportedly “kind” to someone they had kidnapped and robbed, for instance, giving their victim some pocket change when they dumped the person off in the middle of nowhere). Thousands and thousands of people attended their funerals--or tried to.