# 'Great' people who were total A-holes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867 "2011-10-07T04:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/41 "2011-10-07T21:02:08Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > **Walt Disney** was a huge anti-semite. As I noted in a CS thread, Disney was probably as much of an anti-Semite as the average non-Jewish producer in Hollywood in his time, and maybe now as well. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/42 "2011-10-07T21:25:26Z")
Being a “womanizer” (ridiculous word) might seem wrong by today’s standards, but I’m under the impression that it was pretty much the norm half a century ago, and that it was pretty well understood and accepted by society that married men would not be monogamous. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/43 "2011-10-07T22:09:41Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I happen to think that Carter is the greatest ex-president this nation has ever had and has done more with his ex-presidency, than most presidents (including himself) are able to do while in office. I agree. I’d never heard about his temper, but have read that he could be sanctimonious and kind of mean. . ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/44 "2011-10-07T22:23:20Z")
Craig Ventner and James Watson are two who are definitely at the top of any Famous Asshole Scientist list. ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/45 "2011-10-07T22:27:56Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Being a “womanizer” (ridiculous word) might seem wrong by today’s standards, but I’m under the impression that it was pretty much the norm half a century ago, and that it was pretty well understood and accepted by society that **married men would not be monogamous**. Bolding mine. And they (meaning married men) are now? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Gui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@El\_Gui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Gui)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/46 "2011-10-07T22:35:33Z")
Didn’t someone on this board have an upleasant encounter once with Jacques Cousteau? ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/47 "2011-10-07T22:35:53Z")
Thing is, everyone is an asshole to someone from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/48 "2011-10-07T22:42:12Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > His [brilliants](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_(diamond_cut)). Apparently he had quite the diamond collection. I know it’s politically incorrect these days, but I’m severely homophonic. I kant help it really, its howe I was razed. > [@lazybratsche](#): > > Craig Ventner and James Watson are two who are definitely at the top of any Famous Asshole Scientist list. Watson’s treatment of Rosalind Franklin in his memoirs will make your eyebrows rise. He refers to this woman and other female scientists who were vital to the discovery of DNA as “the girls”- and not in a “one of the guys” kind of way- frequently. Franklin had to deal with major sexism throughout her career. Had a reputation as an unpleasant person herself, though this might be partly why. > [@Knorf](#): > > Thing is, everyone is an asshole to someone from time to time. Yeah, but for some people it’s closer to the norm than the exception. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/49 "2011-10-07T23:00:30Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I know it’s politically incorrect these days, but I’m severely homophonic. I kant help it really, its howe I was razed. I thought the OK phrase was “Orientation towards phonemes of the same sound” or OTPOTSS. And you’re what we Brits would call a “diamond geezer” anyway, Samps. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/50 "2011-10-07T23:09:17Z")
Met a guy who said he once dated Chevy Chase’s daughter. He said Chevy was a complete asshole. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/51 "2011-10-07T23:55:51Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Lyndon Johnson. > > Asshole Extreme. To be sure. I’ve just finished reading _Means of Ascent_ by Robert A. Caro which tells the story of how LBJ stole his election to the Senate from TX governor Coke Stevenson. Vote buying, voter intimidation, fraud in ballot counting, you name it. Also, he was an absolute dick to his wife. Screaming tantrums at subordinates. How that asshat ever became president is beyond me… SS ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/52 "2011-10-08T00:02:40Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > How that asshat ever became president is beyond me… > SS It was his good looks. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/53 "2011-10-08T00:04:33Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I think is a short list comprising > > Charles Darwin… > > yep, that’s about it. Actually, from most accounts, Abraham Lincoln was a real sweetheart for the most part. And the few times he did snap at people, he often made pains to apologize for it. He and Charles Darwin were born on the same day. Well, there’s one point for astrology. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/54 "2011-10-08T00:07:40Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Winston Churchill. He was great for getting England through WWII, but he was a complete warmonger and drunken asshole who was voted out of office as soon as possible. After the war he wanted to go to go war with _Russia_, for fucks’ sake! And everyone knows what happens when starting a land war in Asia. And I lost all repect for him when he said he couldn’t understand why everyone was so hesitant to use poison gas on unruly tribes in the Middle East. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/55 "2011-10-08T00:12:49Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Steve Martin, for all his various talents, is really an asshole. And don’t get me started on Woody Allen. So I’ve heard about Steve Martin. And on the ABC National News tonight they were kissing his ass because he plays the banjo so pretty, he won some big deal Bluegrass award. Now, okay, he picks a mean banjo, but does Diane Sawyer really need to break her arm patting him on the back for it? And yeah, Woody’s an asshole too. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/56 "2011-10-08T00:30:08Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Craig Ventner and James Watson are two who are definitely at the top of any Famous Asshole Scientist list. IMO it’s hard to push [William Schockley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shockley) off the top of that list. He elbowed his way into a part of the invention of the transistor. Sure, he did the work . But after it was clear Bardeen and Brattain were on the right track he, their boss, did not want to miss out on the credit. The semiconductor company he later founded could have been the only such company in the US, but he was such an asshole he drove away everyone who worked for him to found their own companies. These are _scientists_ who will put up with world-class assholiness to be near brilliance (for example, Paul Erdos - well in his case it was borderline luncacy). Schockley is best known to the public for his racism. Schockley was also a jerk once to my advisor. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/57 "2011-10-08T00:39:53Z")
According to [this](http://xkcd.com/767/), Mr. Rogers was kinda a dick to his wife… ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/58 "2011-10-08T00:54:17Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > It is true, Ford wrote a series of articles published in the Detroit Free Press, lambasting “the Jews”. > But I maintain it was largely based upon ignorance. > The fact is, Ford did make a public apology (also printed in the papers), so at least he did acknowledge the error of his ways. Actually, he owned a newspaper, the [Dearborn Independent,](http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/ford1.html) and the reprinted said articles as the International Jew. Hella lot to apologize for.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/59 "2011-10-08T01:17:02Z")
I tend to think that, in these days “tear 'em down” media, that the shortcomings of individuals get magnified by those that want to sell books and get noticed. I tend to think it skews history in that it portrays these people according to today’s standards not the mindset of what was acceptable at the time. The problem is that in doing that it tends to minimize the real effect that the person had on world. Also, people are not the same at age 20 or 40 or 70. Most people’s (not everyone’s) moral compass becomes more refined as they age. People that had the intelligence, creativity and vision to advance the world have to get their due. If the pluses far outweigh the minuses that doesn’t give us the right to label them “assholes”. The world is a different place because of Steve Jobs (like it or not), Bill Clinton was a great president despite his personal flaws. Jimmy Carter? You can’t become president without a kicking some ass and throwing some tantrums (that characteristic got John McCain close). Nixon probably epitomized it. Lance Armstrong rose above the competition. It’s easy to say he was cheating but that being the case, he was rising above a competition that was cheating every bit as much as he was. Now there is a book out that “exposes” Walter Payton. All the media of the coverage of the book has been on his negative characteristics. I try not to get caught in the gossip mentality that is so prevalent these days. It warps history and what we should learn from it. That doesn’t mean that bad behavior of geniuses needs to be hidden but we need to be sure that the scales are accurately tared. ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867/60 "2011-10-08T02:57:09Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Robert F. Kennedy- …, and of course a blatant womanizer even as he promoted himself as the ultimate family man due to his eternally pregnant wife. Hmm. That’s a new one on me. I’d heard all the other statements you posted about RFK, but not the womanizing part. It’s not shocking or anything, he was a Kennedy, I’d just never heard RFK=womanizer in the same way it is now common knowledge about his father and JFK [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-people-who-were-total-a-holes/598867.md?page=4)