# Those moments when you find out your heroes are human after all **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627 "2022-04-10T19:28:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/41 "2022-04-17T15:43:49Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Yeah, I guess he wasn’t exactly the way Jimmy Stewart portrayed him in _ **The Spirit of St Louis** _ . As long as Jimmy Stewart wasn’t racist, or a polygamist or beat his dog, I’m OK. (He was a good guy, wasn’t he? No don’t tell me if he wasn’t…) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/42 "2022-04-17T15:51:49Z")
When I learned that the man behind this exquisitely beautiful song: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6H6VTBVQsh8/maxresdefault.jpg "Biff Rose - Molly") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H6VTBVQsh8) is a virulent racist and antisemite. > **[Heading to Biff Rose Tonight? You Might Want to Check His Website. - INDY Week](https://indyweek.com/music/archives-music/heading-biff-rose-tonight-might-want-check-website/)** > > Update, 5:42 p.m.: This show has been canceled. Tonight at Neptunes Parlour, the musician and comedian Biff Rose performs at 8 p.m. In the sixties, Rose worked as a comedy writer with George Carlin and released a few influential, popular records. In... ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/43 "2022-04-17T19:10:15Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > > [@peedin](#): > > > > FDR was my hero for many years. Only recently did I learn he invited the 1936 Olympic team to the White House but did not invite Jesse Owens because of his color > > So … FDR was ashamed to be _white_ ? > > I _did not_ know that. Maybe FDR was pissed that Owens could outrun him. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/44 "2022-04-17T20:06:38Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > As long as Jimmy Stewart wasn’t racist, or a polygamist or beat his dog, I’m OK. > > (He was a good guy, wasn’t he? No don’t tell me if he wasn’t…) Read this, you won’t be disappointed. > **[James Stewart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart)** > > James Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military officer. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality which he portrayed both on and off the screen, he epitomized the "American ideal" in the mid-twentieth century. In 1999, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked him third on its list of the greatest American male actors. He received numerous honor... ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/45 "2022-04-17T21:49:32Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Maybe FDR was pissed that Owens could outrun him. Too soon, man. Too soon. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/46 "2022-04-17T22:43:14Z")
IMO, the worst thing FDR did was executive order 9066, which authorized the internment of people of Japanese descent in the western states. There are many things I like about FDR, but that really puts a limit on my admiration. I knew about this long before I learned of his treatment of Jesse Owens. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/47 "2022-04-18T11:44:10Z")
I admire FDR, too, but another blot was his refusal to allow that boatload of Jewish refugees to settle in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/48 "2022-04-18T12:59:05Z")
Piling on FDR some more, possibly because he’d been sexually harassed or simply found it distasteful back in boys school, as assistant secretary of the navy he ran an anti-gay sting operation. Later as president he specifically designed living quarters for navy women to lack privacy so as to inhibit lesbianism. And although he grabbed ideas for plenty of recovery programs from Hoover along with the credit, he took Hoover’s name off of Boulder Dam until after FDR was dead. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/49 "2022-04-19T11:27:05Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > as assistant secretary of the navy he ran an anti-gay sting operation. Rats — sad to hear this, but good to know. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627/50 "2022-04-19T13:50:01Z")
Beethoven versus Beethoven: Ludwig lost a bit of luster in my eyes when I learned of his contentious custody war with his brother Carl’s widow, Johanna, over his nephew, Karl. The dying Carl wrote, _“God permit my wife and brother to be harmonious for the sake of my child’s welfare.”_ But, Ludwig fought long and hard for sole custody. He produced no major works during the protracted legal battle. Beethoven’s intentions may have been good (Johanna had a checkered past for one thing), but denying a mother the right to see her child is petty and deplorable. He’s still my favorite composer, however. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-you-find-out-your-heroes-are-human-after-all/962627.md?page=2)