# What famous figures were you most surprised to discover were huge assholes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109 "2009-04-06T05:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/221 "2009-04-23T19:31:08Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > [great post from page 5, snipped] Another key factor was most Jewish communities of the time were very proactive about making sure their dead were buried very quickly…[snip] I can see it now… EXT. Day. Squalid medieval village, everything and everyone seemingly covered in mud, with a haze of smoke fills the air. Various barnyard animals are loose on the mud road. The villagers are listless, aimless, demoralized, and quite possibly insane… Two are fighting in the mud over a few kernels of spilled grain, while another shovels mud into his mouth; a woman repeatedly, robotically flings a cat against a wall; a man falls down a well; nuns are beating on a corpse; there is an apparent suicide hanging inside one of the shacks… One man, carrying a triangle-like noisemaker, leads a mule-drawn cart, piled with several corpses, down this lane. CART DRIVER: “[Ding!] BRING OUT YOUR DEAD! [Ding!]” MIDDLE-AGED VILLAGE SON: [approaching cart with the body of a wizened old man slung over his shoulder] “Here’s another one for ya…” HIS FATHER: [querellously] “I’m _not dead yet_!” SON: “Shut up, you’ll be dead in a minute.” FATHER: “I tell you, I’m _not dead_.” CART DRIVER: “Look here, 'e says 'e’s not dead!” SON: “When are you comin’ 'round next?” DRIVER: “Thursday.” SON: “Aw, can’t you come 'round sooner?” DRIVER: “Can’t! The Robinsons alone lost nine today…” FATHER: [tunelessly singing] “I feel happy,…” SON: [conspiratorily, to the driver] “Look, isn’t there something you can do..?” FATHER: “…I feel happy…” CART DRIVER: [Furtively scans the street for witnesses, then produces a club, and delivers a killing blow to the old man’s head.] SON: [unloading father’s corpse onto the cart] “Oh, thanks very much, and here’s your ninepence.” ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/222 "2009-05-15T23:36:08Z")
The vast majority of westerners before, say, the mid 20th century were pretty much complete assholes. It’s difficult to put a firm date on when the crossover happened. But the average person out and out detested women (including a surprising number of women themselves), minorities, and foreigners. And they were virulently tribalistic. Still are I guess, but not as much. So citing all that doesn’t really make him an asshole, just a normal guy. ---
**Author:** ![james\_1969](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@james\_1969](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/james_1969)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/223 "2010-06-12T00:47:39Z")
Gandhi (now I am coming back as a worm) was apparently a womanizer who when confronted by his wife and other people close to him got on the high horse and indicated that the normal rules of behavior did not apply to him. Also supposedly a nearly absentee parent (I know I know, off saving the work from itself) but still, your CHILDREN. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/224 "2010-06-12T00:57:17Z")
Pretty much any zombie qualifies as an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/226 "2018-04-10T12:55:39Z")
It’s hard to stay up with current social trends and mores when you don’t engage in regular conversation, coach! ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/227 "2018-04-10T13:00:09Z")
I was surprised when I learned that Edison was _such_ an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/228 "2018-04-10T14:42:27Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Pretty much any zombie qualifies as an asshole. > [@Mr.Slant](#): > > It’s hard to stay up with current social trends and mores when you don’t engage in regular conversation, coach! Double-zombied! Wow! Somewhere a tiny George Romero just got his wings! 😃 On assholes, for some reason Henry Ford always surprised me. Yeah, I guess there had to be an inborn dick factor to creating the modern assembly line and some of the other changes he brought to the world but he went above and beyond the call of duty. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/229 "2018-04-10T14:58:22Z")
Due to the age of this thread, Bill Cosby hasn’t been mentioned. So, Bill Cosby. Even before the Cosby show, I loved Fat Albert and listening to my folks’ records of his comedy routines. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Seemed. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/230 "2018-04-10T16:51:29Z")
I just read _Scorpions_ by Noah Feldman, about four of FDR’s appointments to the Supreme Court. Justice William O. Douglas gets top marks in my book as an environmentalist and a protector of individual liberties, but I hadn’t known before what a jerk he was to his law clerks - often berating and insulting them. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/231 "2018-04-10T17:42:45Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Double-zombied! Wow! Somewhere a tiny George Romero just got his wings! 😃 This is brilliant !! Every time a zombie thread is resurrected, a tiny George Romero gets their wings… or should it be teeth ? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/232 "2018-04-10T18:10:43Z")
Hey, I’m half way to making this thread myself! I just have to get famous… ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/233 "2018-04-11T09:06:39Z")
Googling for assholes, it turns out that nearly every person characterized as an asshole met only a single criterion: Their opinions which would be called racist if seen through a 21st century prism. Racist, or anti-semitic, or sexist, or elitist, or something of that sort. Weren’t there any other bad things that people ever did, what would have some point value in their cume?. I understand that writing online usually aims for getting heads to nod, and nothing works better nowadays than playing the racist card. (Hmm – no heads nodding.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/234 "2018-04-11T14:23:51Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > SNIP Weren’t there any other bad things that people ever did, what would have some point value in their cume?. SNIP One could argue that if you’re an asshole in an era when it’s socially acceptable, you’re going to BE racist, on top of the rest of your asshole behaviors. If you’re not nice to strangers or employees, why would you be nice to ethnic minorities or oppressed majorities when you don’t have top be? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/235 "2018-04-11T14:34:17Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Googling for assholes, it turns out that nearly every person characterized as an asshole met only a single criterion: Their opinions which would be called racist if seen through a 21st century prism. Racist, or anti-semitic, or sexist, or elitist, or something of that sort. Weren’t there any other bad things that people ever did, what would have some point value in their cume?. > > I understand that writing online usually aims for getting heads to nod, and nothing works better nowadays than playing the racist card. (Hmm – no heads nodding.) Have you read the thread you’re posting in? Famous people are being cited for all kinds of bad behavior besides racism. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/236 "2018-04-11T15:49:36Z")
Chuck Norris. The whole “thousand years of darkness” assault on Obama caught me off guard. That and his subsequent speech absolutely destroyed any respect that I had for the man. I have lifetime martial artist friends who say “Chuck is Chuck” and respect his martial arts accomplishments while trying hard to avoid looking at his hateful side. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/237 "2018-04-11T16:00:01Z")
Is it really fair to label racist people from 100+ years ago as “assholes”, when by today’s standards, pretty much everybody was racist back then? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/238 "2018-04-11T17:21:13Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > This is brilliant !! Every time a zombie thread is resurrected, a tiny George Romero gets their wings… or should it be teeth ? Or ------ you had to know this was coming ------- BRAIIINSSSS!!! 😉 > [@Ashtura](#): > > Is it really fair to label racist people from 100+ years ago as “assholes”, when by today’s standards, pretty much everybody was racist back then? I debated this for myself when picking Henry Ford. If that had been his only issue I would say no; by that standard even Ben Franklin qualifies as he was a slave owner in addition to being an abolitionist. Sometimes good people do things we would consider bad. But the line for me becomes was it part of a pattern of behavior I find personally repugnant? Yeah — Henry makes the cut for me when thought of in that way. The self-importance he felt puts him over the mark more than his racism and support of others with like philosophies. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/239 "2018-04-11T18:43:40Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Chuck Norris. > > The whole “thousand years of darkness” assault on Obama caught me off guard. Well, Trump is President and that’s the end of the world for many libs, so maybe he got it right, from a certain point of view. I doubt “a thousand years” was literal, but time will tell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109.md?page=11)