We need heroes to look up to, admire, and to learn from. Fortunately, history is full of amazing people who accomplished amazing things...sometimes. What stinks, however, is occasionally these people we put our faith in don't always end up paying it back to us. With the fuzzy lens of history being skewed just a bit, they aren't always decent human beings.
Reddit user, u/DeadAshes, wanted the truth revealed when they asked:
Who in history is looked up to as a hero but is actually a terrible person?
Not The Best Actor Or President
Ronald Reagan.
People love his story, but he set California back for decades from his time as governor. Also, the war on drugs didn't solve anything but created a new set of issues. Reaganomics too, smh.
Iran contra, ignoring AIDS, refusing to leave office when he became mentally unable to do the job, and his treatment of union strikers just to add a couple more.
More Than Just A Funny Moustache
Pablo Picasso.
I know he's not exactly considered a hero, but most people don't realise how much of a sociopath and ahole he was, especially towards his wives/partners and children.
IIRC he gave little to no money to his kids. They were in dire straits and came to his mansion to ask for help. Pablo let them in, had them watch him eat dinner without giving them any, and once the meal was over said "no".
Also rumored that he never carried a wallet nor money with him, only a pad of paper and a pencil. When paying for things in town instead of money he would scribble an autograph and hand it to them.
He Shouldn't, Wouldn't, With Another
GiphyDr suess. He straight up cheated on his wife for a few years while she had cancer and then when the wife finally killed herself he married the mistress almost straight away
Not The Best Bite
Steve Jobs. Terrible father to his kids, and clearly favored his son over his three daughters. Had to be separated from the rest of the workforce at Atari because he reportedly didn't shower.
And parked on disabled spots and wherever he wanted because he changed his mercedes every 6 months and this way he could not use a license plate, hence not being given a ticket.
And he was against giving to charity.
Fired people without reason. Just because they had a different opinion than him.
Only acknowledged the first daughter after she graduated.
Hid part of the bonus that Atari had given because of the game that Wozniak developed (Breakout) (only mentioned to Woz 1y after)
and more...
Sting Like A Bee
Although a great boxer and a fine showman, I have a lot of problems with things [Muhammad] Ali said when he was younger. That interracial couples should be murdered, that sort of thing:
"A black man should be killed if he's messing with a white woman," he said. And it was the same for a white man making a pass at a black woman. "We'll kill anybody who tries to mess around with our women." But suppose the black woman wanted to be with the white man, the interviewer asked. "Then she dies," Ali answered. "Kill her too."
No, I'm not kidding - Google the exact quotes, they're brutal.
To Be Fair, He Didn't START In A Good Space
He isn't looked up as a hero but a lot of people overlook Geghis Khan's atrocity over the fact that he removed a lot of pollution and has 16 million descendants.
The man caused the death of around 5% of the worlds population and practiced biological warfare by throwing dead animals over city walls
He is responsible for the destruction of a lot of Chinese libraries and research areas. Either though burning or by throwing them in the river.
He destroyed a lot of irrigation systems in the middle east that set back agriculture for a few centuries.
Let It Be
Oh, John Lennon for sure. Just a terrible father to his first son, barely kept in touch with him while he was with Yoko. There was also the time he got in a fist fight with a guy for insinuating that his trip with his gay manager was a romantic one.
A Tricky Line To Walk
Thomas Edison He just stole a bunch of inventions then patented them to make money
Honestly, I think Thomas Edison gets a bad rep. Yeah, he was a ruthless businessman and a capitalist, but from most accounts he was also a pretty decent dude. He was a hard worker and he didn't expect his employees to do anything he wouldn't. He had his morals; like when he refused to help invent the electric chair because he was against the death penalty, or how he made sure injured workers were provided for out of his own pocket. He was by no means perfect, but I wouldn't call him a monster.
Edit: here; for everyone talking about the elephant myth.
I agree. Monster? No. A--hole, and cutthroat businessman with a reasonably loose relationship on ethics? Absolutely.
Dude Still Has A Holiday
Christopher Columbus.
Oh, I remember those 8th grade Social Studies (or basically history) classes where we talked all about his abuse of the indigenous peoples of the early North America, and how he was a major slaver.
BTW sorry to all people who thought he was a hero, in ways he is, but he still is messed up
Heroes With A Dark Past
Emilio Aguinaldo, " first" President of the Philippines. I [put] quotations on first because one of the issues about him is he cheated on the first presidential elections.
He also ordered the assassinations of Gen. Luna and the Bonifacio brothers to name a few. He also sold the Philippines to the Americans for a few hundred bucks.
Considered one of the heroes of Philippines but lately his wrongdoings are being brought to life.
Not The Wisest Of Chouces
Socrates.
He touched a lot of people emotionally, and what he did in philosophy is pretty incredible.
He also touched a lot of young boys. That's a lot less incredible.
Sins Of The Founding Fathers
Thomas Jefferson and almost all the American Founding Fathers. I single out Jefferson because I think he retains the best reputation these days, including a reputation for tolerance (I hear about how he argued for religious toleration, read the Koran and respected Islam etc.) But he owned over 600 slaves. Washington owned slaves too and so did many of the other Founding Fathers. Ben Franklin owned slaves but became an abolitionist later in life and freed them. John Adams did not own slaves. Thomas Paine did not own slaves and was known to be a strong abolitionist very early on in American history. I will give these three a pass, but I do not think the rest of these men deserve a pass because of the times in which they lived.
Many people at the time of the American revolution pointed out the hypocrisy of demanding freedom while purchasing another man's life. The founders would not have been unaware of that concern. Furthermore, they were great thinkers, scholars, and philosophers who didn't hesitate to entertain radical new ideas about government and human society. They were completely capable of understanding that slavery was wrong. Washington willed that his slaves be freed after he and his wife both died, suggesting that he understood it was right for the slaves to be freed. Yet he was unwilling to do it in his own lifetime. George died first and Martha Washington freed his slaves before her death.
Wilson For The Loss
Woodrow [Wilson] was a hardcore racist and iirc he increased the amount of power the President had in politics.
I wouldn't call him a "monster," but he's certainly not to be praised as an all-around good guy. He also thought he could get away with going to the Versailles Treaty and get what he wanted for America without Congress' consensus on what America wanted.
Forced To Love
Soeharto, his only good was like the fact he prevented Indonesian Civil War and a thriving economy (that only last like a few years)
But he is by far the worst human being, done a sh-t ton of genocides, put two tribes into war, taking over personal lands as HIS OWN land, being the most corrupt predident ever existed, being CIA's b-tch for the whole Cold War, having his entire family tree in the politic thus forming a political mafia that lasted until today, and many more. (probably including myself listed in their hitlist)
The only reason some people loved because they were simply told to.
Part Of A Balanc-Excuse Me?
Not a hero per se, but Kellogg, the inventor of Corn Flakes.
He basically invented them so you'd stop masturbating.
Definitely Not The Greatest Showman
GiphyP. T. Barnum didn't start the greatest show on earth till he was about 60. Before that he ran what was more or less a freak show, where he held a slave who he touted to be the 160 year old nanny of George Washington, and when she died charged 50 cents to let 1500 people watch her autopsy. He also would go to various other cultures around the world and take native people home to his show with promises to return them and he never would. He took an African cook and displayed him as half -orangutan under the name "WHAT IS IT?", he displayed an El Salvadoran man as "the Aztec wonder", and basically kidnapped the original Siamese twins (the ones from Siam) and never let them go home. The man ran a racist scam of a freak show for a lot of his career.
Why Take That Test?
A significant amount of people.
Ghandi used to sleep in bed with girls to "test" his ability to resist temptations and was a known racist.
Gandhi
Throughout much of his adult life, Gandhi kept plenty of young female companions close to him and allowed these relationships to take several different dark turns.
For starters, he often kept pairs of girls as his daily companions to address his needs right down to basic movement, with Gandhi referring to them, according to Adams, as his "walking sticks."
Who should we know the truth about from history? Tell us all about them!
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.