Comment by 0xbadcafebee

Everyone is flawed. But some people do significant harm to the people around them on a regular basis. That isn't erased just because they did a thing we like. Whitewashing the harms that "respected" people do is part of how the powerful get away with sexual assault or abuse of power. And if being a "flawed human" isn't so bad, then there also isn't anything wrong with pointing out those flaws, is there?

On the other hand, excusing, downplaying, or erasing those harms, should not be acceptable, because who decides who's worthy of having their history erased? Should we erase Stalin's past because he helped us win the war? Should we erase Churchill's starvation of millions of Indians because he helped us win the war? The point is not to obsess over good or bad, or call someone a "good person" or a "bad person". The point is to have a realistic perspective on real people, and not let hero-worship distort history or reality. We need realism and accountability now more than ever.