It is very easy to fall into the trap of romanticising the bandit,after all,he is the one kicking out against authority,taking back what the 'man' has taken from him and usually dies young at the hands of the 'good guys' thus securing immortality in the criminal world.But is it right to hold these people in such high esteem?The story of Bonnie and Clyde makes it seem that these were star-crossed lovers,only stealing because necessity made them do it,staying loyal to each other because of love.This is the way numerous books and films have portrayed the couple.That Bonnie was interested in the arts and wrote poetry adds even more to the image of doomed love,but Bonnie and Clyde were robbing in an era of Great Depression in the U.S and many people were on the bread line and did not resort to outlaw tactics.I think the fictionalising of such characters and making their acts seem heroic can cause a lot of damage to a society who hold them up as such exciting examples.
http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/clyde/clyde.htm
Here is my comment on-
http://thebalancedcrab.blogspot.com/
I think todays 'Gangsters' are held in high esteem by some younger members of the public.The 'Bad Boy' image is something they can latch onto to make themselves look hard,but these gangsters usually have dodgy backgrounds-look at Tupac Shukur,he was jailed for a serious sexual assault but that doesn't tend to get mentioned when the record company is releasing his twentieth posthumous album!!
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I agree on your point in regards to young people putting 'gangsters' on a pedestal and imitating the 'bad boy' image but I disagree with the point you make about Tupac Shakur. It was newspapers etc which promoted that he sodomised the woman. The court even stated that they had no evidence but in fact had more to prove that he didn't! There was 'no proof of semen, no bruises on the 'victim', no finger prints on the gun and no gang'. The police force tried to blame him for anything they could - don't forget racism was not fully gone. He was a strong figure in the black community and this was strengthened by the fact that his mother Afeni was a co-leader of the Black Panther Movement; even she was given 300 years (life) in prison where she carried her son Tupac before advocating herself in court and being freed. Tupac never claimed to be a gangster, he just fought for what he believed in - fought against racism, sexism etc. So why would he go against everything he and his ancestors have ever believed in? Is it not strange that when they couldn't prove him to have sexually assaulted the woman he was shot 5 times the next day, claiming it was West coast vs. East coast gang rivalry? There was obviously a bigger force that wanted to get rid of him. Maybe it was because he made songs against the government and stuck up for the poor, giving them hope, strength and influence to fight back?
Most bandits refuse to answer questions but Tupac answered every question he was faced with openly, even when he had no prospects left. It is easy to latch on to what the media present as the truth...Perhaps a better example of a gangster would 50 cent, like many other commercial rappers, he glamorises guns, misogyny and drugs and youngsters hold them in high esteem.
Here's a 11 minute link. Its part of a longer program called the 'Illuminati project' but this one focuses on Tupac Shakur in particular.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W49An2ryPZw
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