Toxic Personalities

[Terror Australis]

Have you ever had contact with one of your idols or someone famous who ended up disappointing you with what they are really like as a person?After the kerfuffle with L Neil Smith I  feel that way about him now.I once was on a forum where Adam Curry (the podfather) was a member and it turned out he is nothing but a troll and a d-bag and he managed to destroy an entire forum dedicated to his show!

Who have you looked up to that let you down in some way?

[BobRobertson]

Have you ever had contact with one of your idols or someone famous who ended up disappointing you with what they are really like as a person?

Idols have feet of clay.

[Terror Australis]

Have you ever had contact with one of your idols or someone famous who ended up disappointing you with what they are really like as a person?

Idols have feet of clay.

obviously.

[BobRobertson]

Have you ever had contact with one of your idols or someone famous who ended up disappointing you with what they are really like as a person?

Idols have feet of clay.

obviously.

And it's not their fault. It is the fault of those who invest someone they have not met and do not know with attributes they do not have.

We want the people we want to respect to have attributes we respect.

The "Madonna Whore Complex" is very seductive.

Or how about, "You know light travels faster than sound. That's why people seem smart until you hear them speak."

[Rillion]

Have you ever had contact with one of your idols or someone famous who ended up disappointing you with what they are really like as a person?

Yes, and it's a bummer because I don't have many idols.  I have tentatively decided not to meet any more of them.  I would decide to just not idolize people anymore, but it's not exactly a deliberate thing-- it just happens, after reading/hearing enough from or about them. 

"Toxic personality" is actually a good name for what disappoints me.  Someone who is particularly insightful or knowledgeable turns out to be a jerk.  I can still appreciate his/her thinking, but don't want to spend time with him/her ever again. 

[Level 20 Anklebiter]

That's why I don't bother with famous people unless I'm talking to a scholar in the field (which then I take my time to be specific in my questions for them).

[AntonLee]

a lot of my former heroes were conservative assholes and so was I for making them my idols.

[sillyperson]

Ron Jeremy

[Level 20 Anklebiter]

Ron Jeremy

Gotta dream, huh?

[Cognitive Dissident]

Have you ever had contact with one of your idols or someone famous who ended up disappointing you with what they are really like as a person?After the kerfuffle with L Neil Smith I  feel that way about him now.I once was on a forum where Adam Curry (the podfather) was a member and it turned out he is nothing but a troll and a d-bag and he managed to destroy an entire forum dedicated to his show!

Who have you looked up to that let you down in some way?

I should point out that Smith was very friendly to me in person.  I've been disappointed by both his anger toward people who disagree with him and with his intransigence.

There was someone (a celebrity) I met around college-age, who I was thoroughly disappointed with, but amazingly, I've forgotten who it was.

I've met far more (my sister was a motion picture costumer) who I was impressed with because they were so personable.  Michael McKeon (when he was "Lenny" on Laverne and Shirley) comes to mind.   Steve Beuerlein actually served refreshments out of the back of his car and chatted people up after NFL football games (when he wasn't dressing up for games.)  Mary Ruwart (if she counts) had a booth at FreedomFest and chatted with me for a very long time.  Also at FreedomFest, José Piñera, the Chilean Finance Minister, was very friendly, and we chatted informally.  I know I'm leaving a few people out.

Ronald Reagan's son went to a High School my and my sister's High School used to play football against every year, during the time he was Governor of California.  The Governor was very friendly to students, posed for pictures, chatted, and so on at football games.  In context, even reporters who didn't like his politics (Sam Donaldson, in particular, but not just he) said he was one of the nicest guys they've ever met--to the point they had difficulty asking him the hard questions without feeling mean-spirited (which is always what I thought Donaldson was.)

Oh...the guy who was the DA on "Night Court" was a dick...and an actor named George Pentacost (a nobody, it turns out, on the acting scale) was a real asshole.  That's probably who I was originally thinking of.  

I guess these mostly turned out to be celebrities, not necessarily idols.

I should mention, what is notable about José Piñera.  He moved Chile off their government pension system (aka social security) onto a market-based system, and now works with CATO to convince other countries to do the same.

[BobRobertson]

I realize that the highschool sweetheart, that I could not ever speak to because not knowing was better than the possibility of rejection, exactly fits this "idol" idea.

[ForumTroll]

I realize that the highschool sweetheart, that I could not ever speak to because not knowing was better than the possibility of rejection, exactly fits this "idol" idea.

Rejection is always better than the stress of not knowing.

[BobRobertson]

I realize that the highschool sweetheart, that I could not ever speak to because not knowing was better than the possibility of rejection, exactly fits this "idol" idea.

Rejection is always better than the stress of not knowing.

Which just goes to show we're very different people.

To be entirely too serious about it, I'm not sure I would have survived knowing.

[inane]

Ron Jeremy

A friend of mine met him and said he seemed like a pretty cool guy.

[AntonLee]

Michael Waltrip (the nascar guy) is a complete douche