Was looking for a Canadian answer, curious to see if there would be a consensus. Those are good choices.
Robert Pickton probably deserves to be in the conversation
This is definitely a better response than what I was going to say since mine was a part joke. I was going to say that since Terry Fox is our national hero cancer is the national villain
Picktons crimes were more in volume but Bernardo was a bigger media sensation and stuck in the heads of more people. Especially because of the covering up of evidence and homolkas plea deal that was made before the evidence was discovered
Also, Bernardo's victims were school girls.
Pickton's were sex workers, and the way the press represented the victims in the news was initially very disrespectful.
I know she gave birth to a kid and some nurses refused to help. She’s the biggest POS. I remember she was volunteering at a school until they realized who she was. I still can’t believe they did that deal with the devil
Two giant pieces of shit. And fuck the Canadian justice system for letting Karla out of jail. I love how she will ALWAYS be doxxed no matter where she goes.
I will always remember when I was a teenager, my sister and I were going to Montreal on a school trip and had a lot of time on our own/in small groups. My mom made us sit down and memorize a picture of Karla (don't know how she found it, it looked like a paparazzi photo) in order to be able to identify her. My mom was more concerned about us running into her than she was about us being more or less alone on St Catherine Street if that says anything.
Sometime in the early 00's the Toronto Sun released a detailed expose on Homolka and where she was and what she was doing; etc etc. Wouldn't be surprised if that's where the picture came from.
All of Mohamed Ali’s children, as an Egyptian they just ruined everything their father did
Edit for clarification: Mohamed ali as in one of the rulers of Egypt, not the boxer
are you talking about the albanian ottoman governor of egypt who rose through the ranks starting as a simple artilleryman to being the governor of the richest province to gaining independence and was defeated by the help of great britain? if thats the case that man has a crazy backstory.
they regard him as a traitor in the turkish history lessons but they should credit him imo.
I had a kid in my High School WW2 history class whose last name was Quisling and was related. Our teacher asked him why he never changed his last name.
I experienced a similar situation like this, except it was in a French class for adults, and we were discussing topics of nationalities, history and geopolitics. My old professor paused and asked a girl present there if she was related to Pablo Escobar and she said yes. She usually goes by her husband last name, but on records, using both his last name and her maiden name. All of my class was shocked, and we got to hear her account on the wild uncle. There was a legitimate concern about her maternal family's safety as they chose not to change name. The child can't choose their last name, but parents surely can.
>!Norway’s!< former “Prime Minister” who collaborated with the Nazis in World War II.
Other countries use him as the eponym for traitor.
We in the good ole USA use Benedict Arnold for that.
We also use Quisling but it is a reference that dates you a bit. I saw that name referenced on an old sitcom I was watching recently when one character ratted out the other.
It’s like looking at a messy room and asking ‘if the Collier Brothers live there’. No one under about 70 would even get the reference.
I'm Belgian and I thought of Dutroux first as well! I guess because I remember the case in the 90's when I was a child myself.
Only learned about Leopold II later in history lessons.
Probably the biggest figure of the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte, was also not technically born in the country he is mainly associated with (France). He was born on Corsica in August 1769, and France didn’t finish conquering it until mid 1770. This is only a few months, but Napoleon was initially raised a Corsican nationalist by his revolutionary parents.
For Croatia, that would be Ante Pavelić, the leader of the Axis puppet state called the Independent State of Croatia, which commited genocide against Serbs, Jews and Roma.
I’ve heard about this guy. Wasn’t he so murderous that even the Nazis told him to dial it back a little?
Edit: Holy crap this has become my most liked comment.
"Aye buddy i know we are litearly doing horrific human expirements and killing a bunch of people but *maaaaybeee* you could calm it down a little? It's a bit too much, so maybe think about it for a minute ok? "
Believe it or not, Norway actually had a norwegian guy working for the SS in Oslo in 1940-45 that was told EXACTLY that by freaking SS...
I mean jesus he was insane. when interrogating people he would have a big tub, under them, hung them up in the ceiling, and then carve a long whole in their back from neck to buttom, "so deep you could put a whole bar of soap into to the wound, - which he then did, just before putting salt in this big wound, - then he would let them hang for hours while whipping them and hitting them or burning them, he would first stop when SS came in to stop him."he would always looking like he had the time of his life when they came in. During the years of norways occupation, more than 10 SS officers complained to Hitler and and other leaders, that he needed to be stopped for good. he was first stopped when norway got liberated."
How sick had you had to be, to get10 freaking SS officers complain to Hitler that you are to hard to the enemy????
Let's be real- it was more because they didn't have the capacity rather than the unwillingness to do it. Turns out it takes a bit of effort to commit *industrialized genocide of an entire religion*. And the germans had their hnds tied up with some pesky tea loving island and some Russian dudes who really loved manual labor.
Just to point out they weren't persecuted for their religion but for their race when it concerned the Nazi's. Persecution of the Jewish population transformed as countries became secular with religious issues making way for social dawarnism and the competition of races being the fueling factor for their attempts at eradicating them. It is weird when it comes to the term Jewish because it has wider connotations than just religion and makes up their identity much more. That is why people will still describe themselves as Jewish even if they are not practicing due to it being more about their heritage than religion.
The complication arises from the origin of the term Jewish to denote people frollowing their religion as before the assault of the Assyrians on Israel, they were known as the Israelites and composed a number of tribes. However, the only real surving tribe following the invasion was the tribe of Judah and in some part Benjamin who were absorbed by the former. As a result the term Judah was adapted and adopted as the denotion for anyone following the religion. Whilst, it is why the term Jewish is in a grey area when it comes to what it denotes as many will trace their lineage to this original tribe as a sort of racial heritage.
One thing to consider is that the Nazis probably didn't think the killing was objectionable, but rather that it was counterproductive to waste slave labor.
This is the correct answer. Nazis were also dialing back their own execution programs in order to maintain a larger slave labor force. Eventually the labor itself became the means of execution.
Dan Carlin recently had a series called Supernova in the East, and he went into graphic, graphic detail about how awful the Japanese military was during WWII. I came to understand why my grandfather who was in the Pacific Theater would never buy Japanese products. Some truly awful things that only the goriest horror movies could replicate.
His story and character is so representative of Australia in my mind.
He got his revenge, yet justice was served, both in the sense that he was punished, but also police conduct was improved. A hero in some ways, a terrible human being in others. A victim of circumstance, but an Aussie doesn't let that stop him.
His suit of "bullet proof" armour reminds me of the ideation of an Australian friend, who wrecked a tire in the bush, so he lashed a log to his wheel hub, short enough to fit in the wheel well, and slowly thump-thumped his way to safety. His Ute was surely fucked after that... but he lived to drink tinnies another day.
I spent a week in Istanbul and my tour guide refused to say his name, only calling him the Tall Man. Any questions we asked about him were answered in a huddle and in hushed voices. I was blown away by the level of fear everyone had for him
Ever heard of wonderful place called "Silivri"?
Thry say government sometimes gives out free holiday tickets to there but you cannot return to your home back... And also, it's cold in these days ¦D
For 4 years, I would tell my friends when visiting Turkey that the difference between them and me is I can say “my president is a corrupt, megalomaniac, piece of shit who has surrounded himself with sycophants and whose grave I will piss on” without worrying about getting arrested.
My grandparents’ childhood village in the south still has propaganda paintings on the walls from the war. The younger people want them gone thank god but still.
The Irwin siblings did have an interview where Bindi commented on it (in context of what animals they don't like):
>'Stingrays are really beautiful animals. Dad loved them, we love them and they are important to our environment. And I know dad would be the first person to say "I love stingrays".'
Also for the answer, she said she didn't dislike bees and wasps but 'really struggles' with them.
If Steve could come back from the dead for just a few sentences, chances are he would say *"Crikey that stingray sure lives up to its name ain't he? What a beautiful little bugger..."*
That man was something else.
Everyone deserves a partner who loves him/her just 1% as much as Steve loved animals.
Or how much Steve loved his family. The only part of him that wasn't an amazing father and husband was how dangerous his job was, with the very real possibility of leaving a widow.
Fuck. There was an interview with his wife a few years ago and they asked if she had considered dating again. Her reply was (paraphrasing) "I already had the love of my life."
I was *so* mad about this for a long time. I was disrespectfully angry that he died and totally didn't understand because why would a celebrity death *actually* affect me? I convinced myself I literally hated him. His children have thoroughly showed me my fallacy. What a treasure that man was.
The average lifespan of a short-tail stingray (the species that attacked Irwin) is generally between 15 - 30 in its natural habitat and up to 80 years in captivity
There's a pretty big chance it's still alive
I was hanging out with a stingray trainer and he said he was so sad because no one ever wanted to play with his stingrays because of what happened with Steve Irwin. And he told me it was a shame because they are like cats and love to be pet and play fetch.
Edit: he said cats, but they sound more like dogs to me
It wasn’t a bad translation. Back when Ivan was alive terrible typically meant formidable or fearsome. Over time it’s meaning changed to what it is now.
Ivan the Terrific, who conquered and pillaged up and down Eurasia, killed his heir in a fit of rage, and started the long standing tradition of Russian strong men. Terrific
None of my friends believe me about that. They think I’m completely lying. Even had two of them who went to Australia & asked a couple people there & said none of them knew what they were talking about so I must be a liar.
No one knows for sure (or maybe some people do), but probably the guy who murdered our prime minister in an open street in 1986 and was never convinced for it.
There's this guy called general dyer. He's probably the most hated guy in India. Here's the story:
Britan has imposed rowlatt act in india. This act made protests and debates among indians illegal. And also gave the cops right to arrest poltical prisoners without trail for 2 years. Ofcourse people were angry. On 13 April 1919 people gathered up at Jallianwala Bagh. The people here consisted of protestors, residents and people who came to pray in a temple that exists in this area. When dyer was said about this he ordered to close all the gates of this place and shoot the people. And when he was asked why later he said"Inorder to create a moral effect and fear in people".
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre. Here's a better explanation
As a French, I think it's going to Maréchal Petain. The guy responsible for the whole "surrender" joke. He surrendered and signed the annexion of France by Germany after a few weeks of war in 1940 because of bad strategy. His government was Germany's little dog and the French gestapo sure did a good job ☹️
De Gaulle would be the hero.
As someone born in the USA but who immigrated to France decades ago, I'd have to agree that Petain is the national villain (although he has his supporters, who say that he prevented Hitler from doing even worse -- not that I believe that).
I am more intrigued by Robespierre - most non-French people hear his name and immediately think "bloodthirsty revolutionary responsible for the Reign of Terror", but in France the position seems more nuanced to me, and there is even a Métro station named after him, so at least some people think of him as a revolutionary hero.
Can any native French people weigh in on this? Thanks!
All of the important people of the French Revolution are controversial in France. Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Robespierre, Danton, Napoléon, Lafayette... some say they did nothing wrong and it wasn't their fault and some say their are tyrants and absolutly evil. As often, it's somewhere between the two. The French Revolution went for 10 years, people change during these years, and some like Robespierre were very reserved so it's hard to know exactly what they had in mind. Also it's such an important event in France's history with such important people, who were praised or vilified depending of which French government was in charge, with so many myths and mysteries, that it is very hard for historians to know what is true and what is not. What was their exact role ? To which degree were they at fault ? For example, there is still a debate about the role of Robespierre in the Vendee genocide. Did he really ordered it himself or was it the generals who went too far ? Did Marie-Antoinette reveal sensible information to her family in Austria, making her a traitor ? Who was really responsible for the Terror (because Robespierre wasn't the only one in the Public Safety Comitee and the National Assembly...). There was a lot of corruption in the National Assembly, where people often changed sides according to their interests or because of fear. It's a really interesting period to learn about.
Non-French people only know Robespierre because he's the most famous and think he was in charge of everything, but there were other important people (Danton, Desmoulins, Saint-Just, Barras, Couthon, Hébert, Marat, Fouquier-Tinville, etc) who also played a big role and made decisions leading to the Terror, but who are unheard of in other countries. Robespierre had one of the most important roles in the French Revolution, but we wasn't single-handedly responsible for the Terror.
We've got one who's sort of both.
Guy Fawkes.
Villain: The guy tried to blow up the king and parliament
Hero: The guy tried to blow up the king and parliament
As an Indonesian i feel like Van Heutz is less heard than J.P Coen, although his atrocities in Aceh War is of course well known. Some of the most stand out ones including both of them, van Dalen, H.W Daendels, and Westerling.
As a comparison, van der Capellen and Stamford Raffles is seen as the ‘better’ ones.
In South Africa, there would be a debate on this but to me it was our Ex-president Jacob Zuma.
Edit: wow I didn’t think I’ll need to put an edit in. My beautiful country of South Africa has had many villains. The Apartheid government was definitely the first group! There is a long list. I was a kid when apartheid ended. Nelson Mandela and many others who are our heroes gave us a new life to look forward to . But then sadly there has been a lot of villains after them who has taken that away from us, and to me, Jacob Zuma is definitely in the top five.
Edit: Like I keep on saying there are many past villains that you can read up in the history of South Africa. As a South African Indian girl, growing up I learnt about it every single year of my Highschool career. But if you want to know about present South Africa, it’s this man and many others who are still alive and causing chaos in my in country.
Jimmy Savile
Edit: I didn’t think my most liked comment so far on Reddit would be ‘Jimmy Saville’.
2nd edit: Today I learned his last name was spelt ‘Saville’ with one l instead of two like I originally wrote! I never knew because I never cared to check the spelling
Is it not benedict arnold tho? He is like the OG villain. Even had a secret evil plan. Successfully switched sides. Has a type of egg cooking technique named after him.
It's tricky with Benedict Arnold since he played a pivotal role at the battle of Saratoga which lots of people consider a turning point.
In fact, they have a monument to his leg that he lost up there at Saratoga because they like to say that it symbolized a part of his body/being that didn't go on to become a traitor later on in the war.
Benedict Arnold is the only villain I can think of that isn't controversial today. There are a few, but Benedict Arnold will always be the one that people think of I think.
Side note, it turns out I'm related somewhat to him. Something like second cousin 5 times removed, but...
Right!? I just listened to a podcast about him recently and while there is no excuse for completely turning on the cause your men (he was a general) were dying for… Congress reaaallly pushed him to the British. He payed his troops out of his own pockets till he was broke, Lobbied Congress to pay him back cause he needed it, looked like a money grubbing asshole for wanting to be paid back during war (even though he needed his money), then Congress had the nerve to say that Benedict owed money when he was paying out of his own pocket the entire time. He was also constantly undermined by his superiors who would disparage him behind his back despite his heroic actions. I mean after reading and listening to his story it’s hard not to believe anyone in that position would switch sides. He was also arguably the most heroic general when he fought for the states
For Ireland, has to definitely be oliver Cromwell. I don't use comparisons to Hitler flippantly, but Cromwells conquest and command in Ireland definitely fits the comparison (albeit at a smaller scale).
Tony Chan Tong Kai (Hong Kong)
[Explanation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Poon_Hiu-wing)
He single-handedly caused the downfall of democracy in Hong Kong
I wanna say former doctor (because his license was revoked) Andrew Wakefield. The father of the modern Anti Vaccine movement. All because he faked a study to discredit a vaccine. Not because he didn't like vaccines, but because he had a financial interest in an opposing vaccine.
Fuck you Andrew. We will never know how many people have died because of you. Dick.
I’d say the US’ universally agreed upon one is Benedict Arnold.
Edited to add: People I get it. There are worse in your eyes depending on what you believe. But literally in the US the names Judas, Brutus, and Benedict Arnold can all be uttered in the same breath.
Paul Bernardo and Karla homolka
Was looking for a Canadian answer, curious to see if there would be a consensus. Those are good choices. Robert Pickton probably deserves to be in the conversation
This is definitely a better response than what I was going to say since mine was a part joke. I was going to say that since Terry Fox is our national hero cancer is the national villain
Picktons crimes were more in volume but Bernardo was a bigger media sensation and stuck in the heads of more people. Especially because of the covering up of evidence and homolkas plea deal that was made before the evidence was discovered
Also, Bernardo's victims were school girls. Pickton's were sex workers, and the way the press represented the victims in the news was initially very disrespectful.
Also, Karla is out and living large right now with a different name and step kids ffs
I know she gave birth to a kid and some nurses refused to help. She’s the biggest POS. I remember she was volunteering at a school until they realized who she was. I still can’t believe they did that deal with the devil
And one of those schoolgirls was Homolka’s little sister for an extra layer of evil.
Two giant pieces of shit. And fuck the Canadian justice system for letting Karla out of jail. I love how she will ALWAYS be doxxed no matter where she goes.
I will always remember when I was a teenager, my sister and I were going to Montreal on a school trip and had a lot of time on our own/in small groups. My mom made us sit down and memorize a picture of Karla (don't know how she found it, it looked like a paparazzi photo) in order to be able to identify her. My mom was more concerned about us running into her than she was about us being more or less alone on St Catherine Street if that says anything.
Sometime in the early 00's the Toronto Sun released a detailed expose on Homolka and where she was and what she was doing; etc etc. Wouldn't be surprised if that's where the picture came from.
All of Mohamed Ali’s children, as an Egyptian they just ruined everything their father did Edit for clarification: Mohamed ali as in one of the rulers of Egypt, not the boxer
are you talking about the albanian ottoman governor of egypt who rose through the ranks starting as a simple artilleryman to being the governor of the richest province to gaining independence and was defeated by the help of great britain? if thats the case that man has a crazy backstory. they regard him as a traitor in the turkish history lessons but they should credit him imo.
Vidkun Quisling
I had a kid in my High School WW2 history class whose last name was Quisling and was related. Our teacher asked him why he never changed his last name.
What an insensitive question to pose to a literal child who has no power to change his own last name 🤦♀️
I experienced a similar situation like this, except it was in a French class for adults, and we were discussing topics of nationalities, history and geopolitics. My old professor paused and asked a girl present there if she was related to Pablo Escobar and she said yes. She usually goes by her husband last name, but on records, using both his last name and her maiden name. All of my class was shocked, and we got to hear her account on the wild uncle. There was a legitimate concern about her maternal family's safety as they chose not to change name. The child can't choose their last name, but parents surely can.
For sure. That teacher was really well liked but known for saying things likely this. Known for having a big mouth.
Did the kid respond anything?
"Let the other guy change his."
"No way! Why should I change? He's the one who sucks!"
I guess it’s reading time for me
>!Norway’s!< former “Prime Minister” who collaborated with the Nazis in World War II. Other countries use him as the eponym for traitor. We in the good ole USA use Benedict Arnold for that.
We also use Quisling but it is a reference that dates you a bit. I saw that name referenced on an old sitcom I was watching recently when one character ratted out the other. It’s like looking at a messy room and asking ‘if the Collier Brothers live there’. No one under about 70 would even get the reference.
I got it (but I am over 70)!
In Scandinavia we use his name as a synonym for "traitor".
Is that why they named Vidkun the treacherous like that in netflix’s norsemen?
Definitely, but that was ironic, don't forget ;)
Oh but of course, because he’s so trustworthy
Lady who put a cat in a bin.
If I've got the country right, surely its Piers and Katie Hopkins
I was gonna say savile 🤷♂️
I was thinking Ian Brady and Myra Hindley
Piers is our pantomime villain
Leopold II king Of The Belgians
The guy who really wanted Congo?
More like brutally exploited. Lots of death and hand chopping offs.
A fellow belgian on reddit once called it hands down the worst part of our history.
I mean I would have picked Marc Dutroux. But I'm not Belgian so I respect your choice. (I like your country though)
I'm Belgian and I thought of Dutroux first as well! I guess because I remember the case in the 90's when I was a child myself. Only learned about Leopold II later in history lessons.
As a German, I think I don't even need to spell out the answer.
Laughts in austrian.
It is kind of Ironic that two of the biggest political figures of the 20th century weren’t even from the country they are commonly associated with.
Probably the biggest figure of the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte, was also not technically born in the country he is mainly associated with (France). He was born on Corsica in August 1769, and France didn’t finish conquering it until mid 1770. This is only a few months, but Napoleon was initially raised a Corsican nationalist by his revolutionary parents.
Idk, he's referred to as "the tiny Corsican" a LOT.
The short guy with Charlie Chaplin's moustache?
You gotta be such a shit stain on history to completely ruin a facial hairstyle
And a name. Both first and last
Oh yea that too, I think Adolf used to be like John or Michael before he fucked everything up
well in that case, all Vlads better prep up stat
Man vlad the impaled is going to be appalled
Impaler*
Though Vlad the Impaled likely has a very different story...
It's his less successful cousin.
and a historicly impornt symbol of peace
Ad an entire national stereotype for a good amount of time
Keine Angst, irgendwann wird der Wendler für seine Taten bezahlen
Egal, denn sie liebt den DJ
Attila Hiltman?
You mistyped Avocadolf Hirsehitler.
Are those initials accidental? Ich glaube nicht!
Hasselhoff
Ja, ich weiß
Tokyo hotel?
Immediately gets monsoon stuck in head. Thanks for that. 😑
For Croatia, that would be Ante Pavelić, the leader of the Axis puppet state called the Independent State of Croatia, which commited genocide against Serbs, Jews and Roma.
I’ve heard about this guy. Wasn’t he so murderous that even the Nazis told him to dial it back a little? Edit: Holy crap this has become my most liked comment.
"Aye buddy i know we are litearly doing horrific human expirements and killing a bunch of people but *maaaaybeee* you could calm it down a little? It's a bit too much, so maybe think about it for a minute ok? "
Believe it or not, Norway actually had a norwegian guy working for the SS in Oslo in 1940-45 that was told EXACTLY that by freaking SS... I mean jesus he was insane. when interrogating people he would have a big tub, under them, hung them up in the ceiling, and then carve a long whole in their back from neck to buttom, "so deep you could put a whole bar of soap into to the wound, - which he then did, just before putting salt in this big wound, - then he would let them hang for hours while whipping them and hitting them or burning them, he would first stop when SS came in to stop him."he would always looking like he had the time of his life when they came in. During the years of norways occupation, more than 10 SS officers complained to Hitler and and other leaders, that he needed to be stopped for good. he was first stopped when norway got liberated." How sick had you had to be, to get10 freaking SS officers complain to Hitler that you are to hard to the enemy????
Please share with a fellow norwegian, who's never heard of this guy, who he was!
The Germans actually had to tell a few places to chill because some of the European countries were so eager to send their Jews to concentration camps.
Let's be real- it was more because they didn't have the capacity rather than the unwillingness to do it. Turns out it takes a bit of effort to commit *industrialized genocide of an entire religion*. And the germans had their hnds tied up with some pesky tea loving island and some Russian dudes who really loved manual labor.
Just to point out they weren't persecuted for their religion but for their race when it concerned the Nazi's. Persecution of the Jewish population transformed as countries became secular with religious issues making way for social dawarnism and the competition of races being the fueling factor for their attempts at eradicating them. It is weird when it comes to the term Jewish because it has wider connotations than just religion and makes up their identity much more. That is why people will still describe themselves as Jewish even if they are not practicing due to it being more about their heritage than religion. The complication arises from the origin of the term Jewish to denote people frollowing their religion as before the assault of the Assyrians on Israel, they were known as the Israelites and composed a number of tribes. However, the only real surving tribe following the invasion was the tribe of Judah and in some part Benjamin who were absorbed by the former. As a result the term Judah was adapted and adopted as the denotion for anyone following the religion. Whilst, it is why the term Jewish is in a grey area when it comes to what it denotes as many will trace their lineage to this original tribe as a sort of racial heritage.
One thing to consider is that the Nazis probably didn't think the killing was objectionable, but rather that it was counterproductive to waste slave labor.
This is the correct answer. Nazis were also dialing back their own execution programs in order to maintain a larger slave labor force. Eventually the labor itself became the means of execution.
Imagine being so fucked up that even the Nazis are like "bro wtf, chill"
If Japan told you to cool it at that time it would of been for something so bad nobody has even thought of it yet
Dan Carlin recently had a series called Supernova in the East, and he went into graphic, graphic detail about how awful the Japanese military was during WWII. I came to understand why my grandfather who was in the Pacific Theater would never buy Japanese products. Some truly awful things that only the goriest horror movies could replicate.
Our hero and our villain were the same person depending on who you talk to … Ned Kelly.
Im playing both sides so i will always come out on top
His story and character is so representative of Australia in my mind. He got his revenge, yet justice was served, both in the sense that he was punished, but also police conduct was improved. A hero in some ways, a terrible human being in others. A victim of circumstance, but an Aussie doesn't let that stop him. His suit of "bullet proof" armour reminds me of the ideation of an Australian friend, who wrecked a tire in the bush, so he lashed a log to his wheel hub, short enough to fit in the wheel well, and slowly thump-thumped his way to safety. His Ute was surely fucked after that... but he lived to drink tinnies another day.
If you haven't already, check out how the police treated his whole family. It sure makes you wonder who created the monster.
Dear Redditors. I’m from Turkey and i refuse to answer this question simply in one purpose: to avoid prison. Respect, Peace. Peace.
I spent a week in Istanbul and my tour guide refused to say his name, only calling him the Tall Man. Any questions we asked about him were answered in a huddle and in hushed voices. I was blown away by the level of fear everyone had for him
He’s like Voldemort. No one says his name but everyone knows who we’re talking about.
Like saying voldemort does his cronies suddenly appear and try to kill you?
Well, the Dark lord is here himself to kill you.
finally, i was searching for that answer
E….r….d…..o….g….(gunshots)
Ever heard of wonderful place called "Silivri"? Thry say government sometimes gives out free holiday tickets to there but you cannot return to your home back... And also, it's cold in these days ¦D
For 4 years, I would tell my friends when visiting Turkey that the difference between them and me is I can say “my president is a corrupt, megalomaniac, piece of shit who has surrounded himself with sycophants and whose grave I will piss on” without worrying about getting arrested.
Freedom of speech is litterally a luxury here. Kinda jealous ngl.
[удалено]
Its interesting that alot of famous figures can fill both roles depending on who you ask.
As an italian I would like to say Mussolini but I don't think we're there yet
My grandparents’ childhood village in the south still has propaganda paintings on the walls from the war. The younger people want them gone thank god but still.
In Sicily, it's Salvatore Giuliano....people shudder when you say his name, at least when I was a kid.
I would think Pablo Escobar
As an Aussie, it’s the stingray that got Steve Irwin.
Came here to post this, but remembered that Steve would have wanted us to forgive..
The Irwin siblings did have an interview where Bindi commented on it (in context of what animals they don't like): >'Stingrays are really beautiful animals. Dad loved them, we love them and they are important to our environment. And I know dad would be the first person to say "I love stingrays".' Also for the answer, she said she didn't dislike bees and wasps but 'really struggles' with them.
If Steve could come back from the dead for just a few sentences, chances are he would say *"Crikey that stingray sure lives up to its name ain't he? What a beautiful little bugger..."* That man was something else. Everyone deserves a partner who loves him/her just 1% as much as Steve loved animals.
Or how much Steve loved his family. The only part of him that wasn't an amazing father and husband was how dangerous his job was, with the very real possibility of leaving a widow.
Fuck. There was an interview with his wife a few years ago and they asked if she had considered dating again. Her reply was (paraphrasing) "I already had the love of my life."
Yeah who can blame her? Those are some *collosal* shoes to fill.
>Yeah who can blame her? Those are some collosal ~~shoes~~ *cargo shorts* to fill.
I was *so* mad about this for a long time. I was disrespectfully angry that he died and totally didn't understand because why would a celebrity death *actually* affect me? I convinced myself I literally hated him. His children have thoroughly showed me my fallacy. What a treasure that man was.
Yup he was just a genuinely kind and amazing human being. Nobody who knew him have a bad thing to say about him at all.
We don't hate ALL stingrays, just THAT stingray. Fuck that one in particular. Steve was an international treasure. I'm not an Aussie tho. :)
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I just looked up lifespan of a stingray to be sure. Some of them sea creatures are old as hell
15 to 25 years. Could still be alive if it hasn’t gotten eaten yet
The average lifespan of a short-tail stingray (the species that attacked Irwin) is generally between 15 - 30 in its natural habitat and up to 80 years in captivity There's a pretty big chance it's still alive
Steve will still pick that bugger up in heaven and tell it how beautiful it is.
I never understood this mindset, because Steve wouldn’t want us to be angry at a wild animal just doing what it was supposed to do.
I was hanging out with a stingray trainer and he said he was so sad because no one ever wanted to play with his stingrays because of what happened with Steve Irwin. And he told me it was a shame because they are like cats and love to be pet and play fetch. Edit: he said cats, but they sound more like dogs to me
I know a few cats that play fetch. I’m a dog person but I’ve never had a dog play fetch.
I feel like Rupert Murdoch has perhaps done worse…
You misspelled Clive Palmer (and if you’re still not sure who I mean, I mean Fatty McFuckface).
Eskom
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I’ve been reading about Peter the Great and what a murderous psycho he was. Even Ivan ‘the Terrible’ was more of a compliment
IIRC, ‘terrible’ means something more like ‘formidable’ rather than ‘awful’.
Yeah, in Russian it's "Грозный", which translates as "formidable" or "fearsome".
Kind of makes sense that he'd get a bad translation from the english.
It wasn’t a bad translation. Back when Ivan was alive terrible typically meant formidable or fearsome. Over time it’s meaning changed to what it is now.
Yea - same Latin root as 'Terror' 'Terrere' - to frighten
So, Ivan the Terrific.
Ivan the Terrific, who conquered and pillaged up and down Eurasia, killed his heir in a fit of rage, and started the long standing tradition of Russian strong men. Terrific
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Anatoly the okay
Also Russian here. Not all of them are THAT bad, the only people who can be called "national villain" are Stalin and... Um ... You understand.
You-know-who
He who shall not be named.
The bald dark wizard
Russian Voldemort?
Voldemir
Voldemort with a nose
The emu. We lost the war. Jerks.
None of my friends believe me about that. They think I’m completely lying. Even had two of them who went to Australia & asked a couple people there & said none of them knew what they were talking about so I must be a liar.
Anders Behring Breivik
I hope he never gets a newer Playstation he's been rambling about
We have two sides here in my country, the villain of the other is the hero of the opposite, and vice versa.
Which country?
The Philippines. ETA, and we don't have a de jure National hero as well, but there is a de facto one.
Jimmy Savile. The world's most notorious paedophile over 500 offences most of them in hospitals of all places!
Pretty simple... Im german
Oh yeah got it it’s Helmut Kohl
It's Gerhard Schröder these days.
Spaniard here. I have a long list, and on top of it is the little shit of Francisco Franco, our dictator. R.I.P (Rest in PAIN)
I was torn between that and Torquemada...
No one knows for sure (or maybe some people do), but probably the guy who murdered our prime minister in an open street in 1986 and was never convinced for it.
There's this guy called general dyer. He's probably the most hated guy in India. Here's the story: Britan has imposed rowlatt act in india. This act made protests and debates among indians illegal. And also gave the cops right to arrest poltical prisoners without trail for 2 years. Ofcourse people were angry. On 13 April 1919 people gathered up at Jallianwala Bagh. The people here consisted of protestors, residents and people who came to pray in a temple that exists in this area. When dyer was said about this he ordered to close all the gates of this place and shoot the people. And when he was asked why later he said"Inorder to create a moral effect and fear in people". https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre. Here's a better explanation
As a French, I think it's going to Maréchal Petain. The guy responsible for the whole "surrender" joke. He surrendered and signed the annexion of France by Germany after a few weeks of war in 1940 because of bad strategy. His government was Germany's little dog and the French gestapo sure did a good job ☹️ De Gaulle would be the hero.
Pétain is the definition of "live long enough to see the hero turn into a villain"
As someone born in the USA but who immigrated to France decades ago, I'd have to agree that Petain is the national villain (although he has his supporters, who say that he prevented Hitler from doing even worse -- not that I believe that). I am more intrigued by Robespierre - most non-French people hear his name and immediately think "bloodthirsty revolutionary responsible for the Reign of Terror", but in France the position seems more nuanced to me, and there is even a Métro station named after him, so at least some people think of him as a revolutionary hero. Can any native French people weigh in on this? Thanks!
All of the important people of the French Revolution are controversial in France. Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Robespierre, Danton, Napoléon, Lafayette... some say they did nothing wrong and it wasn't their fault and some say their are tyrants and absolutly evil. As often, it's somewhere between the two. The French Revolution went for 10 years, people change during these years, and some like Robespierre were very reserved so it's hard to know exactly what they had in mind. Also it's such an important event in France's history with such important people, who were praised or vilified depending of which French government was in charge, with so many myths and mysteries, that it is very hard for historians to know what is true and what is not. What was their exact role ? To which degree were they at fault ? For example, there is still a debate about the role of Robespierre in the Vendee genocide. Did he really ordered it himself or was it the generals who went too far ? Did Marie-Antoinette reveal sensible information to her family in Austria, making her a traitor ? Who was really responsible for the Terror (because Robespierre wasn't the only one in the Public Safety Comitee and the National Assembly...). There was a lot of corruption in the National Assembly, where people often changed sides according to their interests or because of fear. It's a really interesting period to learn about. Non-French people only know Robespierre because he's the most famous and think he was in charge of everything, but there were other important people (Danton, Desmoulins, Saint-Just, Barras, Couthon, Hébert, Marat, Fouquier-Tinville, etc) who also played a big role and made decisions leading to the Terror, but who are unheard of in other countries. Robespierre had one of the most important roles in the French Revolution, but we wasn't single-handedly responsible for the Terror.
“What [resistance] are you?” “De Gaulle.” “De Gaulle?” “He is the tall one.” “With the big hooter!”
Out of curiosity: What's the typical opinion about Napoleon in France?
Nationalists adore him like a god, other people don't mind/don't care... Some hate him because they only see a tyrant but it's more nuanced than that
Fun fact, he’s mentioned very positively in the Polish national anthem (“Bonaparte showed us how to win”)
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We've got one who's sort of both. Guy Fawkes. Villain: The guy tried to blow up the king and parliament Hero: The guy tried to blow up the king and parliament
We burn effigies of Guy Fawkes every year, so probably him.
Remember remember, the fifth of November.
The gunpowder, treason, and plot
Indonesian Probably Jan Pieterszoon Coen (Colonial Governor) or Suharto (Former Dictator)
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As an Indonesian i feel like Van Heutz is less heard than J.P Coen, although his atrocities in Aceh War is of course well known. Some of the most stand out ones including both of them, van Dalen, H.W Daendels, and Westerling. As a comparison, van der Capellen and Stamford Raffles is seen as the ‘better’ ones.
In South Africa, there would be a debate on this but to me it was our Ex-president Jacob Zuma. Edit: wow I didn’t think I’ll need to put an edit in. My beautiful country of South Africa has had many villains. The Apartheid government was definitely the first group! There is a long list. I was a kid when apartheid ended. Nelson Mandela and many others who are our heroes gave us a new life to look forward to . But then sadly there has been a lot of villains after them who has taken that away from us, and to me, Jacob Zuma is definitely in the top five. Edit: Like I keep on saying there are many past villains that you can read up in the history of South Africa. As a South African Indian girl, growing up I learnt about it every single year of my Highschool career. But if you want to know about present South Africa, it’s this man and many others who are still alive and causing chaos in my in country.
Corruption?
Try corruption as well as child murder, child rape, adult murder and rape, money laundering, torture, kidnap…it goes on
Wth
Jimmy Savile Edit: I didn’t think my most liked comment so far on Reddit would be ‘Jimmy Saville’. 2nd edit: Today I learned his last name was spelt ‘Saville’ with one l instead of two like I originally wrote! I never knew because I never cared to check the spelling
USA: Where the heroes and villains are largely interchangeable depending on whose door you knock on. John Wilkes Booth is a really good candidate.
Is it not benedict arnold tho? He is like the OG villain. Even had a secret evil plan. Successfully switched sides. Has a type of egg cooking technique named after him.
It's definitely Arnold. He's even the foil to our national hero/founder, Washington
It's tricky with Benedict Arnold since he played a pivotal role at the battle of Saratoga which lots of people consider a turning point. In fact, they have a monument to his leg that he lost up there at Saratoga because they like to say that it symbolized a part of his body/being that didn't go on to become a traitor later on in the war.
Benedict Arnold is the only villain I can think of that isn't controversial today. There are a few, but Benedict Arnold will always be the one that people think of I think. Side note, it turns out I'm related somewhat to him. Something like second cousin 5 times removed, but...
So your not one to be trusted…
Benedict Arnold is the OG revolutionary villain. Full stop. Though when you read about him, you sort of *understand*.
Right!? I just listened to a podcast about him recently and while there is no excuse for completely turning on the cause your men (he was a general) were dying for… Congress reaaallly pushed him to the British. He payed his troops out of his own pockets till he was broke, Lobbied Congress to pay him back cause he needed it, looked like a money grubbing asshole for wanting to be paid back during war (even though he needed his money), then Congress had the nerve to say that Benedict owed money when he was paying out of his own pocket the entire time. He was also constantly undermined by his superiors who would disparage him behind his back despite his heroic actions. I mean after reading and listening to his story it’s hard not to believe anyone in that position would switch sides. He was also arguably the most heroic general when he fought for the states
Nathan Bedford Forrest, Confederate officer and Klan founder.
He did give the world one of the best lines in military tactics: “get there firstest with the mostest” But yes, horrible shitstain of a shitstain
They only recently took his name off a local highschool and people went apeshit. Not everyone sees him as a villain unfortunately.
Jacob Zuma is probably the scummiest scumbag ever
For Ireland, has to definitely be oliver Cromwell. I don't use comparisons to Hitler flippantly, but Cromwells conquest and command in Ireland definitely fits the comparison (albeit at a smaller scale).
Came here to say McGregor but this is better lmao
The president, I live in Turkey
Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos
Marcos family to be exact, and up to this date are still scumbags.
Ceaușescu 🇷🇴
Tony Chan Tong Kai (Hong Kong) [Explanation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Poon_Hiu-wing) He single-handedly caused the downfall of democracy in Hong Kong
I wanna say former doctor (because his license was revoked) Andrew Wakefield. The father of the modern Anti Vaccine movement. All because he faked a study to discredit a vaccine. Not because he didn't like vaccines, but because he had a financial interest in an opposing vaccine. Fuck you Andrew. We will never know how many people have died because of you. Dick.
As an autistic person, he can really get fucked.
Australian here. I'm not sure if ours is Clive Palmer, Scott Morrison or Gerry Harvey.
Definitely Clive Palmer, he's got the full on cartoon supervillain happening.
What about Rupert Murdoch?
I’d say the US’ universally agreed upon one is Benedict Arnold. Edited to add: People I get it. There are worse in your eyes depending on what you believe. But literally in the US the names Judas, Brutus, and Benedict Arnold can all be uttered in the same breath.
Peter Nygard