Happy Holidays, Bruce,
I totally agree with you. Bernie Madoff's 'tragedy' is no more a
'tragedy' than what we all could possibly be if we didn't wrestle
with our own demons so as not to visit them upon others. Underneath
it all here is a guy with a lot of potential and clearly appearing
trustworthy but ultimately there is something broken inside him. And
now he has broken so many others for he apparently could not break
the cycle by taking responsibility for his own personal
shortcomings. So what if he was such a nice guy and smart? There
are plenty of people with decent morals and loads of potential in
prison right now if only they could reign in their impulses and yes,
I suppose those stories are tragic on some level. To revere Madoff
due to the breadth of his crime is absurd. End of the day, he is at
the top of a 'pyramid' of his own making; that of crook, swindler,
and perhaps comparable to a serial killer, only he used trust as his
ultimate weapon to destroy the lives of so many out of his personal
desperation to succeed or be in control or win or prove that he was
good enough, smart enough and gosh darnit people should really like
him, or whatthefu*k does it matter?
I suppose there is a tragic component to all our lives but on balance
does it define us? Would we be better off, would the world be better
off had we not been here at all?
Which brings us to your seasonal proposition of casting Bernie Madoff
in the George Bailey role. On balance we're looking at a different
ending.
If you've got money, fine, but I'll stick to being a 'King' in my
counting house, counting out my blessings,
Patrick
On Dec 26, 2008, at 8:19 AM, Bruce Hershenson wrote:
I looked at the cnn site just now and they have an article
entitled, "What drove Bernie Madoff".
It tells about what a brilliant man he is, and it concludes
"Several people who know Madoff say his saga reminds them of a
Greek tragedy. Just like Icarus who tried to fly too close to the
sun, Bernie Madoff destroyed himself in his unending quest for
success and respect. Says Madoff's defense attorney, 'this is a
tragedy.'"
This really offends me. He was a crook who has done untold damage
to tens of thousands of people's lives (counting the many
charitable groups he ruined) and he did so in the worst possible
way, by being a confidence man who won their trust and then
betraying it.
The people who were swindled have some responsibility, because they
forgot the old adage "if something seems too good to be true, it
probably is", but their doubts were overcome by their basic greed
in wanting those great returns, and in their belief that no one
could be dishonest and operate on that scale.
But this crook is the lowest of the low, and deserves no sympathy
and is not "tragic" by any measure.
What do YOU think?
Bruce
P.S. If one thinks this has nothing to do with movie posters, it
seems an absolute certainty there will be one or more movies made
about this fraud, and that opens the question of what title they
will choose (maybe "The Death of Icarus"?) and who will be chosen
to play the lead role!
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