There are a LOT of young, white leftists who canonize John Brown without internalizing a shred of what he fought & died for
Just today I saw a "John Brown stan account" on Bluesky condemning nonviolent usamerican protestors for "supporting Hamas"
When all number of people attacked him for his display of deeply ironic hypocrisy, he invoked Brown's name as a shield in a way that reminded me of how neoliberals invoke MLK Jr to argue against black power (which is no less absurd)
It's not the first time I've seen Brown's name abused this way, and it likely won't be the last
I believe that for many, John Brown serves as their non-problematic white saviour, an idol to project themselves onto
We must oppose this juvenile power fantasy, but even that is not enough
We must also recognize that even as we discard the rubbish of Great Man theory, John Brown still has an important place in our historical memory
I'm at the point today where I tend to invoke his name alongside the names of Helen Keller, Naim Ateek, Des Wilson, Malcolm X etc, all notable figures in liberation theology
We must seek not to canonize him into some secular sainthood, but rather understand and analyze his place in the extensive, often overlooked history of liberation theology
God forbid we have heroes.
OP isn't saying "Don't have heroes" though. They're saying we shouldn't engage in hero worship.
Just because they did good doesn't mean we get to put them up on a pedestal and treat them as untouchable. John Brown's actions were cool and good and inspirational, but he himself was human like the rest of us. He had quirks and foibles and viewpoints some (maybe even all) of us would find reprehensible.
Exactly