Top 10 "Good Things" Done by Deplorable Figures
Despite what history has taught us about its most vile figures and their deplorable actions, modern accounts often emphasize or exaggerate these aspects. This can make us forget that these individuals were not simply monsters, but human beings.In their private lives, they were capable of doing good, even in spite of the "supposed" repulsive nature that history has presented. This list highlights the good deeds carried out by "bad people."
Hitler was a vegan who followed a strict vegetarian diet and passed legislation that banned animal testing, imposed hunting restrictions, and regulated how animals should be butchered for consumption. Sadly, he did not extend this compassion to Jews or other marginalized groups.
That's surprising. I thought he would have wanted to put them in concentration camps too.
That was shocking, and I didn't know that. Did you know he was a struggling artist?
Before becoming one of the nation's most notorious serial killers, Ted Bundy saved a number of lives while working on a suicide hotline. He convinced people to continue living with his charismatic personality, but the murders he committed afterward ultimately led to his undoing.
While he was a warmongering general who hijacked the French Revolution and engulfed the region in war, Napoleon spread the ideals of the Enlightenment through his conquests. He also created the Napoleonic Code, which significantly influenced the shaping of modern Europe and the world.
Like Escobar, Al Capone was infamous in the criminal underworld, especially during Prohibition. However, during the Great Depression, he set up soup kitchens throughout Chicago to feed the poor and unemployed.
Pablo Escobar, known as one of the world's richest drug lords and an overall threatening person to be on one's bad side, didn't always use the wealth he accumulated for selfish needs. He gave money to the impoverished, built houses in a shantytown, and funded the construction of schools throughout Colombia with the money he earned through the drug trade.
One of history's most destructive and murderous warlords, Genghis Khan was open to all religious beliefs. Notably, he passed a legal code that granted religious freedom and ensured that anyone could practice their beliefs. He also enjoyed discussing theology with various scholars.
Though a dictator with no regard for human rights, Gaddafi still had the interests of the people in mind. Under his regime, Libyans had free healthcare, education, and subsidized housing and electricity using billions of dollars in oil revenues. Despite this, Libyans suffered under his rule and continued to endure hardship during the civil war that eventually overthrew him.
Jim Jones, one of history's most notorious cult leaders responsible for the murders in Jonestown, was a man with progressive values. He opposed the use of nuclear weapons and spoke against racism, integrating minorities into his cult. He was even appointed by the mayor of Indianapolis as the director of the Human Rights Commission.
General Butt Naked was a barbaric figure in many ways, committing rape, recruiting child soldiers, and murdering civilians during Liberia's civil war. However, he changed his violent ways and converted to Christianity, spreading the teachings of Christ and caring for former child soldiers.