cathexis wrote on 03/21/20 at 17:09:27:
The larger question here, and one still unanswered is:
"What do we do about the great deeds of terrible people?"
Bobby is small potatoes compared to a Churchill riding down the "fuzzie wuzzies" at Omdurman while later standing alone againest Hitler; our founding fathers who built the greatest nation perhaps ever, some of that work supported on the backs of their black slaves; the building of our great nation, partially on the genocide of the original inhabitants, etc. And they all have their die hard supporters who would see only their greatness and ignore or excuse their reprehensible choices. But in the world of chess it is Bobby Fisher who best could have the above question leveled at him. His remarks(available still) on Philippine radio are nothing but inexcusable, although some would anyway. "I just care about his games."
I'm not going to be drawn in to attacking or defending him; his record speaks for itself. The purpose of this post is to suggest that the question: "What do we do about the great deeds of terrible men?" is the real reason for controversy about Fisher. It is a question we as a society have yet to answer. It stands behind movements like #metoo and #blacklivesmatter even if those movements have their problems as well. Quibbling over how terrible or how great misses the point. FWIW, I see Bobby as ultimately a pathetic and lonely person, neither a hero nor a villain.
#1 Spell his name correctly Fischer. With a c.
#2 If you think #metoo is a good movement, you've lost all credibility.
#3 Same to #2 if you think #blacklivesmatter movement... well don't talk.
While the question you raise is legitimate, his comments are deplorable but nevertheless he was sick in the head at this point just as he was when he died (refusing simple dialysis could have saved his life easily). So yes, it's fine for people to say, "we just enjoy his games." The problem is you can't have lived in his shoes... he was followed by the FBI and CIA from birth... I think most children would become pretty sick if they had to grow up with that level of paranoia. To add to it, by the time he was a real person, he was being actively and ridiculously persecuted... so it would start to make his insanity seem... well justified. The real hard problem is that Fischer MADE modern chess. Before Fischer, there wasn't such a thing as a chess professional. A world champion making money? No. Kasparov, Karpov, Kramnik, Anand, Carlsen... they owe E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G to Fischer changing chess.
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Bobby Fischer - The Final Years (Read 9717 times)
