Do you know any diamonds in the rough? (details inside).

The obvious case this week is MLK’s reputed womanizing.

@stanleybmanly What is a MLK?

@stanleybmanly I googled it. It is Martin Luther King. Einstein played around too.

There are a lot of people in real life who are like Aladdin. They’re really good, nice people, but it doesn’t bear out in their real life because they’re always dicking around. Stealing and lying are actually pretty shitty behaviors. Instead of working hard for yourself, it takes away from someone else’s hard work.

The problem with being a “diamond in the rough” is that in real life, there isn’t a sympathetic movie audience following you around, seeing the world from your perspective, and being won over by what a nice person you are. Aladdin is a really nice guy, but he’s also an irresponsible weenie and a petty thief. He doesn’t really drive the plot of the movie through his efforts. He just reacts to one situation after another.

The movies tell you that being a nice guy is all it takes to get by in life. Aladdin ends up living in the palace, with an awesome best friend and a beautiful wife, pretty much because he’s nice. That message has been spoon-fed to an entire generation of young people, especially young men, and it’s harmful and counterproductive.

It’s nice that he gives food to the little kids, but he stole it to begin with. The mark of a real adult is that you give other people more than you take from them. OK, it’s a disney movie, but the only time he really helps other people is that establishing character scene in the very beginning. When he’s rich and really in a position to do something for the kids, you never hear about them again.

A real diamond in the rough would be a guy who quietly goes to work every day to provide for his family, or maybe someone working and going to school to better themselves. There’s no invisible audience cheering you on; you just keep showing up every day, doing what needs to get done.

I don’t know if I would use the expression diamond in the rough for what you are talking about. I think it’s more like someone who is not held to the same esteem in all aspects of their life. A person can be a great musician, President, even parent and be a fuckhead when it comes to fidelity.

Many people believe Michael Jackson was inappropriate with children, but loved his music.

Diamond in the rough to me would be a person who doesn’t know their greatness yet. A young woman who doesn’t know her own beauty yet and hasn’t learned what to accentuate. Or, a person who is interested in how things work and once he has the proper education and opportunity he/she goes on to make incredible discoveries that help human kind in ways unimaginable.