Yeah, but that is exactly part of what we should stop pretending not happened. Prople really don't like to admit - these high powered people and "heroes" were massive unethical assholes. Instead, we take their own word about themselves and about their enemies as gospel.

And I think the way we tiptoe around it and refuse to admit dynamics and acts involved is related to why we can't deal with contemporary narcissists either.

And what it does is that it is disadvantaging honest people, because they learn about how it really works only after it costed them.