Henry Wismayer
1 min readDec 16, 2017

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I was aware of those rumours, as it happens. But the general public perception is that he was unimpeachable. In truth, I struggle to think of a single 20th century martyr who was wholly without detractors: John Paul II (paedophile apologist); MLK (philanderer); Mandela (erstwhile terrorist); Mother Teresa (who was, according to Hitchens, “a lying, thieving Albanian dwarf”.) Perhaps the real difference is that today a figure’s foibles can topple them even while still in positions of power, while in the past they merely besmirch the memory.

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Henry Wismayer
Henry Wismayer

Written by Henry Wismayer

Essays, features and assorted ramblings for over 80 publications, inc. NYT Magazine, WaPo, NYT, The Atlantic, WSJ, Nat Geo, and TIME: www.henry-wismayer.com.

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