John Lennon is a conundrum wrapped in a riddle.

[MaryL]

The man than penned songs about peace and brotherhood, nearly beat a man to death. He was a control freak and used violence as a tool. Such is the human race.

 

[rightwinger]

I hear he killed Paul

 

[pknopp]

The vicious beating happened due to Wooler referencing Lennon’s then-recent holiday in Spain with Beatles manager Brian Epstein (for those that do not know, Epstein was gay) at a party where Lennon and Wooler were both present. What makes this dark incident even more surprising is that this was at a party for Paul McCartney’s 21st birthday.

Lennon was a conflicted and damaged person. Britain in 1963 was a country where homosexuality was still punishable by prison sentences. I do not know but I’d imagine cultural attitudes towards gay people were similarly hostile.

Couple these factors with the ridiculous amounts of alcohol that Lennon had drunk that night, and we can see that this created a perfect storm that allowed this terrible incident to unfold.

“Bob had been insinuating that me and Brian had had an affair in Spain. And I must have been frightened of the fag in me to get so angry.

I was out of my mind with drink – you know, when you get down to the point where you want to drink out of all the empty glasses; that drunk. And Bob was saying, 'Come on, John, tell me about you and Brian – we all know.'

You know when you're twenty-one, you want to be a man – if somebody had said it now I wouldn't give a shit, but I was beating the shit out of him, hitting him with a big stick, and for the first time I thought, 'I can kill this guy.' I just saw it, like on a screen: if I hit him once more, that's going to be it. I really got shocked.

That's when I gave up violence, because all my life I'd been like that.”

John Lennon, 1972.

 

[skye]

I love his music....and still do.

But with all respect....I wouldn't give a fuck about John Lennon as a riddle.... pardon my French.

 

[MaryL]

Perhaps Lennon was tortured by his conscience and fighting the worse angles of his mercies. We all should do that.

 

[ActionJackson]

The man than penned songs about peace and brotherhood, nearly beat a man to death. He was a control freak and used violence as a tool. Such is the human race.

He was a full on Communist as well.

 

[MaryL]

Perhaps Lennon was tortured by his conscience and fighting the worse angels of his mercies. We all should do that.

 

[DGS49]

I have a theory about such people. Your REAL personality comes out when you have more money than god. From outside it seems like someone was a "nice guy" and then they come into a mountain of money and for some people, their personality changes for the better, for some, for the worse. There is no reason to think the John Lennon was a particularly good fellow, shouldn't be surprised when he is revealed to be a jerk.

 

[MaryL]

He was a full on Communist as well.

Yes. I think so. "Imagine" was a full on ode to communism. I still love Lennon. He was a brilliant neurotic artist rife with contradictions.

 

[MaryL]

I have a theory about such people. Your REAL personality comes out when you have more money than god. From outside it seems like someone was a "nice guy" and then they come into a mountain of money and for some people, their personality changes for the better, for some, for the worse. There is no reason to think the John Lennon was a particularly good fellow, shouldn't be surprised when he is revealed to be a jerk.

Like Elvis? I loved him but he was a total prick too. But that's topic for a different thread.

 

[ActionJackson]

Yes. I think so. "Imagine" was a full on ode to communism. I still love Lennon. He was a brilliant neurotic artist rife with contradictions.

I like a lot of his music. I love a ton of Beatles songs. I can like an artist's music without liking the artist very much. Elton John, John Lennon, Linda Ronstadt, and others fall into that category.

 

[DudleySmith]

He was a full on Communist as well.

A lot of rich people are.

 

[DudleySmith]

I have a theory about such people. Your REAL personality comes out when you have more money than god. From outside it seems like someone was a "nice guy" and then they come into a mountain of money and for some people, their personality changes for the better, for some, for the worse. There is no reason to think the John Lennon was a particularly good fellow, shouldn't be surprised when he is revealed to be a jerk.

They fall into extreme narcissism and believe that suddenly falling into wealth makes them somehow smarter at everything, and there is a whole army of weasels and ass kissers they can surround themselves with who will feed on that egotistical fallacy. They live in bubbles.

 

[ActionJackson]

He was a full on Communist as well.

“According to Rolling Stone Magazine, he (John Lennon) claimed to be a “radical leftist.” When you were raised in the 1960s, this is what we call being an ‘anti-war activist.’ According to Yoko Ono, John Lennon was a communist. He was a socialist in the broadest sense. He was an activist in the anti-war movement and, like his music, his art. Lennon was fond of attacking America on numerous occasions, despite his belief in peace. If you were on campus during that time, you would have heard both peace and anti-Americanism.”

John Lennon’s Revolutionary Journey: Inventing Communism To Create A Better Future | Ben Vaughn

www.benvaughn.com

 

[Leo123]

I always thought that a lyric in the tune 'Gettting Better' (written by Lennon and McCartney) that said 'I used to be mean to my woman I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved' was a true depiction of Lennon's former life and later, his switch to a penchant for peace.