Who’s the REAL Villain? The Story of Jesse James and the Outlaw Code That America Forgot
Years ago, I taught special education. At the time, I did it because I wasn’t sure where to go in life. But it ended up being a shocking experience that exposed an important truth about the world. One most people don’t want to admit to:
Many of our heroes aren’t heroes at all. And before the world went mad, they wouldn’t have been seen as such.
To give an example, I had one student whose mother was a crack addict while pregnant. He was what’s known as a ‘crack baby’ (though I utterly despise that term).
Because of his mother’s deplorable actions, he had a hole in his throat, was teased constantly by kids who had it easier, and was stuck dealing with learning disabilities. Life was hard for him at birth. And who knows if it ever got easier.
At the time, I was bumping rap music like most Americans. But after teaching students like him, I couldn’t do it anymore. Hearing people brag about slinging crack and how they made millions from it doesn’t seem cool once you see the REAL effect they have on society.
Many people still worship rappers who made their fortune on the backs of innocent people like this child. And I can’t even name these rappers because they can sue someone for telling the truth these days (which probably says more about society than we want to admit).
These thugs name drop and pretend that they are like outlaws of old. But that isn’t true for one very important reason:
Outlaws have a code. And drug dealing killers have none.
The Legend of Jesse James
He was adored by people of the time. But there was a reason for that. He was one of them and what he did hurt the people that were hurting them.
His code was fairly simple. He never shot a civilian unless it was necessary. He robbed trains and banks who were using their wealth and power to hurt vulnerable farmers and laborers. He never robbed regular people. He was loyal to his outlaw gang. He even went to church…
In short, he was a good person in a world crushing good people. And he was battling against a system that was corrupt. A railroad system that was seizing people’s land through eminent domain. A bank system that was foreclosing farmers in post-war America. A government system that cared more about expansion than people.
He was so hated by the government that they allowed the railroads to hire Pinkerton detectives to raid his family farm. The Pinkertons ended up killing his 8-year-old half-brother and shooting off his mother’s arm. But that still wasn’t enough to stop him. And the public outcry was massive.
Why Was the Public on His Side?
Jesse James didn’t rob people for greed or extravagant wealth. In fact, he was known to pay off farmers’ mortgages and hand cash to poor families that were struggling.
One well-known story involves a widow whose farm was about to be foreclosed on. Jesse James went to her house and gave her the money to keep it. He then waited down the road and robbed the bank courier who took the money from her – to make sure the bank never got a red cent.
That’s an outlaw with a code.
And he wasn’t the only one. Billy the Kid… Belle Starr… Jesse’s brother Frank … They all stood for the same things and against the same things. They all stood up for the everyday people who were being swindled by a corrupt system. And they were against the corrupt system that was doing the swindling.
He was only caught when the governor of Missouri paid off one of his own gang to assassinate him. The public was outraged and the killer was slammed as a coward from then on.
But his legend lived on in dime novels and the hearts of the people he saved…
If only we could be so lucky.
The Insane Truth of the Modern Age
In our modern age, some presidents, believe it or not, take the stage with former poison dealers and hail them as a ‘true American original’ while listening to their music before debates.
And what exactly are they praising?
Modern criminals don’t rob banks.
They carjack regular people driving to work. They sell drugs to abuse victims who have no escape. They traffic fentanyl, killing thousands of innocents. They deal in human trafficking of children, stealing away their innocence. They use technology to defraud the elderly. Some are even kidnapping and torturing people for crypto.
The worst of these SOBs even make girls degrade themselves with sexual acts just to get their kicks, as we’ve seen in recent days.
These aren’t outlaws trying to fight against a crushing system. They are the opposite in almost every respect.
They exploit poverty-stricken communities and people who are down on their luck. And why? Because they find it easier than having to work for a living. They have decided to put flashy cars and overpriced luxury items and sparkly jewelry over the people in their own neighborhoods. If the system is making people’s lives harder, modern criminals are helping them do it.
These people actually take pride in how heartless they are… how many young girls they can use… how much poison they can sling… how many drugs they can take… and sometimes, how many people they can kill.
And what do they get for this? What do they get for spending their whole lives taking from innocent people and making their already difficult lives worse?
If you’re sane, you’d think it’d be some kind of punishment. But it’s not.
The Glorification of the Wicked
Instead, they get millions of dollars. Glorification from a rotting media system. Praise from corrupt politicians who only care about their own gain. A massive number of social media fans who have been so desensitized and corrupted inside that they see these people as ‘heroes.’
Everyone knows our world is dying. Morals are being thrown out the window, integrity is seen as a thing of the past, and standing up for what’s right will get you flogged on social platforms.
But it wasn’t always this way…
And it doesn’t need to be anymore.
Maybe it’s time we took a page from the outlaws of old and made our world ours again.
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