aftermath of 2013 Boston Marathon bombing (public domain)‘Folk Heroes’: A Poem by Warren Bonham The Society May 31, 2025 Culture, Poetry 5 Comments . Folk Heroes We’re told to laud our new folk heroes, but they’re made up by woke zeroes. always stirring up commotion led, not by facts, but by emotion. MS13 will dismember, all except for one lone member, who the mainstream news reported was too good to be deported. His wife said she lived in terror, but now claims that was an error. He’s a husband and great father who only a fiend would ever bother. Kilmar’s just the latest sainted, but, there are more we’re acquainted with who are called mighty pillars, although they’re just thugs and killers. Kilmar, Dzhokhar, and Luigi should be rated R, not PG. They’re thugs needing condemnation, they’re not heroes of our nation. . Poet’s Note: Some people ignore the victims of crimes perpetrated by vicious thugs and killers (the murder of Laken Riley is a recent glaring example) but love to transform those thugs into mythic folk heroes. The uproar around illegal-alien criminals who are being rounded up and deported is just the most recent example. The list of those unjustifiably sainted is too long to list, but it includes Kilmar Abrego Garcia (illegal immigrant and MS 13 gang member), Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon bomber), and Luigi Mangioni (alleged killer of the CEO of United Healthcare). . . Warren Bonham is a private equity investor who lives in Southlake, Texas. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. ***Read Our Comments Policy Here*** 5 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson May 31, 2025 Exactly! Worthy of condemnation only not sainthood as the media seems to make them! Reply Brian Yapko May 31, 2025 Terrific poem, Warren. Much needed perspective. George Floyd belongs on this list. And I would add Mahmoud Khalil — darling of every murderous antisemite who thinks that calls for Jewish genocide constitute free speech. In other words, the type of brainless woke student now typical of Columbia and Harvard. If Greta Thunberg incited murder she’d be even more popular than she is now. Of course, her hypocritical shift from ecological to anti-Israel concerns may already fit that bill. There’s something really sick in the soul of people who applaud murderous vile criminals as “folk heroes.” Something shifted in the 20th Century. Common folk rooted for Bonnie & Clyde. In Mexico, many people loved Pancho Villa. And we often hear stories of how some strange people send love letters and fan mail to convicted murderers in prison. This is not like writing a tribute to Robin Hood. It’s more like glorifying Heinrich Himmler or Pol Pot. I looked up John Wilkes Boothe. He was universally condemned for assassinating President Lincoln even though the country was even more divided than it is now and he was reviled by the Confederacy. In the 19th Century people still had a moral compass. Something sick has shifted in the West’s soul. And now? I can’t count the number of young people I’ve seen wearing Che Guevara T-shirts in the last 20 years. Reply Dave Whippman June 7, 2025 I agree 100%, Brian. There’s a profound sickness in a society that worships the likes of Thunberg and the other trendy woke Israel-haters. But then, how popular are they really? Or is it just the “elite” few shouting loudest? Reply Joseph S. Salemi May 31, 2025 History is filled with moral vermin who somehow became folk heroes. There were Ravachol and the Marquis de Sade in France, and nihilist radicals and Communists in Russia who were worshiped by the left-liberal bourgeoisie (Solzhenitsyn makes much of this phenomenon in his historical studies of the pre-revolutionary period). In America we had Sacco and Vanzetti, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, George Jackson of the Soledad Brothers, the Weathermen terrorists, Che Guevara, and most recently that piece of garbage named George Floyd. Many of these creeps have been honored as if they were canonized saints. You’ll even find some left-liberals who still have good things to say about the Reverend Jim Jones and the People’s Temple. Let’s be perfectly honest about left-liberals. They simply get wet in the crotch for criminal activists and political revolutionaries who defy social norms. Look at the frantic outcries that have gone up from leftists when our government has tried to expel violent South American gang members. Reply Margaret Coats June 2, 2025 Warren, I’m amused by your purposeful rhyme of “heroes” with “zeroes.” In French, students are warned about proper pronunciation of “h,” because if they are careless, “les zeros” can result when speaking of heroes. You speak rather of errors in judgment. They are sad ones indeed. I hope you are well, as we seem to have missed you recently! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Roy Eugene Peterson May 31, 2025 Exactly! Worthy of condemnation only not sainthood as the media seems to make them! Reply
Brian Yapko May 31, 2025 Terrific poem, Warren. Much needed perspective. George Floyd belongs on this list. And I would add Mahmoud Khalil — darling of every murderous antisemite who thinks that calls for Jewish genocide constitute free speech. In other words, the type of brainless woke student now typical of Columbia and Harvard. If Greta Thunberg incited murder she’d be even more popular than she is now. Of course, her hypocritical shift from ecological to anti-Israel concerns may already fit that bill. There’s something really sick in the soul of people who applaud murderous vile criminals as “folk heroes.” Something shifted in the 20th Century. Common folk rooted for Bonnie & Clyde. In Mexico, many people loved Pancho Villa. And we often hear stories of how some strange people send love letters and fan mail to convicted murderers in prison. This is not like writing a tribute to Robin Hood. It’s more like glorifying Heinrich Himmler or Pol Pot. I looked up John Wilkes Boothe. He was universally condemned for assassinating President Lincoln even though the country was even more divided than it is now and he was reviled by the Confederacy. In the 19th Century people still had a moral compass. Something sick has shifted in the West’s soul. And now? I can’t count the number of young people I’ve seen wearing Che Guevara T-shirts in the last 20 years. Reply
Dave Whippman June 7, 2025 I agree 100%, Brian. There’s a profound sickness in a society that worships the likes of Thunberg and the other trendy woke Israel-haters. But then, how popular are they really? Or is it just the “elite” few shouting loudest? Reply
Joseph S. Salemi May 31, 2025 History is filled with moral vermin who somehow became folk heroes. There were Ravachol and the Marquis de Sade in France, and nihilist radicals and Communists in Russia who were worshiped by the left-liberal bourgeoisie (Solzhenitsyn makes much of this phenomenon in his historical studies of the pre-revolutionary period). In America we had Sacco and Vanzetti, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, George Jackson of the Soledad Brothers, the Weathermen terrorists, Che Guevara, and most recently that piece of garbage named George Floyd. Many of these creeps have been honored as if they were canonized saints. You’ll even find some left-liberals who still have good things to say about the Reverend Jim Jones and the People’s Temple. Let’s be perfectly honest about left-liberals. They simply get wet in the crotch for criminal activists and political revolutionaries who defy social norms. Look at the frantic outcries that have gone up from leftists when our government has tried to expel violent South American gang members. Reply
Margaret Coats June 2, 2025 Warren, I’m amused by your purposeful rhyme of “heroes” with “zeroes.” In French, students are warned about proper pronunciation of “h,” because if they are careless, “les zeros” can result when speaking of heroes. You speak rather of errors in judgment. They are sad ones indeed. I hope you are well, as we seem to have missed you recently! Reply
