Is it true America has a long history of idolizing outlaws? Can you name some?

Blackbeard, Colonial Revolutionaries, Jesse James, Billy the kid, Butch Cassidy, Wild Bill Hickock, Guy Fawx, Al Capone, John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffery Dahmer, OJ Simpson, Mike Tyson, Donald Trump.

I don't think Manson, Gacy, or Dahmer are idolized.
Simpson and Tyson are idolized for their non-criminal activities, not because they're criminals. They're not famous for being criminals, whereas most of the others are.
Trump is definitely an interesting one though...lol
- Dahmer is one of those who had prison groupies. As do the Columbine shooters, Harris and Klebold. Apparently there's a certain kind of chick that gets lubed up for mass murderers.
- I was thinking about that as I was typing them up. It's really hard to draw a line on how criminal they are, or fame vs infamy, etc.
You just started naming criminals.
- Gotta be honest, that's literally what outlaw means
- I mean, yeah. The whole outlaw bit sort of implies crimes.
  What did you expect?
George Floyd
- I think George Floyd is mentioned by people to highlight how out of control the police in America are. They are thugs with badges, and they need to be reigned in, but that’s not likely to happen due to America leaning more toward “bootlicker” these days. George Floyd was murdered by shit cops. He should be remembered so we can hold bad police actions accountable. Fuck the police.
- That's more of a "minor crimes don't deserve execution" thing

Bonnie and Clyde, Killdozer man, Al Capone, Christopher Dorner, Billy the Kid to name a few.

There are a few different common themes amongst them, either functioning as part of a gang or as a lone wolf, Bonnie and Clyde captured attention for the romantic twist attached to it.

There are also greater numbers of outlaws during periods where laws are hard to enforce due to remoteness and isolation (old west) or due to the laws being flaunted by basically everyone due to the laws being considered ridiculous (prohibition).

The key common theme is that they are viewed as fighting against an (what the public view as) unjust system, though often it's more to do with their goals coincidentally aligning with the publics perception of an unjust system.

The guy who shot that CEO, is probably the most recent example...

Its part of the western tradition. Bonnie and Clyde for example.

PS. I'm not american.

They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians.
- Yes, and Bonnie and Clyde also robbed banks and destroyed mortgages, freeing people from their debts. I have no idea if that's true, but that's the myth

Is it just america? robin hood. guy fawkes.

Ned Kelly is an Australian icon, primarily known for an armoured shoot out with the cops.
Guy Fawkes isn't idolised, the festival is about burning him alive and even if you don't agree with that his reasons for doing what he did were shit
- Ah. I guess V for vendetta made me think it was celebrating him.
Brazil has Lampião and Padre Ciço. ... Though Ciço is less 'criminal' and more 'heretic'. He's considered a saint by many nevertheless.
Guy fawks is British
- Yes, that is the point
- "is it just America? Guy Fawkes" means "is it just america? Guy Fawkes is an example of an outlaw idolized by Americans who is not himself an American"
- I'd love to hear where you think Robin Hood is from

Bonnie and Clyde

Pretty Boy Floyd

Woody Guthrie - Pretty Boy Floyd

Yes, as through this world I've wandered I've seen lots of funny men Some will rob you with a six-gun And some with a fountain pen

And as through your life you travel Yes, as through your life you roam You won't never see an outlaw Drive a family from their home

From the Youtube comments: "This is the acoustic version of 'Fuck the Police'"

He was seen positively by the public because, during robberies, he burned mortgage documents freeing many people from their debts.
Shit seems relevant.
Also, Stagger Lee, an old blues standard about a violent badass that has been interpreted and reinterpreted for over a century

I tend to think that Trump is getting idolized, too.

For being a criminal or by being a grifter?
- Grifting is often illegal too.
There are people that will idolise all of these, even though they may be a minority. I don’t think that this is what OP meant.

You can see it in our media, even comic books. The Punisher is wanted by law enforcement all the time. Just look at the United Health Care shooting. Guy does what the Punisher does and he instantly becomes an American hero.

Jesse James.

Billy the Kid.

Jeffery Dahmer.

Charles Manson.

Al Capone.

Baby Face Nelson.

And many, many more.

Out of all these, though, the only one I have seen still be idolized in some capacity is Dahmer. Women seem to love him, despite the fact he was gay. And a cannibal.

Bonnie and Clyde
also the most prominent idolized today isn't Dahmer; it's the guy who just got elected for president
Do people really idolize dahmer?
- Yes
To that extent, Trump
I still think that guy needs to go fuck off a cliff, but he fits the premise right?

How is Jesse James not at the top of this comment section?

Billy the Kid.

The rap genre

Well classic rap.
Today's rap doesn't have as much bragging and flexing. Not to say it doesn't happen, it's just not as significant as classic rap.
- Today's rap doesn't have as much bragging and flexing
  What rap are you listening to🤨? And what do you define as classic rap?
Hehehe
- The entire eastern genre

the entire western genre

Hehehe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_about_outlaws

Was Robin Hood a real dude?
- He is an established folklore character, but it may never be proven whether he was a real person or no.
- Watched a thing on him recently. Sure he was, cause apparently he was from Doncaster, not Nottingham.

Bonnie and Clyde! Billy the Kid! I haven't yet met the cute got girl who doesn't have a list of favorite serial killers!

The Oklahoma Sooners, settled in the territory sooner than the enactment of the law allowing them to do so, thereby giving them an advantage over the law-abiders in claiming the most valuable acreage.

They're idolized? I would've probably been an abider ☹️
- There is an entire HUGE university in Oklahoma known as the sooners. So yeah, idolized.

I didn't see no crime, the adjustor is a public servant, shitlord.

the adjustor
That’s what we’re going with? Works for me. I thought “Robin Hoodie” was a bit too generic. I like this one better.
- I think my spelling is off tbh
  Quick search here and on reddit showing that most people are using "the adjuster"
  Either way has beautiful ring to it

Does Jack Sparrow count?

I think Rosa Parks and the Boston Tea Party-goers can be counted.

Slightly off topic but there was an escaped monkey around and people would never report it until they were sure it was gone, they didn't want it caught.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/10/25/163620501/floridas-mystery-monkey-captured-after-three-years-on-the-lam

Julian Assange, Edward Snowden...

I think it comes from America's roots -- America was founded on liberty and freedom, and to some extent, questioning authority, and I think since then it's been somewhat cyclical with socioeconomic changes.

It's also part of the American mythos that is perpetuated in film and music. We have superheroes like Batman, Spider-Man, Green Arrow, western heroes like Zorro and the Lone Ranger, movies like Star Wars, The Hunger Games, Bonnie & Clyde, shows like Mr. Robot...

Just look how some people still see the civil war as the "war of northern aggression", and how they still treat so-called "heroes" of the south.

John Dillinger had his fans too. I recall going to a wax museum in Indiana dedicated to him. There was a display with an electric chair in it.

Can't remember his name, but the right love to fawn over the guy who built "killdozer"

My favorite example is Pretty Boy Floyd.

Who says this and what makes them think this phenomenon is exclusive to the US?

Che Guevara, Julius Ceasar and Galileo are household names globally and martyrdom is--in the words of religious leaders everywhere--"a whole thing, y'know"

Mickey and Mallory Knox

Revolting and overthrowing a government is against the law...so all the mother fuckers that signed that paper with Hancock.