People Who Sold Out Their Own Kind
Traitors, hypocrites, cowards, liars. there are about a trillion different words for people who sell out their own kind, but there's one we can all agree on: assholes. Here are ten men who betrayed their own communities, big time:
Anthony Johnson
Johnson was an American plantation-owner who almost single-handedly introduced the evil of slavery to the US State of Virginia. Oh, and he was black! Not only was Johnson African through-and-through, he was an ex-slave himself. In 1621 he'd been snatched by slave traders and wound up working as an 'indentured servant' in Virginia. Now, while 'indentured servants' were basically slaves there was one important difference: when their contract expired or was bought out, they were free. That means all the beatings, forced labour and general awfulness had an end in sight-and owners were legally bound to honor it. Thanks to this system, Johnson was able to buy his freedom and eventually set up his own plantation. So when one of his 'servants' came to the end of his contract, Johnson let him go, right? Nope. He took the man to court and sued for his right to own him for life. The court agreed and, hey presto, suddenly slavery was de-facto legal in Virginia. Six years later, it was on the books and a whole depressing chapter of American history was ushered in-all thanks to one man who'd apparently never heard of 'solidarity'.
Jim West
As a member of the US House of Representatives, Jim West developed a track record for anti-homosexuality. What sort of track record? Well, he was a vocal supporter of a bill that would've banned gay people from working in schools, day care centers and State agencies; along with another one that would've made giving out pamphlets on HIV-protection illegal. West also signed a bill intended to criminalize teenagers who had sex or even touched each other. And he did all this while acting like the biggest man-whore in gay-history. In 2004, West was discovered to have a profile on the dating website Gay.com. When a newspaper splashed with the story, young boys began coming forward saying he'd seduced them-often in his office, on government time. West's career quickly exploded in his homophobic face, but only after he'd spent 20 years making life a living hell for other LGBT people.
Eleke Scherwitz
Scherwitz has the dubious distinction of being the only Jewish officer in the SS. Yes, that SS: the Nazi death machine that rounded up and murdered millions of Jews in one of the worst genocides in history. Now, Scherwtiz's story is nowhere as clear-cut as most on here. For one thing, when the Allies arrived, he claimed to be a concentration camp victim and spent the next three years helping the Allies round up escaped Nazis. It was only when he was spotted by a former inmate of the work camp he ran that he was put on trial for war crimes. But there's now some doubt over his role as a Nazi stooge. While it's undeniable he helped the SS commit atrocities, some argue he also saved thousands of Jews-a sort of undercover Oscar Schindler. So where does the truth lie? Was he a moral man forced to make immoral choices; or a traitor who lied and killed to save his own skin? We'll probably never know.
Maurice Papon
Many French politicians turned traitor under Nazi occupation, but none got away with it for as long as Maurice Papon. Where others went into hiding or were put on trial, he clawed his way up the ladder of the post-war government- eventually being awarded the Legion d'honneur. It wasn't until 1981 that evidence of his collaboration emerged: his signature was uncovered on a set of papers ordering the deportation of over 1,600 French Jews to Drancy internment camp; a pit stop for those destined to be exterminated. For nearly twenty years the legal system dragged its heels, until Papon was finally put on trial in 1997 and convicted the following year. Because life is terminally unfair, he only served 4 years of his sentence before being released on humanitarian grounds- whereupon he promptly refused to die for another five years, and spent the remainder of his life loudly protesting his innocence and generally being an unrepentant idiot.
William Joyce
Speaking of unrepentant people, they don't come much more unrepentant than William Joyce. Born in America to an Irish father, Joyce's act of betrayal was to broadcast propaganda for the Nazis during World War II. Despite being a naturalized British citizen, Joyce was responsible for Germany's most-successful attempt to destroy the country's morale during the blitz. As Lord Haw Haw he'd come onto the radio and mouth-off about anything that came into his head-so long as it made the Allies look doomed. At the height of his fame, up to 18 million people would tune in to hear how the Britain was allegedly being steamrollered by the Nazis, creating a climate of uncertainty that could have led to surrender. When he was finally captured in Berlin, Joyce showed no hint of remorse. He eventually died as he had lived: a committed Nazi.
Omar Hammami
Hammami's betrayal of his people may not be the worst on this list, but it's certainly the funniest. An American citizen, Hammami radicalized himself and vanished off to Somalia to help the cause of global jihad. And by 'help' I mean 'release hilariously bad rap songs'. That's right: rap songs. In an attempt to corrupt other Americans into joining his one-man mission to destroy popular music, Hammami began recording songs about how terrorist-life totes beats thug-life y'all. If it weren't for his involvement with several fatal attacks on UN troops over the years, it would be tempting to feel sorry for his poor, deluded man. As it is, Hammami's devotion to jihad has led to the deaths of innocent people and contributed to the on-going conflict in Somalia. But, on a humorous note, that hasn't stopped other jihadists from claiming he doesn't even write his own lyrics. In other words, not only is he a terrorist, but he's a talentless one to boot.
Imran Firasat
While Hammami was making his transition from Christian to Muslim, Imran Firasat was going in the opposite direction. Originally from Pakistan, Firasat fled to Spain after converting to Christianity and receiving death threats from neighbors. Understandably, this left him with a deep antipathy towards his former countrymen. Less-understandably, it also left him unable to grasp the concept of hypocrisy. One of Firasat's first acts as a Spanish citizen was