History’s greatest scandals

The perception is that scandals have become a substantial part of our social media driven world. I was, therefore, intrigued by a book I recently read HISTORY’S GREATEST SCANDALS: Shocking Stories of Powerful People by Ed Wright published by Thunder Bay Press.

The book has 28 stories of major scandals throughout history from Marquis de Sade (born 1740) who engaged in acts of sadism and bestiality to Bill Clinton (born 1946) who almost got impeached as president of the United States because of his sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. The stories are divided into six categories: Political Misconduct, ten stories; Murder and Mystery, five stories; False Prophets, three stories; On the Lam, three stories; Double Lives, four stories; and Private Perversions, three stories. 

According to Wright: “ Being the best, the brightest, the richest or the most powerful is no guarantee against screwing up...Although we live in a cynical era, surrounded by spin doctors and billion-dollar dodges, such as Enron, we continue to be intrigued by scandals. It seems where there is large-scale society there will always be scandal. People competing for advantage are tempted to break the rules and others are unable to control their natures, while scandal or even a whiff of it , can be a tool of the envious to bring the innocent down.”

What is scandal? Wright explains: “Scandal is a jewel of many faces. Greed, lust, envy, incompetence and sheer perversity are just some of its motivating factors...It would be interesting to know the amount of times the perpetrators of these scandals said to themselves,’ If only I’d stopped while the going was good.’ But greed is incessant, feed the monster and it is bound to want more.“ Here is a summary of some of the stories.

‘ I Am Not a Crook’: Richard Nixon and Watergate.

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th president of the United States of America. He was coming up for re-election in 1972, and wanted to find out the campaign plans of the Democratic Party. So he instructed his aides to organize a break in and wire tapping of the opposing Democratic Party Headquarters located in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. Frank Willis, the night security guard at Watergate discovered someone was in the building; and, he immediately called the police. That single telephone call on June 17, 1972 set off a far reaching scandal that eventually led to Nixon’s resignation.

During the investigation, Bob Woodward, one of the two reporters of Washington Post who broke the story said: “They lied and then they lied to cover their lies and then more lies to cover those lies so that in the end no one knew the truth, if there was any truth.” This is reminiscent of ongoing scandals now happening in the United States, Philippines and other countries. On Aug. 8, 1974, Nixon resigned to avoid being impeached. Nixon spent his night in the White House drinking, sobbing and praying.

All The President’s Women: Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos

Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were the President and First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. According to Wright: “They swindled the country out of countless millions and perhaps even billions of dollars...He had a weakness for beautiful women, and she had a weakness for beautiful shoes.”

There were several stories about the Marcos’ different scandals, most of which are familiar. The main focus of Wright’s story is on the affair between Dovie Beams and Ferdinand Marcos which became public when she called a press conference in Manila on Nov. 11, 1970 and produced a tape recorder. Wright says: “The battery of journalists was amazed to hear the voice of the president singing his off key love songs and desperately begging for oral sex.”

The Imelda stories are mainly about her extravagances. One story, Wright wrote: “While Ferdinand ruthlessly suppressed all political opposition at home, Imelda’s extravagance went into overdrive. In one real estate shopping expedition in New York she considered purchasing the Empire State Building but turned it down. At $750 million, it wasn’t out of her price range but she thought it ‘too ostentatious.’ Instead she bought the $51 million Crown Building, the $60 million Herald Centre and two more prime chunks of Manhattan.” This was in the 1970s when the US Dollar was much more valuable than today’s dollar.

The Maestro’s Melancholia; PYotr Tchaikovsky’s Stormy Life

Tchaikovsky ( 1840-1893) was a Russian who is acknowledged as one of the greatest composers in the history of the world. Some of the greatest ballet and orchestral music were composed by him including classics like Romeo and Juliet. Swan Lake, 1812 Overture, and Nutcracker Suite.

He is said to have committed suicide by drinking a glass of unboiled water in order to develop a fatal illness. He suffered unbearable guilt about being homosexual and may have been manic depressive. Wright says: “The physical embodiment of this duality in Tchaikovsky’s life was the constant shuttle between the gay underground of the city and the rural innocence of his house in the countryside, the courtier’s popularity in the imperial household and the lonely nights at hotels and friends’ estates across Europe where he would take refuge and compose. 

Lack of space prevents me writing about the other stories in the book. There are three stories about British politicians: Temperance in all Things: Jabez Spencer Balfour; An Affair to Remember: John Profuno and the Fall of a Government; and, The Liberal and the Unstable Stable Boy: Jeremy Thorpe; stories of religious leaders like The Preacher and the Prostitute: Jimmy Swaggart; celebrities like He Wouldn’t Take No for an Answer: Roman Polanski; people who led double lives: Portrait of a Shadow: The Secrets of Anthony Blunt, an MI5 double agent; and perverse people like Pleasure Through Pain: The Marquis de Sade, who is said to have originated sadomasochism. 

These stories of real life scandals rival great fiction and are actually seminal moments in world history. 

Summer creative writing classes and workshop for kids and teens

Write Things Summer Workshop, a six-day creative writing workshop, is scheduled at Fully Booked BGC on May 7, 9, 11, 14, 16 and 18 (1:30-3:30 pm for 8-12 years old and 4-6 pm for 13-17 years old). Facilitators are award-winning authors Russell Molina, Mikael de Lara Co, Weng Cahiles, and Write Things’ mainstay facilitator, writer and educator Roel Cruz.  ?The workshop is now on its 5th year. 

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