Hmmm... I didn't realize that the public disliked Yoko, but I don't know much about her. I just read over her Wikipedia page and don't see any mention of that. What did they dislike about her?
Regarding Hilter, my first reaction was the say that you're just interpreting what he's saying too literally. Obviously, he is not saying he doesn't believe a man named Adolf Hilter exist. However, I think you have a good point, that what he is saying, some Jews or others may be offended by.
I think what he is saying is, at least in part, that the legend of Hilter... like that of Elvis, Bob Dylan, Jesus, etc. grew to be much greater than the man himself and has a whole mythology surrounding it that is probably not all that representive of the real man. I think being as famous as John Lennon, he must have been keenly aware about how the press constructs images of people, and surely they did the same thing with Hilter, and we have a particular narrative about this evil mastermind. But in reality there are probably a lot of people who would have ended up doing what Hilter did if they were in his situation.
The other interpretation is that he's just saying he doesn't believe in Hilter's ideology, just like he doesn't believe in the ideologies of the other idols he mentions. But I suspect that's only part of it and you're right that there's an aspect of it that may be offensive to some.
no subject
Regarding Hilter, my first reaction was the say that you're just interpreting what he's saying too literally. Obviously, he is not saying he doesn't believe a man named Adolf Hilter exist. However, I think you have a good point, that what he is saying, some Jews or others may be offended by.
I think what he is saying is, at least in part, that the legend of Hilter... like that of Elvis, Bob Dylan, Jesus, etc. grew to be much greater than the man himself and has a whole mythology surrounding it that is probably not all that representive of the real man. I think being as famous as John Lennon, he must have been keenly aware about how the press constructs images of people, and surely they did the same thing with Hilter, and we have a particular narrative about this evil mastermind. But in reality there are probably a lot of people who would have ended up doing what Hilter did if they were in his situation.
The other interpretation is that he's just saying he doesn't believe in Hilter's ideology, just like he doesn't believe in the ideologies of the other idols he mentions. But I suspect that's only part of it and you're right that there's an aspect of it that may be offensive to some.