The most popular American folk hero Jasse James was shot to death in 3rd April 1882, at the age of 34 by Robert Ford. After his death several bandits raged in different time periods but no one could replace the popularity of Jasse James. The main point of focus is “would he still be such an icon if he wasn’t assassinated?” the reply is different to judge. Jasse was popular figure in Books, Magazines, newspapers, and comics even when he was alive, people used to read his deeds and robbery stories and share it with their folks. Out of the most the story tellers in bars and pubs made him more popular and it didn’t take much for him to be highly rated popular story character of that era.
During his final days of life he killed everybody whom he suspected to be the rats of police, but the mounting pressure on him about the future and his illness made him weak from inside. The folk story tells that the Ford Brothers Charlie and Robert to be trustworthy of Jasse so, he took them to his house to live with his children, later the brothers killed him in his own home. But the main reason why Jasse James took the Ford brothers to his house is quite different. Jasse knew he cannot run anymore from the police, and the amount of money that police had kept on him could make anyone target him anymore plus he was suffering from the disease. So, instead of dying the death of coward he thought of dying as he was then, the most popular figure. The man he choosed to kill him was Robert Ford, Jasse knew that the Ford brothers were trying to kill him so, in his last stage he opened his gun belt and placed it in the sofa. Jasse felt Robert couldn’t shoot him if he is turned towards him so he got up in the chair and faced the wall to clean the poster. That was the only moment when Jesse didn’t have his gun with him and the Robert Ford shot him dead.
The reason why Jasse have chosen Robert to kill him is Robert was the biggest fan of Jasse, he knew from the birth till date about Jasse and he have read almost every published article about Jasse. The other common factor was they both were 5 ft. and 8 inches tall, they both had green eye, they both were last son of the family, and their fathers were Baptists, etc. Jasse thought there’s something special with Robert and he could see his future as the most popular man in the history of America if Robert would kill him, so he opted to be killed in his own home. If Robert Ford wouldn’t have killed him then he would not have been such popular yet, we can take an example of John Dillinger who was re-known bandit assassinated by the police, but not pronounced as folk hero. Jasse knew if he will be assassinated then he’d be much more popular than he was at that era. The only man who was in such height of popularization without being assassinated was Robin Hood, the man who was much more popular before being assassinated was Alexander the Great.
Whatever it might be, Jasse commercialized the assassination thing that most of the popular people at one era wanted to be assassinated to remain popular as they are forever. We can see the people like John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, etc. who were assassinated on their height of popularity and still remain in millions heart. The most funny assassination statement was made by Osho and his followers, they claimed American Government injected him slow poison and he died after struggling for several weeks. Well, I don’t know the actual cause of his death cause some people said he died of heart failure, but the main thing was he wanted to be assassinated to be much more popular like Jasse James so, people would remember him for ages. That’s why he made the statement in his death letter saying US government have poisoned him, that makes him being assassinated, but his main point of focus was to be well known like the American wild west folk hero Jasse James.
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