What's YOUR opinion of Walter Breen?

[SethChandler-migration]

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

[Hoot]

A liar and a scholar - not necessarily in that order. An advocate of paedophilia, for which he cannot be respected. An otherwise very strange dude with many manias in life, not the least of which was coins. Helpful like Screwtape, but subtle like Wormwood.

 

Hoot

[truthteller]

Some people say he was a genius, possibly, however, some of his work is now considered out of date and incorrect. Criminal, definitely, some people say he deserved what he got.

 

TRUTH

[gmarguli]

I met him several times. I was probably 13-20 during the times I met him. He was always very nice and friendly to me. He would always take a look at my coins for me. He wrote opinions out for me for free (which apparently he charged $100 for).

 

From what I personally knew of him, he was a very nice man. The fact that it later turned out he was a pedophile doesn't change my fact of how he was to me and the knowledge he possessed. I feel child molesters should be executed. He was a child molester. He should have been executed.

 

That doesn't mean I don't have respect for his work in coins. His work was OK, even if he made some stuff up. He still had a ton of knowledge.

 

Were he alive today, I'd be excited to be able to sit down and talk coins with him, I just wouldn't have any my kids around when I did it.

[chrisfuccione]

With coins he knew alot abot them. He had a problem where he didn't decribe the diffrence between truth, therory, and his opion. Saying that I would have a hard time dealing with him if I met him because of his other intrests. That will be a black cloud over his name. CHRIS

[michael]

swinehunte pigdog

 

and no offense to pigs or dogs..............

 

i cant confirm this maybe hearsay? but while in prison he accidently fell down four flights of stairs and was killed

 

 

sincerely michael

[Fairlaneman]

This thread brings up a pet peeve. How can anyone have a opinion of a person without meeting the person face to face ? Cannot be done.

 

Of course you can have a opinion of a persons opinions and a opinion of a persons life style but to judge the person without contact is just plain insane.

 

Greg.....Nice Post....and I mean that.

 

Ken

[BillJones]

Breen was a great numismatist and very good writer who had a lot of personal problems. I think that he had suffered a lot of abuse as child and a young man.

 

That's no excuse for what he did to children, and he had to be removed from society because of it. Still I do not agree with those dismiss everything that he did in his life because of his very serious faults.

 

He deserves credit as a great numismatist, and he was also a important figure in the field of science fiction.

[truthteller]

Michael,

 

From what I understand, Breen was not treated well by other inmates in prison and was 'roughed up' quite a bit. He was purportedly pushed down a flight of stairs, injuring him. In his short time in prison, he lost much weigh and was a shell of his bulbous self. He died in prison of cancer, not related to the fall down the stairs.

 

TRUTH

[Beijim]

This thread brings up a pet peeve. How can anyone have a opinion of a person without meeting the person face to face ? Cannot be done.

 

Of course you can have a opinion of a persons opinions and a opinion of a persons life style but to judge the person without contact is just plain insane.

 

Nonsense.

 

What's your opinion of Adolph Hitler? Ever met him? How about Shakespeare?

 

A person IS their actions. Therefore, a person can be judged by their actions. Physical interaction with the person is irrelevant.

 

Beijim

[Hoot]

How can anyone have a opinion of a person without meeting the person face to face ? Cannot be done.

 

Of course you can have a opinion of a persons opinions and a opinion of a persons life style but to judge the person without contact is just plain insane.

 

All you're speaking of Ken is an opinion of personal contact. Anyone can have opinions of others' actions without personal knowledge, and it can be well within reason - take politicians, for example, or what history tells us about leaders, e.g. Gandi or Hitler. Likewise, I don't need personal contact with Breen to deplore his attitudes (spoken widely) and actions about children. I also don't need to know him personally to understand that he simply fabricated information, stating (and publishing) it as fact, about coins and numismatics whenever he lacked the genuine knowledge. He did not confess to having "made a best guess". In my field of science (ecology/biology), that'll get you in trouble fast, and you'll lose the respect of your piers in a hurry. In the sciences, opinions are made about people professionally regarding their published and other work, with no knowledge of the individual personally what-so-ever. It helps keep the community honest.

 

In a related ilk, I know a couple of people (well) whom I and others consider true geniuses. This does not make them socially smart nor does it justify all of their actions. Similarly, I'll accept that Breen made significant contributions to numismatics, but that does not place him above reproach.

 

Hoot

[Fairlaneman]

Hoot

 

What I am saying is how could I judge a person without meeting the person face to face. Darn I am not talking about Dead people. Certainly Mr Breen had some traights that are deplorable but all I have to go on is what is written. Just as Greg said, who met him in person, the guy seemed like a nice guy. I cannot say that because I did not meet him. Likewise I cannot say he is a bad person either because I did not meet him.

 

I guess from where I come from a different attitude about people has been developed.

 

By the way Hoot my answer was not directed at you it was just a statement. To say that I did not like you just because you collect Buffalo's would be wrong. But if I met you and decided you were a dirt bag that collected Buffalo's then that would be correct. That was the intent of the original post.

 

Take Care Guys. I'll get out of here again before more Flames come. Man I guess I just cannot say any thing correctly here.

 

Ken

 

 

[Hoot]

Ken - I understand. No personal insult taken, even in the first place . Where I think I differ from you is that I think that a person's actions speak volumes about their internal workings; much of what we "meet" in a person with whom we are acquainted is windowdressing. (Lucifer is an angel of light? Not to get biblical and all, just an analogy.)

 

If there's one thing certain,it's that we all have our faults. Each of us are fallible to one degree or another in one way or another. It's what we do with surpassing our faults that matters, and I simply think that a person who molested children did nothing to overcome what may have happened to themselves. Once a person no longer regards themselves as a victim, they are unlikely to victimize another in a similar way.

 

And I wish that you'd not "get out of here again before more Flames come" , since I have none for you. I like your presence here, even though you collect fishing lures .

 

Hoot

[Oldtrader3]

Well put, Bill. I just wish to add a couple points: he did important research for Numismatics, but was not always careful about checking his facts (certainly not the scientific approach). His contribution though, can not be negated by his mistakes.

 

I met him once. He was very cordial (I was maybe 30 at the time). I asked him a couple questions which he answered factually and straighforwardly.

 

His personal Demons destroyed a productive life. I agree with Hoot, that Pedophiles (particularly) have to be separated from society.

[chrisfuccione]

He deserves credit as a great numismatist, and he was also a important figure in the field of science fiction.

 

The only two things that he is known in the Sci-fi community is bieng maried to MZB and writing the Darkover index. CHRIS

 

[Julian]

I knew Walter Breen and he added a whole new dimension to numismatics. The vast majority of what he wrote about was accurate. He probably had a photographic memory and almost certainly was a genius. The numismatic hobby is far greater for his participation.

 

I offer no comment on his personal life.

[Leothelion]

For certain, I wouldn't get in the same boat with this guy unless he had a big shiny rare coin in his pocket!

 

Why did I go there?

 

 

Leo

[EVillageProwler]

I am not comfortable with this kind of thread wherein we get to publicly critique a person in any which way. For the most part, people are complicated. We are both good and bad, geniuses and . We are capable of the most beautiful dreams and the most horrific nightmares. Each of us are.

 

As outsiders -- and we never really can be insiders when assessing someone else -- we only get to see part of that subject person.

 

In all due fairness to each person around us, and thus also to ourselves, we need to remember that we never really can know another person 100%. In reality, there may be some exceptions. I grew up in a close family, and I think the siblings knew each other extremely well. But, that isn't the case here.

 

Walter Breen was an individual whose life can be described in positive terms as well as in negative terms. Just like the rest of us.

 

EVP

 

PS Were I to have an opinion of Breen, I would not deem it worthy of expression in this forum. Of course, that is *my* opinion of my particular opinion on this subject person.

[pmh1nic]

EVP

 

"We are both ....geniuses and ."

 

Speak for yourself ..

 

Seriously...you're correct to some extent.

 

Fairlaneman

 

You can meet someone and still not have an "accurate" opinion of them. I guess what I'm saying is it is possible to form and accurate opinion of a person based on what you hear from others or in this case what was recorded about Breen's successes and failures.

 

That said "he who is without sin cast the first stone" and "if you live in a glass house don't throw stones." That doesn't mean we don't acknowledge the frailities in ourselves or in others but in judging others we need to be compassionate, although that doesn't mean we shouldn't be held accountable for our actions.

 

I'm deeply saddened about the life long damage Breen probably caused some young people and their parents. Nothing he accomplished in numismatics or any of his other areas of expertise makes up for that.

[Leothelion]

Well, I did a web search on p_____ and amazingly, one of the very first websites took me right back to my neighborhood and with a couple of more clicks, I was looking at mug shots of these people living within 10-20 blocks of me. The website says it's the law, it's called Megan's law.

 

Leo

[pmh1nic]

KingoftheJungle

 

I did the same search and there are about 15 registered offenders living in my zip code. The site also list the offenses and the sentences imposed. I was shock to see a conviction for a sex offence against a one year baby receive a sentence of only 6 ~ 12 years. There were also a number of individuals with offenses against eleven year old girls that got no jail time.

[michael]

what is this website where i can check to see waht sex offenders live within my neighborhood?????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

sincerely michael

[BillJones]

I'm presumming here that most of those who down grade Walter Breen's numismatic research are basing their complaints on the fact that he overestimated the rarity of some varieties in his encyclopedia.

 

Well numismatic research usually works this way. One discovers something, and based on what they know they make an educated guess as to how rare it is. Once the variety description has been published, collectors begin to look for that item. The process is usually accelerated if the coin is bringing a high price in the market.

 

Sometimes the initial perceptions as to the rarity of an item prove to be true. Sometimes they are disproven. Either way, one should not sling mud balls at the person who made the initial discovery unless of course that person is sitting on a hoard of what they have called a rarity or if that person is pumping their rarity claims for personal gain. My impression of Walter was that he never did that. Much of his numismatic research was pure research for the betterment of the hobby.

[gmarguli]

what is this website where i can check to see waht sex offenders live within my neighborhood???

 

A quick search on Yahoo (enter terms: Megan's law YOUR STATE) should come up with info for you.

 

In California this info isn't available online. We need to go to a select few Police and Sheriff’s stations. We wouldn't want to make it easy on people to learn about the sex offenders in their area. We try to protect the sex offenders right to canvas the neighborhoods looking for victims in privacy.

 

[chrisfuccione]

This comes from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Sex

Offender Registry Board web site.

 

 

On May 13, 2003 the Massachusetts Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Sex Offender Registry Board from posting any information about Level 3 sex offenders on this web site. The Board intended to have this information available to the public as of May 15, 2003 and remains confident that the public will ultimately be able to access Level 3 offender information from this site.

 

 

I feel that to protect the public( your children) there has to be a notificatin system that is in place where it is easy to access. It should be set up where you punch in the town that you live in and the list comes up with who is on the list. CHRIS