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A common misconception about Bonnie and Clyde

posted 13 years ago by novastar_6
18 replies | jump to latest

I'm talking about the REAL Bonnie and Clyde here...this is the opening line to one person's review of the movie on here: "First of all, let me say that I'm appalled by the real life Bonnie and Clyde. They were two psychopathic thrill killers from Dallas who had a special hatred for law enforcement officers."

I'd sure like to know where people get their ideas about Bonnie and Clyde from, I suppose from this movie...but the fact of the matter is that Bonnie Parker never killed anybody when she ran with Clyde Barrow, she wasn't a murderer, she was a getaway driver and she smuggled a gun into Clyde so he could escape from prison in the first place, but she never killed anyone and I don't believe she even ever shot anyone either.

The Barrow gang is credited with 14 murders, not a lot but people think it's damn plenty and says plenty about their cold blooded ways. The first murder on this list was committed by Clyde when he was still in prison, the murder 'victim' was another prison who preyed on the smaller weaker inmates and raped them, so his death doesn't deserve to be on this list. Another murder attributed to them, the gunman responsible was never identified and he didn't even match the way Clyde or anybody in his gang pulled off a robbery, so it's highly doubtful that he's responsible for that one either. Two other murders were also committed against inmates who became honorary prison guards of sorts who brutalized the prisoners, so again, this is not poor innocent members of the law here who were blown away. But even of those 2 and the 10 remaining others, Bonnie was never responsible for any of them so how does she get a title of a killer?

[–] Instructions_notincluded 13 years ago

Still, I don't think I would them over for a cuppa tea!

[–] marvelass 13 years ago

I don't think you can truly say that "Bonnie never killed anyone." You weren't there. You can say she was never officially charged with murder 'cause she wasn't. But who knows what happened during the gunfights and in between. Maybe the "Grapevine Murders" of the two highway patrolmen went as the Parker-Barrow families claimed (that it was Henry Methvin who delivered both fatal blows), or possibly that the Parker-Barrow families were/are covering their asses by putting the blame on Methvin. Frankly, whenever a family member says that a relative didn't do so-and-so, I become suspicious. I guess, the truth is we'll never know. There are accounts of Bonnie firing a gun (even Blanche says this in her memoirs) and she could've thus inadvertently killed a cop (or two), but to state that she NEVER killed anyone is unfounded.

The truth of the matter: Both were wanted for vehicle theft and (in Bonnie's case) possibly murder.

[–] novastar_6 13 years ago

Only the men of the Barrow gang were ever fingered for the murders, now since everybody was calling Bonnie a murderer it seems odd nobody would look her way to say she even pulled the trigger once on anybody.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] Tom_Cruises_Testicles 13 years ago

Charles Manson didn't kill anyone either, but is still considered a serial killer.

[–] Cybersharp 13 years ago

You’re correct, and that’s a valid comparison, however it should be remembered that Frank Hamer, in order to justify Bonnie’s execution style killing, deliberately misrepresented the facts in that incident to give the impression that she was a ruthless, hands-on killer. He would not have done that if he hadn’t believed that there was some value in playing to the public belief that a person who actually commits a deliberate and brutal murder is somehow more dangerous and deserving of vigilante justice than someone who was just part of a group which shot its way out of trouble.
.

[–] novastar_6 13 years ago

And we can agree there is a world of difference in Bonnie Parker who was a getaway driver and a moll, and Charles Manson who told his disciples to actually go out and kill and start a war.

[–] EmilylnWonderland 11 years ago

Charles Manson masterminded those murders; he didn't commit them, but he was just as guilty as the actual murderers.

I don't think the same can be said of Bonnie Parker. I don't think she masterminded any murders. I think the killings were a result of self-defense and not getting caught. I don't really think B & C killed anyone for solely sadistic purposes.

I don't think you can compare Bonnie to Charles Manson.

[–] gribfritz2 12 years ago

Only 14 murders? You're right. That's not a lot. Perhaps we should have them apply for sainthood with the Catholic Church.

[–] novastar_6 12 years ago

Do the math, 2 years for a gang, a GANG of people which is made up of 4-6 people, then consider that due to MOs that don't add up it's more likely 12, and then figure in 2 deaths that are not robberies gone bad but revenge for abuse and sadism the gang members suffered in prison, that takes it down to 10 killings of innocent people. No for a whole gang of people over a course of 2 years 10 is not a lot, and neither is 14, as far as a body count goes for a violent gang that's a pretty pathetic total, that comes to less than 1 person every 2 months.

[–] ck1-5 12 years ago

Well, hell, John Dillinger robbed several banks, and is only credited with killing one person....I guess that he deserved the Congressional Medal of Honor.

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 12 years ago

Bonnie WAS a murderer, by way of aiding and abetting the crimes (including murder) of Clyde. She was a killer whether or not she ever pulled a trigger. Aiding and abetting a crime makes a person guilty of the crime. Basic law. If that upsets your hero worship of two punk killers, tough sh!t. She was a murderer. Move on.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae

[–] novastar_6 12 years ago

Legally speaking she was as responsible for the murders but she still was not a murderer.

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 12 years ago

No, legally speaking she was a murderer. Please research the meaning of "Aiding and Abetting". If a person meets the criteria of aiding and abetting a crime, that person is guilty of the crime. Bonnie was indeed a murderer, even if she never shot anyone.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae

[–] porfle 10 years ago

Being an accessory to murder is still murder. Bonnie and Clyde were a pair who both needed to be stopped by any means necessary.

[–] nlualum82 10 years ago

Yeah, I suppose it's typical where you come from for those sowing their early 20's wild oats to waste 3 or 4 people?

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Stratego (30503) a year ago

So the point of this thread was to tell everybody about your own misconceptions about Bonnie and Clyde?