I read some distubring stuff yesterday about the reason Mandela being in prison for so long not because of his political views, but because he and his group were bombing civilians 
Complicated history here...
Complicated history here...It seems that often when you dig on person turns out they did some or had some rather disturbing things or views. Like Mother Theresa...
and ghandi, and martin luther king.. you see all these public heroes, and you begin to question everything. it's a vicious cycle. sometimes i have to ask myself if i'm being too cynical, and i don't know what the answer really is. all these people that we've been told to worship are still human beings after all.
When I read MLK was a noted womanizer and beat his wife, it's like my world crumbled around me. I didn't want to believe it because when I was a kid he was my absolute hero. Like you said, they are still human beings and no one is perfect. Some are more perfect than others but no one is absolutely perfect.
Somewhat off topic: This is why I never understood celebrity worship. The entertainment industry is an industry of smoke and mirrors. I cannot fathom how anyone can tolerate Beyonce knowing she's as dumb as a box of rocks and clearly worships herself, and she's enough of a greedy asshole to do ads for Pepsi and speak out on initiatives for reducing obesity in the US... Celebrities are tools of brainwashing the public, keeping them distracted.
/conspiracy theory/rant over