PBS: American Experience is discussing Jesse James. In the opening sequence, talking heads say, among other things…

“he was about little people going up against things bigger than they were.”

“ultimate rebel, who fights, fights, goes down not by the system he fights against, but by a Judas in his own midst.”

Ummm… he was a bankrobber, a murderer, and a thug.

more later – I need to see where they’re going with this.

update:

I guess that was their way of hooking folks to watch the show – interesting that I had never heard those stories about him before, but they’re saying that Jesse tried to paint himself that way, to be more appealing to the masses.