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Originally Posted by
thehun 
Well his ascend was just out of this world I agree [developed brain or not] but the movie failed to explain of why him. Yes we could brush it off with the rise of Communism in Europe and the growing paranoia of that here in the US and maybe the government needed someone who was young energetic and determined, and if things go wrong they could just discard him, but I wanted to see that to flashed out.
I was hoping for the same. Maybe those that have read the many biographies about Hoover can explain. However, depending on the author, biographies aren’t always the best and fairest way to access ones place in history, so we may never get the full story. With the advent of the Internet it seems like history is changing on a daily basis to severe ones agenda.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
thehun
On the other hand Hoover did establish the modern forensic evidence gathering, and it's importance to fight crime, [The Lindbergh baby case was good example]and that is lasting and very positive achievement.
More specifically, fingerprinting. Until DNA testing came along that was the top dog. However, as overwhelmingly positive as fingerprinting has been and will continue to be, it is an invalid science. Same with bite marks. There is a fallacy that no one has the same fingerprints, and while that is largely true, many people will have the same ‘points’ and that is where it has gotten into trouble. Because innocent people have been convicted based on fingerprints, the ‘point’ bar has now moved. What is the new ‘point’ bar? That is what the ‘experts’ are debating. Is it 16? 23? 30? One thing I can be sure about, if you are innocent and your ‘points’ indicate otherwise, you will be living a nightmare. People would also be surprised to learn that these so-called ‘experts’ called in to testify in court are any thing but expert. But that is another story.
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Originally Posted by
Gary McCoy
Some of you are overlooking the fact that until the Civil Rights era (late '50's/early '60's) the Jim Crow laws were the place, and the official US Government policy did not include equal rights for minorities. The first time I saw Washington, DC was during the late 1950's, and there were still seperate restrooms, water fountains, and bus seats for Blacks and Whites - in private and public buildings, both.
I mention this because most of you don't remember the USA before the Civil Rights era. It was a different place, and all law enforcement officers everywhere, not just J. Edgar, enforced racist laws, and Martin Luther King was an enemy of the country, investigated by the Feds at every turn.
J. Edgar was a product of his time. Once equal rights became law, he pursued the KKK. You can't understand the man absent his setting. Nor can you properly judge his actions by the standards of today.
I remember it very well. I see and hear it to this day. Lately, it seems like a revival is going on.
I think everyone here understands Hoover was a product of his time. But not everyone who lived in those times agreed with everything Hoover did, either. He ruled with an iron fist – my way or the highway. He made a lot of enemies along the way and they lived in those times as well.
Every President lived in fear of Hoover, including Nixon, and that was in the early ‘70’s, not the ‘30’s. Is that what we want/wanted? I hardly think so. Hoover has a history. It is what it is, both positive and negative. As the saying goes: There’s more than one-way to skin a cat. Just because Hoover did it his way doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been done differently and with just as much success.
, but the entire content didn't need to be removed. 
One key point I made; the human brain isn't fully developed until the age of 25, so I thought it was irresponsible to put a person so young in such a powerful position. I guess that is about as far as I can go.
