The Fall of Frederick Douglass

We had such an interesting conversation Monday about how we didn't really want to know about Frederick Douglass' negative characteristics, or even his personal life when it came to women because we simply didn't want him to fall, in our eyes, of the pedastal we seem to have all put him on. Personally, this makes him more credible in my mind, because it makes him seem like more of a human being, rather than some mythic hero I can't really relate to in any concrete way. Any thoughts anyone? It just seems to me that Douglass is idealised and even idolized, but he was in fact just a man, who had the avenue to share his experiences with the masses, and whose work we still read today because he had this chance. There are many others we don't hear about as much, or at all, and they, too weren't perfect, just as we aren't. I am just curious to see if anyone else has a thought they'd like to share...