I get the point of the thread and, nothing against the original poster, but I hate when someone needs to be built up in the face of someone else being torn down.
There is good and bad in MOST people. But, the fact that almost literally every thread on this board ends up turning into a "Mike is Satan" thread is honestly exhausting.
I love the deep knowledge and never-ending discoveries involving the band that come to light here! But, the negativity drags things down to a ridiculous level.
The fact? Your statement is downright false (and easily proven to be false) and a narrative that has been pushed for far too long by people too pissed off that Mike has done enough crap in his life to the point that it is hard to not bring it up in certain threads. That being said, look at the General On Topic Discussion page and most every thread doesn't devolve into a "Mike is Satan" thread....also interesting that lines like this one get completely made up to make the reality look worse than it is. It's kinda funny that when you search "Mike is Satan" on this forum, the only people who have written it are Mike apologists in an attempt to completely exaggerate the issue. So good going guys, the line "Mike is Satan" only exists because of you.
OP asks:
Everywhere there is talk about Mikes big ego. It's a big part of the narrative and legacy in the bands history.
But just sake of the argument:
Give me some really good examples of Brian actually caring for someone else post 1965. (Writing lyrics doesn't count)
As you prefaced the question with a reference to Mike's egotistical behavior, I assume that the foundation of this thread lies in the idea that in your view "caring" is the opposite of "ego". And while that may be partially correct. Having a big ego means that you very much care only for yourself. Whilst you can have a small ego and still not give great amounts to charity or run into a burning building to save a kitten. My point being, Brian's caring personality has probably done a lot to help people in small ways over the decades. I am very much looking forward to Debbie KL posting in this thread, because I am sure she has a lot of stories about Brian's caring nature. Also, Ray Lawlor, who used to post here probably has many.
And on another note: some of the most selfless people do all their good acts in secret. My grandfather put a plethora of people through college anonymously, my family only found out about it after he had passed away and so many of the kids he helped came to the funeral and talked about his giving nature...but my family never knew about it for 30+ years. Who knows what Brian and Mike do to help others that isn't put into the public light?
I know Mike donates to a lot of charities he is passionate about, I am sure Brian and Melinda do the same.
Brian has indeed admitted to being a bad father and without a doubt he hurt some people during his drug years. But ya know what? It takes a selfless person to publicly admit these kind of faults...and his daughters have since had a healthy relationship with him...and Marylin has probably since forgiven Brian of his behavior. I'm not trying to say Brian is a saint. But his small-ego nature is visible for all to see when he publicly admits his screwups...and admitting such things
is an act of caring, because it is the first step to mending broken relationships and moving towards a more positive way of looking at life (which he has done since the Landy years). Brian Wilson has been diagnosed as a schizoaffective with mild manic depression...in light of that, I'd say the amount of caring (per the examples already posted in this thread) show how even through hearing voices telling him to kill himself and being bipolar, he still fights through it to try and bring some light into the world...which I think is pretty incredible.
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