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Comment by diegoholiveira | Hacker News Reader

So, one mistake is all is needed to fade away all other great things he did?

I honestly don't have any horse in this race: Pelé probably was an all-around great guy. To call a lifetime of ignoring your child "one mistake" feels like a mischaracterization, though. It might not even be considered a bad thing, but it's definitely an ongoing decision.

As an analogy, I eat meat. Future generations might see that as immoral. It's definitely not a mistake I made one time, though, it's an ongoing choice that I'm making repeatedly over the course of my life.

It's a bit weird though, I can't imagine disowning a child but why not? People put kids up for adoption.

It's really weird to insist on using your biological father's surname if they disown you.

Adoption and disowning have very different connotations. Generally adoption is seen as a best attempt to find someone who can take care of the kid. Generally disowning is seen as just washing your hands of the situation I think.

It's a very unfortunate situation.

But what grosses me out is if Pelé were not who he is. She wouldn't have been so insistent on using his name.

I doubt it was a yearning to connect with her ancestor that lead to it and not money and fame. She had a mum, use her surname she raised you!

I dunno, never met her, not able to analyze her motives. That seems like a lot to project on a person who died in 2006 though. Perhaps she felt like she deserved to be treated like the rest of his children or something.

> Perhaps she felt like she deserved to be treated like the rest of his children or something.

You think ahe tried to sue him into loving her? That's so gross.

It's not sue him into loving her. It's sue him to address a gross violation of her rights.

Unfortunately his daughter wasn't put up for adoption (which would be an entirely fine thing to do!). When you are put to adoption, you have a new family, and it is complete in itself.

She was deprived not only of the contact of his father but also her siblings and extended family from the father side, and for no reason at all. She always knew who her father was and knew that he wanted nothing to do with her.

TIL people without families aren't allowed to adopt kids alone as that'd violate the human right to extended family!

A mistake is required to be a “one time thing”? There’s no “continues mistake”?

I do believe he’s super wrong on this subject, but not even for a moment I consider him as a bad person because of that.

You are more forgiving than a lot of people. I know very little about football or Pele, but this particular "mistake" seems like a biggie.

It's like you be a nice guy 99.9% of the time, but in the remaining percent you murder someone. All your niceness is nullified by your single action.

It's not like he forgot to tip the waitress. He rejected his own daughter. How would you like it if your father actively tried to ignore your existence? Have some empathy for a fellow human being. It's horrible behavior, regardless of Pele's fame.

It’s only a misteak if you eat at Geno’s. Don’t make a misteak, eat at Pat’s.

Not even going to point out that the OP isn’t even trying to overlook all the good things he did.

It’s a stretch to argue that a lifetime of neglect is a singular mistake. This was an ongoing issue that he kept choosing over and over again.

On social networks yes. Because all nuance is lost and things are only white and black.

It’s stupid and part of why they are so bad for my personal mental health

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