would you happen to know why Ringo doesn't seem to really have an ego? i feel like its something I can't rly trace unlike, for example, George where it makes sense he'd be a little insecure and have this feeling of inadequacy. but even he had enough belief in himself to feel anger that John and Paul weren't taking his songs seriously
with Ringo I was assuming maybe its cuz the fans' perception of him can be really unflattering to downright feeling of "nothing," but even then that had to come from somewhere right? Ringo rly never was super egotistical even though he had all the right to do so. and I know he has low self esteem too (what with his depression during the 80s) and even just never really wanted to be in the spotlight (definitely more of a team player)
I guess I just wanted to ask if you had any ideas or like suggestions as to why? could be he's just wired that way which, more power to him! I just feel like it could be stemming from something I missed or don't know about him unlike, a natural personality trait (and even those always come from somewhere!)
Ohh this is a really good question. I have an old-ish post about the Beatles and self-esteem (Ringo down at the bottom), and I think I still roughly agree with what I said about Ringo. His childhood was rough (and that's putting it mildly), and I think that instilled low self-esteem and maybe even a lack of self-knowledge that dogged him well into adulthood. Even when he was doing great and receiving positive feedback, there was still that wound underneath.
I haven't really looked into self-esteem as a concept that much, but in other reading I've brushed up against this idea that low self-esteem stemming from childhood tends to be part of your foundational understanding of yourself, while low self-esteem that develops in adulthood tends to be more like a specific wound or trauma in response to a specific situation/experience. I do think there's probably a lot of exceptions to that (if adult experiences can change who you are then shouldn't they change how you see yourself?) but it's interesting how well it applies to George and Ringo.
George had the grounding of a loving, attentive family who instilled a strong individual identity from a young age. So much of his insecurity and anxiety around music in particular has a direct through-line to his time in the beatles, and as he got further from that time those anxieties did seem to fade.
Ringo's lack of ego and apparent "blankness" -- not emptiness, but blankness, where he (and we) afford him less complexity and humanity than he deserves -- is pretty consistent throughout his entire life. (Or, at least, his young life). It seems like it comes from somewhere deeper, is more entrenched in his self-perception, rather than being a response to a specific trauma. I really think the chaos and neglect of his childhood, plus becoming a heavy drinker at a very young age (I know I bring this up a lot, but it's NUTS that his first blackout was at 9 years old), didn't allow him to form a strong individual identity like George.
All that being said, I do think some of his lack of pretension(?) is an affectation. He's got an ego in the sense that he sometimes comes off quite arrogant, but he knows his popularity relies on likeability and relatability more than it did for John or even George. Which is not to say that he has/had strong self-esteem throughout his life -- just that he's capable of being a bit full of himself sometimes, as seems to be typical for celebrities.
