Yanno, I used to wonder how the family members of well-known serial killers or other publicly crazy people felt. Especially if they, say, share a last name--obviously there are other people in the world with the last names Gacy, Hitler, Hussein, Bundy, and Hubbard**. They must all go through life having to apologize for their kinfolk's behaviour and insisting that not everyone in their family was insane.
But I think it probably feels how I do about other Americans every time I see something like this. I feel like I have to apologize and prove to other people that not all Americans are like that.
**I actually found
this video of a performance piece by the great grandson of L Ron Hubbard, whose family took the logical and unfortunately necessary step of changing their name in order to avoid negative associations and, even worse, to escape the cultists of Scientology. It's worth watching.