Not trying to defend Nieratko or Big Brothers actions in the past but it was a different time back then; humor has changed a lot over the decades and what was once acceptable to laugh at by the majority isn't anymore, but back then it was. Not to mention it was a lot cooler to be a dick back then too, I remember back then there was almost like a cool guy appeal to being a dick, like people found it charming or something. It wasn't til recently with the uprise of social media that being a dick became REALLY frowned upon because it makes it so much easier for fans to call someone out for being a dick; if a pro was a dick to a bunch of kids at a signing its easy for them to go on his Instagram and call him out and having the news spread like wildfire which in turn drags his name through the mud a lot easier and causes sponsors to take notice as well, thus tainting his reputation. Since its so easy to call people out now the majority of pros are always so nice and on their best behaviors now, because they don't wanna deal with being called out and having it effect their image and board sales. Social media has killed the appeal of being a dick. I guarantee you if it weren't for social media there probably would still be a cool guy appeal to it. It's just so easy to call people out now for being shitty people, which makes people reconsider the way they act and the way they are and the way they treat people, which is one thing i think social media and the internet has done in making the 2010s a better place in this world overall. Talk all the shit you want about social media being poison but there's at least one upside to it. Yes Nieratko was a dick back than, but a lot of industry folk were back then too, hell. a lot of people in general, because it was "cool".
That said, even though a lot of Nieratkos stuff is cringe inducing to read these days he also did some of my favorite interviews ever. His interview with Method Man and his interview with Atmosphere are two of my favorites, if you haven't read them I suggest you do, you can find em on his website.