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Exploitation? To some extent maybe, but I have to say ultimately no. To believe that would eventually lead to the position that people with his disabilities, or people like him, could never be allowed to have a public career - even if that's what they truly want, even if it's their dream - "for their own protection." That's way more paternalistic than is healthy or fair, IMO. He had the deep-seated, driving artist's impulse to get his vision out there, and he had as much right as anyone to try to succeed.
For the most part, Wesley Willis had a lot of decent people around him. Jello Biafra certainly was one. The less famous members of his bands, the friends and roommates who kept an eye out for him, also were. Maybe it helped that the genre was "outsider" indie rock, where there aren't huge amounts of money involved for anyone, so the greed never reached epic proportions.
Willis was a complicated man who could be very hard to deal with, but on another level he was also kind of a simple guy who was just happiest when he was making music. It was a creative, positive way of dealing with his demons and achieving power over them. He loved being heard and appreciated.
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