So the screencap has the header selectively cropped-out because it's some no-name website several tiers below Buzzfeed, right?
Making it a listicle and framing it as something that has "aged poorly" is fucking stupid but there are definitely a shitload of people who put up a lot of these antiheroes on pedestals as bad-ass motherfuckers, completely missing the point . Scarface, Fight Club, Breaking Bad, Taxi Driver, Mad Men...the fucking Joker(both Ledger and Phoenix).
I'd say someone like Travis isn't even like someone like Walter White or Tony Montana, in that he's really a tragic character, veteran left alone with no help whatsoever, definitely deserving of more sympathy, if nothing else, and they're almost never portrayed doing anything remotely "badass" up until the final shootout (excluded).
They're weak, awkward (both in how they move and how they operate around other people) they run away, when spotted by the FBI guy etc.
Comparatively, the others in the list are usually carry out monstrous actions but are very capable, more intelligent or tough then those around them.
So when you idolize Travis, you don't idolize his bad-assery as much as you identify in his aimlessness, pain and confusion (even if subconsciously).
Although art is about personal interpretation anyway, so even if you do get the point, it can still read differently based on your values and ideas.
For example you can watch Starship Troopers, understand that it's a satire, but still see it as reinforcement of your fascist, militaristic viewpoint, if you genuinely value those aspects.
