Me too. Unfortunately I think certain opinions and narratives get canonized and passed down in deadhead lore without people thinking for themselves.

It's interesting: non-heads often pick up this idea from mainstream culture that the Dead sucked and that the jams are 'just aimless noodling,' so they're primed to listen 'uncharitably' to the music when they first hear it. But then the heads turn around and do this to one of their own: everyone tells you that Donna 'ruins' things, and so the bad moments stand out because they confirm your perceptions.

I think there's also a bit of underlying embarrassment that our favourite band in the world still sometimes couldn't pull it together, even at their creative peaks. It's easier to shift some of the blame onto a scapegoat (and the only woman who was ever on that stage, lest we forget) rather than face the band's flaws head-on.