A life has ripples and consequences that can be felt long after death. If you can somehow shape those consequences in advance, wouldn't you like to? If your "image" is open to all then you could end up having horrible organizations use it to propagate horrible things. When you have the ability to bequeath it to someone(s) in particular your image is less likely to be used in ways you would find harmful. I see it less as something a person is bothered by because it effects their image/brand but more as something a person is bothered by because it could be used to help nefarious people/organizations. Edit: View it as capital. If you had a suitcase full of $million dollar bills upon your death bed, would you want anyone to be able to grab a fist full? No matter if they're murderers, rapists, saints or volunteers...? No, you'd probably have a preference where that capital was allocated. Your "persona" or "image" is also a capital producing mechanism. You should be able to allocate it how you see fit.