Why was he so based?

Libya's rising discontent with Gadaffi was also likely one of the reasons why the US started bombing and funding. Gotta have their group fill the power vacuum.

Except a lot of people supported him. People came out by the thousands waving the green flag and holding pictures of him after the U.S. started bombing Libya.

Wasn't Ghadaffi a dictator?

People look at how shit Libya is now and learn that under Gaddafi they had a higher standard of living and conclude he was the good guy. It helps if you're a communist knowing that he had a socialistic ideology and aided leftist terrorist organizations. However they don't really think about how totalitarian the country was and forgot all the stupid shit he did.

No, he was the permanent leader of the Libyan revolution.

What does that even mean?

Basically there were two sectors of government. The "Jamahiriya sector" (which was largely democratic) and the "Revolutionary sector" which oversaw revolutionary committees. Gaddafi along with his advisors lead the revolutionary sector of government.

What's the alternative? These countries don't exist in a vacuum, they exist under the foot of giant imperialist power after their blood.

But what about alleged human rights abuses?

I'm not reproaching Ghadaffi, I'm trying to get an accurate picture of his rule. My experience with him is only through propaganda, from either side.

Most of those were fabricated by the U.S. media to drum up support for the fact that we were bombing Libya. As a matter of fact the "rebels" who overthrow him were western backed mercenaries.