Fear and Loathing

NRO ^ | 22 February 2005 | Austin Ruse

[Vigilantcitizen]

they'd had blogs back in the 60's and 70's, I'd have read HST's every day. By the time the 'internet for the masses' came about, his best days were far behind him, but I think he'd have done extremely well in this kind of medium.

I'm one of the few people of my generation who know who Hunter S. Thompson is. While I find his life fascinating, I wish more people knew about it. He was a wildly talented guy who took a flamethrower to his own mind and burned it to a crisp. In the end, he proved himself wrong on everything he ever espoused, and I think 'attention should be paid' to the wages of his particular sins. His life is a case study of the long, downward spiral, but a brilliant one.

Great post. I agree.

[beckett]

But you couldn't call him fake.

I gotta disagree. The party animal gonzo alcoholic/addict that was Hunter S. Thompson was a fake. It's axiomatic. When you drown yourself in all that booze and wack yourself out with all those drugs for forty years you extinguish your authentic self. That's one of the things boozing is all about -- a flight from self and the construction of an inauthentic persona.

Alcoholics are frightened people. Thompson, for all his bluster and semi-talent with words, was no exception.

[DrampireXIV]

"In Hunter's memory, I think this weekend I'll check into a Las Vegas hotel under a phony name with intent to commit capital fraud and a head full of acid."

To match them folks, maybe you should try two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of uppers, downers, laughers, screamers... Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls..

Not to mention the "pineal glands" and "adrenochrome" ;)

[stm]

This was his latest message:

"Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads?" he writes, referring to the people currently occupying the White House. "They are the racists and hate mongers among us -- they are the Ku Klux Klan. I piss down the throats of these Nazis."

That speaks volumes about this man. It does not surprise me at all a weak spineless piece of maggot meat like this would take the coward's way out and eat a bullet. Good riddence Hunter, hope you brought your asbestos suit, eternity in hell is a long time