Posted on 05/24/2004 7:27:35 PM PDT by wagglebee
Hunter S. Thompson's ESPN column was scrubbed of controversy late Monday afternoon when online editors worried the famed gonzo journalist had gone too far.
In a column entitled, "Let's Go to the Olympics," Thompson went off on the Abu Ghraib prison picture scandal, exclaiming: "Not even the foulest atrocities of Adolf Hitler ever shocked me so badly as these [Abu Ghraib] photographs did."
But after being linked to the DRUDGE REPORT, a top editor demanded the sentence be immediately edited --without Thompson's okay, according to an ESPN.com staffer.
"Hunter can go too far sometimes," the Bristol-based ESPN employee told the DRUDGE REPORT.
The cleansed paragraph now reads:
"These horrifying digital snapshots of the American dream in action on foreign soil are worse than anything even I could have expected. I have been in this business a long time and I have seen many staggering things, but this one is over the line.
As with the original, Thompson still concludes with the thought: "Now I am really ashamed to carry an American passport."
Developing...
Clean up needed on aisle 5
If that's how he FEELS, that's how he FEELS. Why the need to clean it up? The whole point of HST is that he's "gonzo."
It is a darn shame he doesn't have the moral perspective to put the Abu Ghraib torture in context: in no way does it come close to the Holocaust by any reasonable measure. Even American troops did far worse during WWII.
Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, perhaps playing devil's advocate, or whatever, but then again, maybe not.
HST and everyone on this site knows that the USA is the world's greatest nation. Since the collapse of the USSR, the US has simply been forced into the role of Leading The World into the future, whether it wants to go or not. In our role as The World's Greatest, perhaps Hunter was dismayed in the concept that the photos revealed that our standards of dealing with the enemy were lower than great, progressive, or wise. Just a thought.
The Nazis committed some REALLY horrible attrocities. This is hardly comparable.
I could not agree with you more, personally.
On its face, it's a stupid statement. But I have noticed that Thompson more often than not, writes not to express, but to force the reader into engagement. I'm wondering if this was simply another example of forcing the hand of the reader--If the US is the greatest, (and I believe this is true), why are policies with dealing with dangerous prisoners so underdeveloped? I know it's a stretch here, but I'm having a hard time believing HST suffers from complete mental collapse.
Sissy boy was never in a fraternity.
He was on the McGovern bandwagon in '72.
Yeah, Hitler killed six million Jews, but hey, at least he didn't put panties on their heads. ><
So let me get this straight: Rush Limbaugh saying Donovan McNabb was overrated by the liberal media was too controversial for ESPN, but Hunter S. Thompson is A-OK.
FWIW, since this thread has come back from the past, I looked over the recent posts....
InTheWeeds who joined up 6/28 and played devil's advocate in agreeing with Hunter, to a degree, has not posted ANYTHING to FR since that day.
Moby troll? Hard to say...
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