Posted on 02/27/2005 12:55:01 PM PST by TFFKAMM
Not since the death of Princess Diana has so much worshipful ink been spilled on the occasion of a mere mortal's passing. He was a giant among men. Who cared that for years he had been a largely burned-out case, more of a circus act than a serious writer, reveling in adolescent stunts with firearms, alcohol, narcotics -- the predictable paraphernalia of the self-styled outlaw who wowed the chattering classes and other assorted rubes and poseurs long after his appeal had worn off for almost everybody else?
Indeed, by coming not to bury Hunter S. Thompson, but to praise him -- unreservedly, remorselessly, endlessly -- his adoring acolytes, who shared the same trade, may be saying more about themselves than about the journalistic practitioner who ended up fantasizing about shotgun golf for ESPN. com.
For it was through Hunter Thompson, in life and in death, that we journalists could do what we do best -- live vicariously, through others. Wild times, no restraints, so removed from our more humdrum reality. Ah, but if we can just speak of "Hunter," we're there, in our own minds, fearing and loathing and congratulating ourselves on our infinite cool. We might not have the capacity for the enormous amount of stimulants Thompson consumed, but we could at least get a contact high just being associated with him, no matter how remotely.
That much of his consumption was illegal -- the kind of "gotcha" infraction journalists drool over when it comes to other kinds of public figures (which Thompson most certainly, and deliberately, was) -- was of no consequence. That Thompson's literary product was largely "drug fueled" gets high-fives in the same publications that, for example, expose, in an off-with- their-heads manner, the steroid-fueled achievements of ball players...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Ouch! :)
I couldn't agree with this article more. Another example of why people shouldn't support the use of illegal drugs.
It really appeared like his brain was fried and this was 1 1/2 years ago so I can imagine where he was at last week.
Even Zogby didn't predict that!
reply = replay
that's them "intellectuals" for ya!
I agree! The adulation of this guy bewilders me.
Charlie Rose did a retrospective of interviews with Thompson and I had no idea what the man was talking about.
Soft as the proverbial grape.
It really appeared like his brain was fried and this was 1 1/2 years ago so I can imagine where he was at last week.
Agreed. He really seems like more of a tragic or pathetic figure than someone to be praised.
Gone. So?
You can say what you like about the man, but he sure could write!
Is his last article published yet? Does anybody know where it is?
Thompson was a typical liberal: crazy, ignorant of, and unconcerned with the truth, vicious, egomaniacal, and narcissistic.
Who but the most self-centered of monsters would shoot himself while on the phone with his wife, with his six year old grandchild in the house with him?
Good riddance to bad rubbish, I always say, and if more Leftist propagandists want to take a similar decision, I won't shed any tears.
Reading about acid binges that turn Vegas casino employees in to lizards is fun when you're a teenager. Reading the hate-filled rantings of an America-loathing psychopath as an adult for the next thirty years was seldom a rational choice.
You are not alone. But, the fawning adulation is unbearably real.
This from a long time American expatriate writer/editor at the Jakarta Port. (yeah, Jakarta!)
We lost a good one this week. Hunter S. Thompson -- aka The Good Doctor, author/sports nut/party animal extraordinaire -- passed away at his home in Colorado and now Jakartans, particularly sports fans here, can only wonder what could have been.
For the Good Doctor would have loved Jakarta with his Wild Turkey in his vest pocket, samurai sword hanging precariously from a belt loop and Ping 9-iron ready for any kind of trouble.
[. . .]
once wrote a letter to The Good Doctor, literally begging him to come to Jakarta, knowing it would be nirvana for him ---which brings me to my point. Has any independent source seen his body? Could it be that he, like Jim Morrison before him, faked his own death and hopped a plane to Soekarno-Hatta? -- Rich Simons
Am I the only person who has NEVER read anything written by the deceased?
Now if only he had gone to Jakarta,and stayed there.
Probably.
You won't hear any reverence from me.
When you strip away all the BS, I would think you'd have to live a pretty miserable existence to put a bullet thru your brain.
No -- but I tried to.
I thought he was boring -- trying to be interesting like many of the '50s-60s culture. It's very tiresome. He seemed like the ultimate wannabe. A role model of sorts for most journalists.
Nobody rings a bell to proclaim the end of an era.
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