Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, RIP
A man who was infinitely smarter than both his drug-addled cartoon image and his many detractors. A brilliant stylist and astute analyst of American politics, whose "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72" remains unequalled for its strategic insights into the electoral system and its righteous disgust at the debasement of the process. In the '60s, he already understood how objective journalism was being exploited by the powerful. For monsters like Nixon and Kissinger, objectivity was a blind spot in the public discourse that allowed them to hide in plain sight. Hunter's outragous prose and behavior were his gonzo attempts to flush the bastards into the open and give voice to the cancer growing at the heart of the American dream. He trusted his instincts and was willing to play his hunches even at the risk of looking foolish. If there were more journalists with his intelligence, wildness, and courage, this country would be a better place. But there aren't, and it isn't.
posted by Chilly Jay Chill at 9:34 AM
3 Comments:
And yet he offed himself. I don't know. If only the truly perceptive folks out there had the will to live in the world they trashed. That boy had been medicating himself, insulating himself from the madness since the day he set foot on the campaign trail. So it isn't suprising, given his jaundiced view of the world, that he'd taken on that view of himself The bats, the bats, indeed.
And yet he offed himself. I don't know. If only the truly perceptive folks out there had the will to live in the world they trashed. That boy had been medicating himself, insulating himself from the madness since the day he set foot on the campaign trail. So it isn't suprising, given his jaundiced view of the world, that he'd taken on that view of himself. The bats, the bats, indeed.
Say what you will, all's I know is Fear & Loathing...Vegas is one of the few books I've read that made me laugh out loud. A lot.
Would that we all had a fat Samoan attorney along with us for the ride...
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