So gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson is dead by his own hand at the age of 67 (the New York Times obit said 65). Lots of commentary in the blogroll, from Randy McRoberts and Mark Byron, to qualified admiration from Susanna Cornett, to a Fafblog post the Duke would probably have appreciated for its sheer weirdness. I eagerly await Garry Trudeau’s handling of Thompson’s death in “Doonesbury.”
Having read “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail: 1972” many years ago, I could call myself a grudging admirer of Thompson’s writing style, if not his lifestyle. So I was not at all surprised that he chose suicide. An end he might have considered going out in a blaze of glory, fitting for an under-appreciated artisan such as himself, even a romantic end.
But, ultimately, I see a life marked by a great nameless despair. A life lived in the haze of drugs and alcohol in order to temporarily keep that despair at bay. A writing style distinguished by its very glorification of the lifestyle that must have been eating him alive. And his ending a merely selfish and cowardly attempt to escape from that despair.
I can only be moved to pity and mourn how his talent was wasted. And wonder: Did anybody ever show Hunter Thompson the love of Jesus? And is there someone I know who seems so unreachable, but inside is filled with despair?
Excellent post, Lee Anne.
I have hope in Christ that you are doing well. God bless you.
Posted by: Randy McRoberts | February 22, 2005 at 08:43 AM
"And his ending a merely selfish and cowardly attempt to escape from that despair."
What an incredibly self-rightous, presumptious, pre-judging statement. You must be a Christian!
I presume you meant to say "little does he know he hasn't escaped his suffering at all -- he's going to wake up in hell!"
I've observed a lot of smug, mean-spirited remarks in Christian circles about Thompson the past couple of days -- they basically all amount to "look at that sinner trying to get away -- he's really going to fry now!"
It's a grim reminder of the biggest turn-offs about Christianity for people who actually live examined lives: the utter uselessness of hell as anything but a source of pleasure for those not in it. Which, of course, says volumes about those who earnestly believe it exists.
Posted by: Aaron | February 22, 2005 at 06:21 PM
Aaron, blowing your brains out while your wife is at exercise class, leaving a mess for someone else to find and clean up is the epitome of selfishness and cowardly nihilism. Hey, he was gone; he didn't care.
Talent and its exercise are a dime a dozen, in every field of endeaver, but true grace and decency that gives dignity to those who cross your path is rare and not something either you or Hunter have evidenced.
The interesting thing about an "examined life" is the breath and depth of the criteria used in that examination. Real Christians are the most completely examined of all, since it is only by the grace of God that we can truly see into the deepest corners of our souls unflinchingly and with any sense of hope, which of course allows us to face what we find there and keep going. Isn't it a fair question to ask about your criteria?
Posted by: William Meisheid | February 23, 2005 at 08:32 AM
Sifting through news about Hunter S. Thompson I chanced upon your (and others from your links) holier than thou diatribe regarding Thompson's suicide.
I would like to change the thread to SUCH SMALL MINDS.
You and your blog buddies seem such knowledgeable judges of humanity.
Yet you haven't walked one foot in the man's shoes, any of you.
"Judge not, lest ye be judged," said someone who actually forgives.
These thoughts are coming to me during a brief interval at my desk at work.
You may ponder on them at your leisure, then post some more smug insight that you believe rips me, and Doctor Johnson, to pieces in your own sad circles.
I feel sadnes for Hunter Thompson and his family as regards the manner of his passing.
But I'm only privy to the pain of the man that has always been evident in his writing.
I understand that for the holy self righteous saved there are things in this world that are savage to their docile minds.
It's truly sad that understanding and forgiveness, that not throwing the first stone, are among those concepts.
You will never change or save the world by pretending to "hate with God on your side," (as Vonnegut once wrote).
I'm going to guess you folks are likely among the blind enlightened compassionate conservative war mongers that elected George W the facist boy king.
Tut, tut, tut.
Many deaths are on your souls.
Hunter S. Thompson walked the fine line between Heaven and Hell on this earth.
He was never comfortable with lies.
He was a disatisfied man.
I am not providing an email address because as your attorney I advise you to judge yorselves, not me.
I'll leave you with this last thought:
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man," George Bernard Shaw.
Selah,
TheBeastNme
Posted by: TheBeastNme | February 23, 2005 at 09:47 AM
Aaron/"BeastNme":
It must be tiring being that obtuse.
Posted by: Dale Price | February 23, 2005 at 11:43 AM
1) I and beastNme are two different people (I can't prove that, but all I ask is a little faith).
2) I've already apologized for my tone on another thread, but I'll apologize again here, for good measure. Sorry. I meant what I said, but I used a tone that wasn't appropriate for this forum. This was the first post I read on this blog; I didn't realize where I was. As the author of this blog recognized, I'm used to a more rough-and-tumble setting.
Posted by: Aaron | February 23, 2005 at 08:02 PM
Fair enough, Aaron. I'm a bar-stool tosser myself. Also, I wasn't trying to claim you were the same as TBNME--I was irritated with you both.
To the extent one can "know" someone via cyberspace, I know and like Lee Anne, and I felt compelled to come to her defense.
Posted by: Dale Price | February 24, 2005 at 08:13 AM