I Never Said Hunter Thompson Was Going to Hell

What a joy. I get so few trolls here, so when they do show up, they’re quite a treat. Especially when they don’t even have the intestinal fortitude to leave a real e-mail address. Pity. It’s such an impediment to real conversation. So, Aaron, wherever you are, here’s my response to your comment.

Dear Aaron,

Thank you for your comment. I get so few first-time visitors. I assume you are a first-time visitor anyway, in that I haven't seen you comment before, and you say "You must be a Christian!" as if it were a surprise -- or a disease. If you were a regular reader of my blog, you'd be well-aware that I am a Christian. You'd also know that "such small hands" is not one of the more rough-and-tumble corners of the blogosphere. So I hope that you didn't mean to throw a rock through my window, figuratively speaking, and run away.

I apologize if my post came across as self-righteous, presumptuous and judgmental. (Although in your next sentence, YOU presume too much.) It was not intended to be judgmental, only observational. Nor did I in any way try to imply that I have any idea how Thompson will spend his eternity. I never mentioned hell. And I believe in the infinite capacity of God's mercy and grace. I can, however, look at his life and decide whether there is anything to admire, emulate or praise.

Did you read Tom Wolfe's column in the WSJ about Thompson? As he fondly remembered his friend, he talked about how Thompson seemed to have a need to create an "event" around everything he did. Like he wasn't happy unless he and his friends got thrown out of a bar, or unless he either showed up too stoned to speak coherently at a lecture or didn't bother to show up at all. This kind of behavior isn't cute or funny. It's not enviable or noble. They're the actions of someone who's immature and selfish. Why do we give the famous a pass for acting like boors and wastrels?

But even boors and wastrels need love, and so I pity Hunter Thompson. Perhaps another blogger, Mark Butterworth, said it better than I did: "Having created a self-conscious persona - a wild man, iconoclast, vulgarian curmudgeon - where did he leave any room for honest introspection and openness to grace?"

Of course, I can't presume to know whether Thompson had done any honest introspection. I can only see the person he so carefully constructed for the world. But there's an old saying, "By their fruit you will know them." Whatever Thompson saw in his introspection, I see a man who chose to run away from it, rather than seek healing and forgiveness.

Again, thanks for visiting "such small hands." And for making my day a little more interesting by leaving a comment.

Comments

[Aaron]

Well thanks for responding to my rude comment. I apologize for my behavior; I didn't recognize this as a rough-and-tumble-free-zone until after I'd posted. I followed a link from a place where posters freely rough and tumble, so I was already "in the zone," so to speak, when I responded to your post.

[Lee Anne Millinger]

Aaron, your apology is accepted. I'm sorry I called you a troll; you're not. And I hope you'll come back to the blog from time to time. You can see things are pretty chaotic in my personal life right now ... the blog is one way I work through it and find support.