Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Sorry. I just have to elaborate.
We lose people of note all the time. Singers, actors, politicians, jounalists/authors, Mother Theresa, etc... Usually, I am sad. I think, "He/she really contributed. He'll/she'll be missed." Then I move on. It's very seldom that I actually grieve the loss of a public figure that I have never met. HST is one of those few.
He was a brilliant writer; which gave him a forum. He used that forum to tell it as he saw it; consequences be damned. He never apologized for anything. And he was very under-appreciated for his efforts; in my opinion. I contribute the fact that we (bloggers) are able to say the things we say without worry largely in part to him. Not because of a specific effort to us by him; but because of his influence by showing society that it's OK to take your balls out of your purse & say what the fuck you think about something.
For the younger set that only tuned in for "Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas" when it came out on film (& you only saw it because of Johnny Depp); I suggest you start reading him. If you have any appreciation for the written word; I can guarantee you will be spell-bound.
This man LIVED. But more importantly; he wrote about it. And he didn't hold back. He QUESTIONED. He questioned society, the government, himself. Nothing was sacred. Nothing was taboo.
I'm having a hard time with the fact that he committed suicide. What brings a person of that caliber to the point that he doesn't want to live anymore? (Short of depression) I don't buy the whole, "Oh, my broken leg hurts" thing. I'm thinking he would just smoke more dope. I agree with Blue's comment. I think he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. It's the only thing that makes sense to me. In as much as I don't think I could watch this man that is 20' tall in my mind hooked up to machines; I don't think he could see that for himself either if that was the case.
In either case; I believe that there is going to be more to this. There is no way that he would want to go down as a "tragic figure" whose death is a mystery. Mark my words. There's a lock-box somewhere.
peace
He was a brilliant writer; which gave him a forum. He used that forum to tell it as he saw it; consequences be damned. He never apologized for anything. And he was very under-appreciated for his efforts; in my opinion. I contribute the fact that we (bloggers) are able to say the things we say without worry largely in part to him. Not because of a specific effort to us by him; but because of his influence by showing society that it's OK to take your balls out of your purse & say what the fuck you think about something.
For the younger set that only tuned in for "Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas" when it came out on film (& you only saw it because of Johnny Depp); I suggest you start reading him. If you have any appreciation for the written word; I can guarantee you will be spell-bound.
This man LIVED. But more importantly; he wrote about it. And he didn't hold back. He QUESTIONED. He questioned society, the government, himself. Nothing was sacred. Nothing was taboo.
I'm having a hard time with the fact that he committed suicide. What brings a person of that caliber to the point that he doesn't want to live anymore? (Short of depression) I don't buy the whole, "Oh, my broken leg hurts" thing. I'm thinking he would just smoke more dope. I agree with Blue's comment. I think he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. It's the only thing that makes sense to me. In as much as I don't think I could watch this man that is 20' tall in my mind hooked up to machines; I don't think he could see that for himself either if that was the case.
In either case; I believe that there is going to be more to this. There is no way that he would want to go down as a "tragic figure" whose death is a mystery. Mark my words. There's a lock-box somewhere.
peace
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I just feel that there is a lot more to the story. I am waiting for the shoe to drop, to be cliche.
Blue
Blue
I dunno. Forgive my ignorance, as I haven't even read "fear and loathing". In fact, the only things I've read by Thompson are some of his articles for Rolling Stone.
I do know, and appreciate, by the way that he was a huge figure in American literature, and obviously in journalism. He took on subjects nobody else wanted to take and he did it with a style that nobody will ever be able to match.
I cannot help though (and this is the old man in me talking), but to figure that the drugs had something to do with it. If he did even half the narcotics he is alleged to have done, he should have been dead a very long time ago. I don't mean to sound insensitive. I just mean to suggest that it wasn't the pain from the hip replacement that was taking its toll on him. We all have grandparents who have had hip replacements and broken legs and whatnot. It's possible that his organs were all mush from decades of hard living. It's possible he was suffering from any number of neurological disorders that are common for people approaching their seventies. Especially because of the drugs.
Okay, enough of the old man, "you shouldn't do drugs" stuff.
It is certainly very sad that we've lost such a powerful figure. I hate that so many of our important people in the arts choose to end their own lives. Maybe there's an answer to this somewhere.
I do know, and appreciate, by the way that he was a huge figure in American literature, and obviously in journalism. He took on subjects nobody else wanted to take and he did it with a style that nobody will ever be able to match.
I cannot help though (and this is the old man in me talking), but to figure that the drugs had something to do with it. If he did even half the narcotics he is alleged to have done, he should have been dead a very long time ago. I don't mean to sound insensitive. I just mean to suggest that it wasn't the pain from the hip replacement that was taking its toll on him. We all have grandparents who have had hip replacements and broken legs and whatnot. It's possible that his organs were all mush from decades of hard living. It's possible he was suffering from any number of neurological disorders that are common for people approaching their seventies. Especially because of the drugs.
Okay, enough of the old man, "you shouldn't do drugs" stuff.
It is certainly very sad that we've lost such a powerful figure. I hate that so many of our important people in the arts choose to end their own lives. Maybe there's an answer to this somewhere.
Here is an article about his death. That you may be interested in if you have not read it.
href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3575306,00.html
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