Quote:
Originally Posted by NCB
Before we case this guy in bronze, let's look at some things that this "brillant mind" wrote
53,000 American boys dead and he call that a victory for his side. Doesn't matter if you feel the war was justified or not, no single American can feel good about it. Oh, except Hunter Thompson of course
Wow, that's a helluva statement. Hitler incinerated thousands of his victims. Performed experimental surgery on people (without drugs). Murdered 6 million people in death camps. But yet, that doesn't hold a candle to naked twister and panties over a guys head.
Folks, this guy was not Hemingway. Not even close. He just offed himself like EH did. In two hundred year, people will be saying "Hunter S who??"
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Okay... so. Just because he had some rather interesting political views doesn't discredit the fact that the talent he had with words was matched by no one. You don't have to agree with everything something says to appreciate the way they said it, and it may just be me, but I have a feeling you're grossly misinterpreting what he's attempting to communicate with those 2 statements. Writers will often use elements such as hyperbole to emphasize their view on something, which, in Hunter's case, was as unrestricted and unpredictable as could be. Without original context, it's really hard to say what he may be trying to communicate, so let's not take it out of proportion. This is like picking apart someone's quotes just to find faults in the man, as if you want to bury his memory and make people forget about him.
Well, the thing is, we all say some pretty stupid shit. When it comes to a man like Hunter, we can appreciate how he says it, even if what he says isn't something that we personally agree with. Hunter has an amazing collection of intellectual work, and to say he was no Hemmingway would be correct, for he stands in a genre entirely of his own. This guy had the balls to say what was on his mind, even if he knew people wouldn't agree with it and he'd be shunned for it later. Also, with his collective experience, he had some rather interesting viewpoints on life and how it had changed throughout his lifetime, which few of us will ever, ever be able to relate to. He was a person that truly understood what it meant to be free, in just about every regard I can think of. This includes, even as a journalist, wehre such moves could end his career and surely would have be it not for his writing talent, freedom of speech, as far as it could go.
And that's what Mr. Thompson was about. Pushing things as far as they would go, and further, because what else could he do? I may not agree with every single one of his political views, but nevertheless I admire what he did.