Al Barger has second thoughts on Hunter S Thompson; who did he fear and loathe?
Hunter S Thompson was a shallow, selfish schmuck. Now, he made some at least moderately valuable contribution to the art of letters. His first person narrative style was innovative and highly readable. His adventures and rants were often more interesting than the idiot politicians he was writing about.…
Article comments
126 - gonzo marx
heh..well troll...no debate, just getting a few facts correct..
as for my pitiful prose...
now you see why i don't ever consider myself anything close to a "writer", as well as why i have not even really looked at that blog since pecking out that feeble excuse for an article
but allow me to utilize Capra to make my point, since the sustainable growth thing ain't quite it...
"It's a Wonderful Life"...for ethical business practice, who would you prefer, Bailey or Potter?
which would you rather work for?
which business would you place your money in?
and which one would you borrow the money for your house from?
yer a sharp Entity, troll..i'm fairly certain ya will get my point now...
Excelsior!
127 - Al Barger
Gonzo, you are simultaneously too hard on yourself and making excuses to let yourself off the hook. You're a smart fellow who can express himself with words, so nonsense on saying that you can't write.
At the same time, you're just using that modesty to avoid having to try to defend a largely indefensible position. That is, you should try to write a real defense of your hero HST, but there really isn't one. The guy was an empty schmuck.
128 - Al Barger
What more, Dave Nalle asks, could you ask of someone than that they be "fun to read?" Any of a number of valuable things. They could also be informative. After reading PJ O'Rourke, for example, you will learn something about what Congress is doing with the farm bill, or how life is going on the streets in some third world country he's reporting on. Very little education like that comes out of HST.
Or perhaps there could be some insights into the human condition. Mark Twain was good for that. Huck Finn's choice of damnation rather than turning in Jim alone was a great moment in literature justifying his whole career. Nothing of similar memorable value from HST.
HST might have been "fun to read" in a dumb junk food sort of way. OK. Of course, even that got wearisome pretty quickly once you got the basic schtick, which could be summed up and represented in one or two quick magazine articles.
Gonzo goes on about HST and the "greedheads," but that's absolutely nothing. Yeah, Enron executives screwed the pooch. That doesn't make HST a good person or a good writer.
In fact, HST had nothing significant to say about the "greedheads" other than to use that word a lot, and exhibit a lot of broad diffused spite against rich folks. Gonzo has accidentally in this comments thread made more specific statement and thought on these ideas than I ever saw from Thompson- without so much as writing his own post.
129 - Dave Nalle
Yes Al, you could indeed ask for more. But is it reasonable or sensible? Do you ask the lady behind the lunch counter to produce a TV show or the gas station clerk to write an opera? Thompson was a writer. He wrote well and his writing was entertaining. That means he fulfilled his function. You can ask for more, but it's not reasonable to do so.
Plus he did do more than most writers. He defined an entire style of writing, inspired more writers than anyone since Tolkein, and coined several words whcih have made their way into the language and aren't likely to go away.
Dave
130 - QueenGonzo
why do you see yourself superior to everyone here Al? It's irritating and pitiful.
131 - elvin
stupid
132 - The Mayors Daughter
Hunter had balls. He said what he wanted to say and did what he wanted to do. He didn't let anyone ever forget what he wanted....and he was still trying to have fun while he lived. He lied in his journalism to emphasize his point... Anyway..The guy fucking rocked my god damn socks.
133 - scattywompas
Al, you are a pussy
134 - Black Dog
Bravo! He was a first rate wretch and you nailed it!!!
135 - Grendel
Al, it's a shame I can't get my hands around you're scrawny neck.....
136 - Christopher Rose
Grendel, you're not the first to feel that way and won't be the last. Fortunately, Al is a giant amongst men and his neck is the size of a giant redwood, rendering him almost invulnerable!
137 - Al Barger
Brother Rose- I thank you kindly for the testimonial.
Still, I could use a good neck wringing, Grendel. I've surely got it coming. But beyond that, do you have any counterargument as to why I'm wrong about HST other than whipping my ass?
138 - monsieurb54
I'm really stunned that some people are actually debating whether HST is "libertarian or not libertarian." I thought the very idea of libertarianism was one of open-mindedness and escape from the false dichotomy of leftwing-only/rightwing-only. Seriously.
What it sounds like is that he was essentially libertarian except he was probably more left-wing and possibly socialist on economics/private property (as a matter of fact, tons of green party/socialists are basically libertarians with the exception of economics/private property. Were they to change their views on that, they'd essentially be complete libertarians). I would still call him nearly a true libertarian. One single thing does not "void" that.
And WildBill above said he "wasn't libertarian" because he lived his life recklessly, and seemed to infer that if you don't "live" libertarianism in all facets of life, you are "not libertarian." What kind of bullcrap is that? If that's true, then Ron Paul is not libertarian because he practices Christianity, a COLLECTIVIST RELIGION. Seriously, nothing else need be said.
As you probably noticed from some of what I said above, I'm thoroughly sick and tired of the dumb and mindless anger on both sides: socialists/Greens angrily decrying libertarians as "capitalist scum" and what-have-you and likewise libertarians discouting people like HST for being 99.9% libertarian and not 100%. Seriously, there is NO definitive defition. At all. Socialists and libertarians, like it or not, have tons in common. And this is coming from an anarcho-capitalist (me).
139 - K. Hyson
If personal attacks are not allowed on this website, why is this article allowed? Where does "free speech" cross the line into "personal attack"?
'Course, HST probably would have agreed with you, dude. Aren't we all a little selfish? Buy the ticket, take the ride, as a wiser one than myself once said. Mahalo.
140 - Nash
Actually a large part of his most memorable work "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is a criticism of mainstream American culture. It portrays the sense of abandonment and worthlessness many Americans felt after the civil rights movement. So yes Al, he was as you said "pooping" on everything. That's sort of the point. It is a search for the "American Dream". I'm happy to see that you aren't nearly as stupid and illiterate as you seem to be. Hunter S. Thompson is a large and very important character in the world of print journalism. And yea it is very entertaining... once again that's the point. Next time at least pretend to have the tiniest grasp of what you're speaking about.