HST Manifesto redux
So...in light of Hunter's death - what do we do?
We can no longer afford to be merely spectators.....it is our duty to keep reading, writing and revealing the soft underbelly of the 'generation of swine' - a theme that is continual and in touch with the death of the American Dream. Real journalists - (i.e.: Thompson, Hemingway, Dos Pasos, etc...) never really bought into the idea of true objectivity. It was and is an academic pipe dream that is only as good as your instincts and sources. And since everyone wants a bit of the limelight these days, the quality of reported journalism is tainted with the hubris of greedheads, political yahoos and the same old thing that our boy has fought since the dubious media pigeonholing of the term 'gonzo'.
Forget silence. We are too young and too sharp to make that excuse any longer. If we are to remain Americans (I'm assuming most of you are) and aware human beings, we have no choice but to keep hammering on the weird nerve......to remain true to rumblings that the truth - no matter how backwards and wrong - invokes in us.
As I'm sure you all know, Hunter was not just about drugs, alcohol and corn-fed lunacy - he was one of the last remaining literate paragons in a vortex of pretenders, hacks and weekend warriors. I won't advocate everything the man stood for - I'm more than certain that he was a moral cripple and little more than a functioning alcoholic, but he was still one of the more profound journalists this nation has sired. We are his children for lack of a better definition.....not biologically bound, but definitely at the blood level. To forget that would be an injustice to ourselves and the freedom that we have. Freedom that has been all but forgotten by a nation of spiritual thieves, bean counters and puritans.
We can no longer afford to be merely spectators.....it is our duty to keep reading, writing and revealing the soft underbelly of the 'generation of swine' - a theme that is continual and in touch with the death of the American Dream. Real journalists - (i.e.: Thompson, Hemingway, Dos Pasos, etc...) never really bought into the idea of true objectivity. It was and is an academic pipe dream that is only as good as your instincts and sources. And since everyone wants a bit of the limelight these days, the quality of reported journalism is tainted with the hubris of greedheads, political yahoos and the same old thing that our boy has fought since the dubious media pigeonholing of the term 'gonzo'.
Forget silence. We are too young and too sharp to make that excuse any longer. If we are to remain Americans (I'm assuming most of you are) and aware human beings, we have no choice but to keep hammering on the weird nerve......to remain true to rumblings that the truth - no matter how backwards and wrong - invokes in us.
As I'm sure you all know, Hunter was not just about drugs, alcohol and corn-fed lunacy - he was one of the last remaining literate paragons in a vortex of pretenders, hacks and weekend warriors. I won't advocate everything the man stood for - I'm more than certain that he was a moral cripple and little more than a functioning alcoholic, but he was still one of the more profound journalists this nation has sired. We are his children for lack of a better definition.....not biologically bound, but definitely at the blood level. To forget that would be an injustice to ourselves and the freedom that we have. Freedom that has been all but forgotten by a nation of spiritual thieves, bean counters and puritans.
3 Comments:
I will miss him ... BIG HUG for Juan, Jen, Willam and Anita… who will never be able to fill the hole left in there lives by the man in spite of the myth and legend attached to his life..
I am a long time friend of Juan we went to the Aspen Community School together I have been using the blogs to try to send a message of love to him and the family but I know he is totally swamped because of the media attention at Owl farm and I need to let him know that we care for Him, Anita and the whole family in this time of tragedy while respecting his privacy
Let's see if we can get the word out ...
He was first THE MAN….
He became the myth and legend
To me he was several people.
He was my best friend’s dad although he always called his dad Hunter
(At Juan’s wedding he said to a friend about me “Look there’s another little bastard I raised that turned out OK”)
He was Hunter S. Thompson retiring shy southerner who loved guns and his freedom
And
He was the Dr. Gonzo who we all know who would be in your face and try to kill you if you attempted to try to take away his guns, drugs, freedom, privacy and the god given right to go into an explosive tirade about it.
To be such a person required him to have a unique emotional support structure. These people now need our support, love and understanding in this time of grief.
Bradley Laboe
By wangateur, at 4:13 PM
I would elaborate more on what you said, but I think you hit "the nerve" here. Also, has anyone heard more on the public memorial other than it is in the spring or summer?
By Anonymous, at 5:05 PM
I have also been feeling kind of, well, moved by the sudden death of HST. I'm from Germany, and I'm only 22, so I never got the opportunity to witness any of the things Hunter did in person. Or join any of his shows, readings, special appearances or the like. I would have loved to, but it just never happened.
But I respect his decision.
Thinking about it, I think it had been much more tragic if I had read the news and it had said anything like: HST dead because of car/motorcycle accident, cancer, a lethal assault by a crazed convervative...
I did read his work. FLLV was the first one, of course. Then I got myself Hell's Angels, Kingdom of Fear, and then The Gonzo Papers Volumes.
And as soon as I have enough money shall get the rest of his books. Except maybe for the Curso Of Lono, 2 to 5 hundred bucks is a little much for me at the moment...
I think he was one of the greatest men that lived in and influenced the 20th and 21st century.
He was not only about fear, loathing and bad craziness he was also about freedom, liberty, opportunity and he was a good man. But what am I talking... you all know that as good, if not better, as I know it.
I just wanted to express my feelings and to honor Hunter, for he was the man. No one can ever accomplish what he did and never how he did. He was just too original.
I also want to express my support and love for the ones who were left behind in this world. If I can only do it through posts and commentaries, for I cannot do a lot from here and will probably not visit the US in the near future, so be it. I want them to know that everywhere around the world people feel for and miss Hunter. All my good friends were touched by his death.
I didn't know him, but I wish I had known him. But who doesn't think so. He was almost too cool a person to be true.
So I raise my glass and pipe for Hunter! And I will keep refilling and raising it.
Once it was: Long Live Hunter S. Thompson.
Now it is: Hunter S. Thompson Forever!
I will never forget him.
I'd be happy if someone would email if he wants to talk about Hunter. Or anything. Of the people who loved and understood him, you can never know enough, I guess.
So Mahalo to you up there, Doctor, and to you all!
Love,
David Seitz
dr_gonzo_1971@yahoo.de
By Anonymous, at 1:35 AM
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