R.I.P. Hunter S. Thompson v 2.0

Well, I have to share a thought I have had recently, a subtly illuminating, brilliant and mature, sort of saddening thought.

Hunter S. Thompson was a fraud.
A shocking statement I know, especially coming from me if you know me, for I used to be a self-proclaimed Thompson fanatic, Gonzo all the way.

But recently I realized he ain't all that great. Mostly as a person he was a horrible degenerate. This is the truth! No witty embellishment is meant when he proclaimed himself to be thus. He meant it! He was lazy, he was a bum, and he was a horrible sellout.

Think about it.

To me, he only wrote three good books. The Rum Diary, Hell's Angels, and the Great Shark Hunt. His letters are interesting, and it shows a rather impressive amount of egotistical foresite to keep every single letter you have ever wrote carbon copied. But Fear and Loathing, I never really liked the book. The movie is better, it was meant to be a movie. But the book, it always seemed so bleh to me. Sure it is smoothly and impressively written, and kind of funny as well. But let's face it, if it wasn't published in the right place at the write time it would have been heiled as a poor substiture for some of his other works. The drug fueled hipness of the time is what made the book what it was, and what made Hunter what he was and for that it was great. But, I think it was this book that brought him down.

After this he went straight sell out. He got lots of money. He quit producing anything of note. He burned that money on cocaine, all the while complaining about the horrible beasts of society who were using the wealth of the nation like he was, which is to say wastefully and non-responsibly. He started charging outrageous appearance fees for speaking engagements. In a case of horrible fucked up shit he cowered terrified before the same anti-drug system he so adamantly flaunted, claiming that "none of the drugs in the house were his" and that "he didn't have drugs at all". "All sorts of weird characters float through these walls" he claimed. "And the place is a mess. Who knows who left what where? I can't be held accountable!" What a chicken shit. Here he spends all this time flaunting his drug use in the face of those who can do something about it and when something is done about it he claims he had no part of it? I am talking of course about the sex-industry worker he assaulted and then claimed not to have assaulted who then called police who came and siezed small quantities of drugs. (Like he didn't know they were coming and like he didn't get rid of his own hefty quantity of drugs, probably a tipoff from his friend the sheriff.)

Hunter was a huge sellout. A fucking coward. A sniveling snake in the grass. A bootlicker.
A great man who made a difference in my life nonetheless, who was, once again, in the right place at the right time. I feel like I know him.

But, it is now I officially hang up my Hunter S. Fanaticism. From now on I will stick with the books mentioned as part of my official library (The Great Shark Hunt, Hell's Angels, and The Rum Diaries) but other than that I could care less, except for maybe his letters 'cause they are funny.
..............................
/ R.I.P. old man \
. -=0=-=-==0= .
. As I sit here .
. and I rot .
. Smelling smells .
. that time forgot .
. Decomposing .
. Slowly Fading .
. All the worms .
. are celebrating .
...................................