Newspaper writer Jay Ambrose has done a column to state his belief that Hunter S. Thompson was a hypocrite, a stoned and unhappy drunk and an overrated writer. His arguments hinge largely on Thompson's mean-spiritedness, his sophomoric sense of humor and his lifestyle.
A tightly restricted sphincter apparently inhibits one's ability to appreciate hyberbole, sarcasm and visceral humor. Ambrose, you pedantic prick, I have news for ya: "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" wasn't exactly an example of straight, factual reporting. I believe there was a just a bit of embellishment and bullshit involved.
Thompson's lifestyle choices and his happiness (or lack of it) are irrelevant to his work. If we dismiss the work of every tortured soul who wrote, composed music or painted while living a difficult life, we're going to have a lot of empty shelf space in libraries and museums.
The world has enough uptight newspaper columnists. I'd like to see a few more passionate writers who know how to drink, shoot guns, and rip the throats out of the neo-cons.
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