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Merged Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011)

This sucks...My condolences to his family.

Hitchens will be sorely missed. He was a major inspiration for me.

Rest in Peace Hitch.
 
I couldn't help but think of this:

He has ceased to be, bereft of life, he rests in peace, he has kicked the bucket, hopped the twig, bit the dust, snuffed it, breathed his last, and gone to meet the Great Head of Light Entertainment in the sky, and I guess that we're all thinking how sad it is that a man of such talent, such capability and kindness, of such intelligence should now be so suddenly spirited away at the age of only forty-eight, before he'd achieved many of the things of which he was capable, and before he'd had enough fun.

Well, I feel that I should say, "Nonsense. Good riddance to him, the freeloading bastard! I hope he fries. "
 
From one BBC item, I particularly liked the following Hitchism.

"Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you."
 
Lamuella said:
#godisnotgreat is currently trending on Twitter, and we've already had death threats towards the people who started the hashtag. Classy, christians, classy.
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Some christians have expressed a more nuanced opinion of Hitchens passing (almost as if there's a book somewhere that stresses forgiveness and loving ones neighbors):

This one is very, very hard; I’m trying to remember the last time I cried at the death of a public figure.

That man was made of class, and I say that as a Christian who read God Is Not Great all the way through, cover to cover. And liked it.

So much about the afterlife is intrinsically unknowable, but I’m pretty convinced that Mr. Christopher Hitchens did not go to the same place as those who perpetrated real evil in this world.

Goodbye, Mr. H. You will be sorely, sorely missed.​

No, this obviously does not make various criticisms of religion evaporate... but not all of us are one jet plane away from crashing jet planes into things.

Fo rmyself, my condolences and symapthies are with Mr. Hitchens family.
 
I heard--I think it was on an old interview of his on C-SPAN--that he had a Jewish grandmother from the Ukraine. Can anyone confirm this?
 
trustbutverify said:
Cockburn is an uninteresting POS.

Counterpunch is a racist rag.
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It would be boring if there were no dissenters from the mourning of Hitchens.

I am sure that he wouldn't want a Princess Diana-style gush-a-thon and Hitchens and Cockburn had long since ceased being civil to each other.

Cockburn hated Hitchens not just for his loud support of the war but his active denigration of those who opposed it, branding the opposition to the war as "objectively pro-fascist". Also, he hated him for what Cockburn considered attention-seeking attacks on Edward Said, which began when Said was on his death-bed. Cockburn thought this was a betrayal of one of his mentors and he thought Hitchens betrayed a number of other friends and mentors that had assisted his career.

I think Cockburn has some fair points, in fact, and his obituary is not as snide as some of the other things Cockburn wrote about Hitchens when he was alive.
 
angrysoba said:
It would be boring if there were no dissenters from the mourning of Hitchens.

I am sure that he wouldn't want a Princess Diana-style gush-a-thon and Hitchens and Cockburn had long since ceased being civil to each other.

Cockburn hated Hitchens not just for his loud support of the war but his active denigration of those who opposed it, branding the opposition to the war as "objectively pro-fascist". Also, he hated him for what Cockburn considered attention-seeking attacks on Edward Said, which began when Said was on his death-bed. Cockburn thought this was a betrayal of one of his mentors and he thought Hitchens betrayed a number of other friends and mentors that had assisted his career.

I think Cockburn has some fair points, in fact, and his obituary is not as snide as some of the other things Cockburn wrote about Hitchens when he was alive.
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I agree it would be boring if there wasn't criticism of Hitchens at this time. When someone important dies, I think it's appropriate to talk about the good and bad things about them. I remember when Ronald Reagan died, it seemed almost sacrilegious to criticize him, even though that was the most opportune time to discuss it in some respects.

As someone who has followed Hitchens writings for many years, he said a lot things I liked, and a lot of things where I thought he was off base. I found his stance on the Iraq War as misguided. His writings on religion (and public debates) and his constant criticism of Henry Kissinger, calling out of Tom Delay, and his general style (which I can understand people loathing) were things I admired about him.

People are complex. I think his passing is sad. Just like I thought it was sad to see William F. Buckley die, a man who I agreed with on almost nothing.
 
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