tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post3152453093836409600..comments2024-03-28T18:07:30.515-05:00Comments on Althouse: "I understood my mother’s feeling of helplessness in the face of his strength, his intelligence, his lies, and his malice, and I hated him."Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-13884270774826356252016-01-02T18:18:31.529-06:002016-01-02T18:18:31.529-06:00Chevy Slverado 2500. ��I post stuff here periodica...Chevy Slverado 2500. ��I post stuff here periodically, nobody ever really responds, but this hits a nerve with people. I've discussed it with my closest friends and they're kinda split. They Know what my wife's death did to me (Let's just say she didnt pass peacefully in her sleep, and discovering her is something that I see every fucking Saint and often sleeping second) so they get it, even the ones that implore me to carry on. All I got to say is nope. Not interested. I'm going to Joshua Tree in a couple of weeks. Staying in Gram's room. That'll be cool. We'll play it by ear after that.donaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03336032631356999367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-80239228783771596242016-01-02T16:31:49.193-06:002016-01-02T16:31:49.193-06:00I heard the best argument against suicide recently...I heard the best argument against suicide recently, that you are depriving your future self from finding someone or something worth living for.<br /><br />In re Thompson, I would also recommend his Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail book. Brilliant reportage on the McGovern campaign and how they organized to take the nomination. Probably his last great book before he fell off the cliff.<br /><br />I thought his Las Vegas book was pretty good until he admitted in his letters that he had most of it written before he went there. Then it became obvious that it wasn't a wacked-out memoir of a trip but complete fiction.Bill Peschelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257587479467531187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-26407304920452633952016-01-02T16:16:12.656-06:002016-01-02T16:16:12.656-06:00donald said...
I'm just waiting for my dad to ... donald said...<br />I'm just waiting for my dad to die, then I'm outta here. <br /><br />I see nothing wrong with it. My wife is gone, my mother is gone, it's just me and him and I've done pretty much everything I wanted.<br /><br />So. Donald. What kind of car you drivin'?Rustyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00938263272237104128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-44180650860381745152016-01-02T07:36:24.153-06:002016-01-02T07:36:24.153-06:00As far as I knew, I had never heard of Hunter S. T...As far as I knew, I had never heard of Hunter S. Thompson until I bought Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in a used bookstore for $1 in 1978. I read it cover to cover and I laughed until I cried several times. My girlfriend kept coming in the room and laughing at me because she had never seen me like this. He became my favorite writer and I read everything that he had written and would write. I realized soon after Fear and Loathing that I had read Hell's Angels when I was about 11 or 12 or so because my eleven year older sister had gotten it from Book of the Month Club when it came out and it was around the house. I didn't remember his name. (I still have the book). <br /><br />As I got older and matured, but he only got older, he stopped being as cute and funny but I still followed him through his tenure at ESPN Page 2 (I think they called it) and I checked out most anything that came out about him. He probably influenced how I express myself on paper more than anyone else I have read and I still love some of his stuff, especially the quasi-sports writing (Kentucky Derby, Super Bowl....) and he would have enjoyed the Sugar Bowl here in New Orleans last night and written it up well, I am sure, in his prime. There was some first class partying going on in the Super Dome and out into the French Quarter after the game. I took my little family straight to our cheap suburb hotel after the game. Narcissistic alcoholism and drug addiction can be really fun and funny (trust me) and then it isn't.Mid-Life Lawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00321926132534010169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-44996007169668517062016-01-02T00:05:52.437-06:002016-01-02T00:05:52.437-06:00I too was an admirer of HST in my youth. Being a ...I too was an admirer of HST in my youth. Being a reckless irresponsible asshole with a marketable skill was my dream life then. My respect for him waned well before his death, and alot more because of it. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14834894806881349784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-44697061477695471732016-01-01T21:29:27.208-06:002016-01-01T21:29:27.208-06:00I wonder what the suicide rate would be if society...I wonder what the suicide rate would be if society embraced it? If it was simply ok? Or even if it was exalted? How many would choose it then? Plenty, I'd guess. I hope we never get there. I fear we will.<br /><br />Life... well sometimes the cost/benefit analysis just doesn't add up. Not just sometimes. See Hobbes. So perhaps, even as we throw away religion and three fourths of our other "no longer necessary" traditions, it's important that we maintain at least some of our ancient values. The intrinsic dignity of life. The most basic instinct to keep on keeping on. To "do your best." To reject the so-called "wisdom of Silenus".<br /><br />I believe the biggest challenge we face as humans is to come up with a reason to keep on living. In spite of the evidence! I believe the most beautiful thing in the universe is that we (mostly) do. We keep on trying. In spite of the evidence that life is mostly just a tragic waste of time, we keep on trying! We keep on trying to make the best of it. Humans are beautiful creatures for that alone. Perhaps that's why God loves us.<br /><br />Hang in there Donald. As suggested, volunteer somewhere maybe. Special Olympics kids will make you smile--a lot. That's worth something.BNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07800122398628075042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-10928283746013883362016-01-01T21:23:56.949-06:002016-01-01T21:23:56.949-06:00Long term solution to a short term problem.
I hav...Long term solution to a short term problem.<br /><br />I have always prayed for the strength to experience how it works at the very end. I think I am curious enough to see it through.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08258681007386089907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-13089209863639099272016-01-01T21:15:27.922-06:002016-01-01T21:15:27.922-06:00Some of you are just showing off.Some of you are just showing off.Roughcoathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12669030540648967376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-65915926474556547842016-01-01T20:55:34.094-06:002016-01-01T20:55:34.094-06:00I think I have said this before but the thing that...I think I have said this before but the thing that kept me here when clinically depressed was the thought that October is a month never to be missed by a bird hunter and I certainly wasn't going to miss it. Finally pills fixed the depression and October keeps coming around!khesanh0802https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792377924992548208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-12717832796285691752016-01-01T20:30:25.076-06:002016-01-01T20:30:25.076-06:00I have never felt suicidal but have imagined what ...I have never felt suicidal but have imagined what I would do if it came to that. I would buy a motorcycle that could go 180 mph and take it to that speed. My guess is that it would be so much fun, I would decide to live and continue doing things like that.<br /><br />Other than thrill-seeking, there are always books I have wanted to read, new things to learn about, people to get to know, languages to learn. It would take many lifetimes to come close to exhausting the possibilities.<br /><br /> dbphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00457585811847604584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-70242937033224145012016-01-01T20:17:01.829-06:002016-01-01T20:17:01.829-06:00Yes, Donald, please don't kill yourself. Even ...<i>Yes, Donald, please don't kill yourself. Even if all your loved ones have gone, life is worth living, and you can find value.</i><br /><br />Hey Donald, you can find value in life by buying something through Althouse's Amazon portal, right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-68432270747343344152016-01-01T19:53:22.930-06:002016-01-01T19:53:22.930-06:00@donald. May I suggest you go volunteer at the Sa...@donald. May I suggest you go volunteer at the Salvation Army. You will find people who need you.Humperdinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08765464624483404218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55686478025547365642016-01-01T19:41:32.755-06:002016-01-01T19:41:32.755-06:00Yes, Donald, please don't kill yourself. Even ...Yes, Donald, please don't kill yourself. Even if all your loved ones have gone, life is worth living, and you can find value. It will end soon enough and you can never get back if you choose to leave.Ann Althousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-75222954197976114372016-01-01T19:20:25.154-06:002016-01-01T19:20:25.154-06:00@Donald 3:37 PM.
Please, please don't kill yo...@Donald 3:37 PM.<br /><br />Please, please don't kill yourself.Helenhightopshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13102674834611716339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-9156825557356771712016-01-01T18:49:23.322-06:002016-01-01T18:49:23.322-06:00@YoungHeglelian - Yup. Check out my profile pic.@YoungHeglelian - Yup. Check out my profile pic.Heartless Aztechttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10239870131881488916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-79206620758257974962016-01-01T18:38:42.170-06:002016-01-01T18:38:42.170-06:00Like most of my age group, I read some Hunter Thom...Like most of my age group, I read some Hunter Thompson early on. I have always thought him to be a doper piece of trash, with minimal talent, using juvenile sarcasm on easy targets in place of wit...I'll stop there but you get my POV on him. It doesn't surprise me to read that he abused and neglected wife and family, stayed high all the time, handled firearms when spaced, and decided to commit suicide with family and children in the same house, etc. <br /><br />The list of attendees at his funeral is likewise unsurprising. <br /><br />BTW, predicting the damage done by specific cartridges on the human body is a loser. Wounds inflicted are inherently unpredictable other than in generalities. JCChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16155396416213333906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-17332384570003364252016-01-01T17:58:26.356-06:002016-01-01T17:58:26.356-06:00"I loved them as a young man. Sadly, I went b..."I loved them as a young man. Sadly, I went back 15 years ago and re-read them. They didn't hold up for me. They all seemed phony and forced. Too much "hey, look at me, I'm a wild and Crazy guy". A lot of it reminded me of Capote's old quip: "That's not writing, that's Typing"."<br /><br />Before he fried his brain, and decided to be a gonzo journalist, HST was actually a fine writer - the Hashbury and Hells Angels articles were good. <br /><br />Doesn't help that fact that he was an asshole, of course.orthodochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07690691443842295090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-22632104827816521052016-01-01T17:05:03.239-06:002016-01-01T17:05:03.239-06:00Well, I hate to change the topic of the thread som...Well, I hate to change the topic of the thread somewhat, considering it's such a bundle of New Year's cheer, but I was touched by the part of the article where Juan Thompson describes his joy at being sent to learn sailing with Jimmy Buffet:<br /><br /><i> Mr. Buffett taught him about sailing, was “firm and knowledgeable,” and best of all, “there was no fighting, no screaming, just a boatful of slow-moving, stoned, happy people.”</i><br /><br />Learning sailing for a child who wants to is a joy in any case. For Juan Thompson, it probably was like ascending into Heaven for a month. Imagine his feelings at the end of that month when he realized what he had to go back to. It's probably like what a soldier on R&R feels like knowing he has to go back into the front line.YoungHegelianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02723316130501823658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-29397484309754960132016-01-01T17:00:17.028-06:002016-01-01T17:00:17.028-06:00Having been suicidal, it is not inexplicable. When...Having been suicidal, it is not inexplicable. When you feel a great despair at your life, and you feel the pain is too great to bear, sometimes you think ending your own pain is all that matters.<br />It is often coupled to the thought "and this pain won't end", or worse, "on the whole I cannot foresee a time where the area under the curve of my joy is net positive."<br /><br />This thought may simply be a mistaken belief, or it may be much worse than a mistaken belief.<br /><br />That you cannot imagine feeling so empty of joy does not make it inexplicable. And perhaps you should try: if my life is empty of joy now, and I have significant reason to believe it will largely continue to be so, maybe I'd want to commit suicide too. Not just a bit of pain. But emptiness of feeling.<br /><br />Regardless, it is an incredibly selfish thing to choose, because it means your desire to end your inability to have joy is worth the complete destruction of joy on your loved ones, and for many of them, a permanent destruction of their joy. That is what makes it evil.<br /><br /> Some folks do mistakenly believe "they are better off without me", but usually that is a lie they know is a lie, merely a way of rephrasing the envy of others' ability to be happy. <br /><br />Other folks, especially the young adolescent or teen, honestly are "experimenting". " I wonder what it is like if I do ...." This is not inexplicable either. It's a lack of connection to living a life of meaning, so the idea of suicide takes hold more than the reality of death.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-25335194393201025262016-01-01T16:40:23.592-06:002016-01-01T16:40:23.592-06:00I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of lives c...<i>I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved if we'd told Hitler and the top Nazi leaders that if they surrendered, we'd spare their lives and give them a one-way ticket to Argentina.</i><br /><br />I suspect not a single one.Quaestorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688608372863540573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20141593615425876762016-01-01T16:38:46.010-06:002016-01-01T16:38:46.010-06:00I thought [Hitler] supposedly bit down on a cyanid...<i>I thought [Hitler] supposedly bit down on a cyanide capsule while shooting himself.</i><br /><br />While little about Hitler's death can be independently verified the accepted scenario does involve prussic acid. In the days leading up to his death Hitler consulted with his personal physician Dr. Werner Haase about surefire suicide techniques. Haase had seen enough near-fate head wounds to known that it is possible to bungle a suicide attempt. Haas advised a bullet to the brain <b>and</b> fatal poison just to make sure.<br /><br />Some time earlier Hitler had acquired some suicide capsules containing prussic acid from Heinrich Himmler. When Hitler received news that Himmler had tried to negotiate a surrender through Count Bernadotte of the Swedish Red Cross, he expelled the erstwhile Reichsführer-SS from the Nazi party, and being thoroughly paranoid Hitler began to suspect Himmler's poison capsules as well. He had one of them tested on his dog just to make sure of their potency.Quaestorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688608372863540573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-42024627724085593462016-01-01T16:38:06.703-06:002016-01-01T16:38:06.703-06:00I remember that post. I believed then, and I belie...I remember that post. I believed then, and I believe now, that it was an ugly aggressive and hateful act by Thomson. The amount of gore does not change my mind.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17424384180201600935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-49843577507802517812016-01-01T15:40:36.379-06:002016-01-01T15:40:36.379-06:00Never new he had kids. Yeah, that wouldn't be ...Never new he had kids. Yeah, that wouldn't be fun having him as a father. Hope junior got lots of $$$ and the Colorado property.leah bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08316067219747741683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-57154916732138748672016-01-01T15:37:51.066-06:002016-01-01T15:37:51.066-06:00I'm just waiting for my dad to die, then I'...I'm just waiting for my dad to die, then I'm outta here. <br /><br />I see nothing wrong with it. My wife is gone, my mother is gone, it's just me and him and I've done pretty much everything I wanted.donaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03336032631356999367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-80039557914986855942016-01-01T15:34:52.312-06:002016-01-01T15:34:52.312-06:00what's truly thoughtless, and ignorant, are so...<i>what's truly thoughtless, and ignorant, are some of the comments here about people who commit suicide</i><br /><br />A father (or any man) killing himself is a far more cruel and evil act than people noting how cruel and evil it is.<br /><br />Look -- a LOT of people go through bad times, periods of depression, severe depression, where they hate life and really do not want to face another day. What these people need is genuine care.<br /><br />They do not need someone who, by their example, effectively whispers in their ear to go ahead and kill themselves, who effectively push them in the back over that cliff. Nor do they need people who would justify these cruel and evil acts because they do not want to speak ill of the killer.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07575021285669012791noreply@blogger.com