Comments on: Christopher Hitchens, RIP

By: jdb79

jdb79 — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:05:33 +0000

Hitch wasn’t particularly insightful–the Missionary Position “exposed” Mother Theresa as a Catholic fundamentalist who considered her primary duty to be to the welfare of the Church rather than her homes for the dying, which should have come as a surprise to no one other than religious neophytes–but his combination of eloquence, wit, improv, and naked vitriol was unmatched. Hitchens was a polemicist of the first order, and a handful of those are handy to have around to stir the pot, even if they don’t necessarily have anything to offer in terms of dialogue. With Hitchens gone, political polemics is left with little more than Coulter and Limbaugh, neither of whom is witty nor amusing. Sound bites and caustic three-minute interviews just became a lot less interesting.

“If he had been given an enema, he could have been buried in a matchbox.” Can’t say for sure, but I suspect Hitchens would welcome a sendoff as vicious as the one he gave Jerry Falwell. Undoubtedly he’d be disappointed that Franklin Graham hasn’t taken the bait.

By: whit

whit — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 10:11:55 +0000

love Hitchens. brilliant man, and the perfect example of somebody i can disagree with on lots of stuff, but always respect him for being fair, offering well thought out arguments, and of course an incredible wit and gift for language

his exchanges with galloway were classic.

sad, but not surprising , to see how some of his “friends” at the nation turned on him due to his iraq war stance. i still read the nation, but it was much better when it had hitchens

By: Laben

Laben — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 04:18:45 +0000

awesome that you got to spend time with him like that…..jealous

By: buzz

buzz — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:52:26 +0000

““He was left, I was right, but we had great debates, great drinking bouts,” conservative radio host Bill Bennett said on CBS Thursday. “And I hope as the big atheist that he was, he’s in for a big surprise.””

Wow, how beyond the pale. What a vicious attack.

By: JOR

JOR — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:24:07 +0000

“The coward Bill Bennett attacks Hitch after he cannot defend himself.”

Oh, come the fuck on. If “attacking” (which in this case means expressing fondness for and differing metaphysical beliefs from) the recently deceased like this constitutes cowardice, then Hitchens was the biggest coward of them all.

Jesus fucking Christ.

By: FloO

FloO — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:26:08 +0000

He was so cool for having the balls to state some truths about Agnes Bojaxhiu when no one else would dare.

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:53:01 +0000

@ #4 “I’m guessing the ban passed anyway?”

Of course it did. Nanny knows best.

By: Juice

Juice — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:13:04 +0000

I think most people could demolish D’Souza though. He’s not that bright.

By: Long Live Hitch

Long Live Hitch — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:08:55 +0000

I saw him absolutely demolish Dnesh D’Souza in a debate on religion a couple years ago in my hometown. A brilliant writer, debater and brave human being.

By: Cynic in New York

Cynic in New York — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:00:22 +0000

Hitchens’ ability to piss off theocons was one of the few reasons that made me like him.

By: Elliot

Elliot — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:39:33 +0000

I disagreed with him on the Iraq invasion in 2003, Obama, his assessment of Lenin ... basically about 75% of any supportive political position. But he was a master wordsmith and an excellent debater on the topic of religion. On Twitter, the Christians are showing their true nature by making violent threats against anyone using the #godisnotgreat hashtag and, rumor has it, that Twitter caved in to pressure to delist that hash on the trending topics. The coward Bill Bennett attacks Hitch after he cannot defend himself. Probably just one of dozens of similar "pious" dancing on the grave and adding more evidence to Hitchens' assessment of many believers as cruel and hypocritical.

By: Helmut O' Hooligan

Helmut O' Hooligan — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:16:34 +0000

I had the privelege of seeing Hitchens speak at Illinois State University some time ago. And I say it was a privelege, even though I disagreed with him on Iraq and other aspects of the so-called “war on terror.” The way he cooly skewered some of his more fanatical detractors was amusing educational and amusing, no matter how I felt about his support for the war. He was erudite without being stuffy. And, as Radley suggests, he was quite a funny guy, especially if you are open to mockery of religion, superstition, and all the other sacred cows out there.

By: Christopher Hitchens… « White Rock Kitchens

Christopher Hitchens… « White Rock Kitchens — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:57:23 +0000

[...] The Agitator [...]

By: Hitch « David Klion

Hitch « David Klion — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:50:42 +0000

[...] Radley Balko [...]

By: Doubleu

Doubleu — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:22:41 +0000

picachu, Children never know what is good for them.

By: Corneliusm

Corneliusm — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:40:52 +0000

Just putting this out here:
http://www.explosm.net/comics/2645/

RIP, Hitchens. You will be missed.

By: Doubleu

Doubleu — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:35:26 +0000

The Palm Beach Post called him a “militant pundit”, which made me laugh.

By: Christopher Hitchens has died « Blunt Object

Christopher Hitchens has died « Blunt Object — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:06:55 +0000

[...] Radley Balko relates another amusing anecdote: My only other personal Hitchens story comes from a few years ago, when Washington, D.C. was fist considering passing a ban on smoking in the city’s bars. I had gone to the city council hearing to speak against it, and was one in a long line of speakers. Hitchens showed up and sat down next those of us opposing the ban. He had a commitment later that afternoon, and the wait to speak was a few hours long. So I offered to switch slots with him. When he started to speak, he reminded Councilman Jim Graham, the sponsor of the smoking ban, that he lived in Graham’s district, and had actually hosted a fundraiser or two for him. Graham’s face lit up. Here was a titan of the left, come to praise him, Jim Graham! [...]

By: Omri

Omri — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:19:22 +0000

Your fans at The Exile will have the definitive schadenfreude-filled obituary on Hitchens, probably today.

By: picachu

picachu — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:03:50 +0000

“Hitchens then lit into Graham with a tirade against paternalism that included the phrase, “you’re treating us as if we were helpless retarded children.” Graham was crestfallen.”

I’m guessing the ban passed anyway?