Friday, February 25, 2005

The suicide of that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas guy didn’t impact me that much. I’ve not read his works, didn’t see the movie. That kind of eccentric joker doesn’t get much play with me. That he killed himself got less sympathy from me than he might otherwise have gotten if he had died in an accident or from natural causes. My sympathies go to the families who are left behind to deal with the aftermath of one of the most selfish acts a person can perform.

Out of curiosity I clicked the link to this article at FoxNews.com, where his widow explains that she was on the phone with him when he pulled the trigger. Nice.

There was one quote from his widow that astounds me:

Anita Thompson, 32, said her husband had discussed killing himself in recent months and had been issuing verbal and written directives about what he wanted done with his body, his unpublished works and his assets.

His suicidal talk put a strain on their relationship, she said.

“He wanted to leave on top of his game. I wish I could have been more supportive of his decision,” she said. “It was a problem for us.”

Empahsis mine. She wishes she could have been more supportive of his decision to kill himself? What on earth?

Seems to me he should have been less self-absorbed and thought about his young (!) wife, children, and grandchildren. That this guy is getting laudatory press sickens me. Really, it does.