I've never mistook Hunter as a 'champion'; -- he just fought the good fight against control freaks his whole life.
That he loved liberty, and wrote about it well was enough for me.
Booze, drugs, weapons, international travel, fortified compounds and a place in jet-set society all take money. HST was hardly a homebody content with the wife's apple pie.
Who claimed he was a 'homebody'? And sure, he was paid well. -- So what?
You are free to continue dissecting my adjectives, but I think you'll continue to fail seeing the forest
I've seen through your 'forest' my son, and its not a pretty picture.
As far as dissing him goes, I think not. I simply labeled him for what he was - a dissipated symbol of a dissipated generation. Your characterizations of the man, in a struggle against the man, are a stretch too far IMO.
Why do you still "struggle against the man"? He's dead..
You're certainly free to imagine him as a symbol for some kind of freedom if you choose. In a like kind of freedom, I believe that he was a man enslaved by his own demons and killing himself was the final act of a particularly small and foolish life.
I suspect he was terminally ill, and ended life on his own terms. Obviously, that enrages you. How sweet.
If you were the authority on the Founders that you seem to feel, you'd know that self-control and moral underpinnings were essential to their ideas about liberty. This assertion is no mystery.
I'm a student, not an 'authority' attempting to preach to the choir.
If you believe they would have seen HST as an embodiment of their ideal freedoms, I'd like to read about it. If you liked HST, fair enough. I did not. He'll rest no easier if I laud him or condemn him.
So why the condemnation? Your vindictive rhetoric serves no real purpose..
I won't, however, endorse, or ignore, the romantic myth that boomer culture has granted him.
Someone asked you to endorse his lifestyle? Who?
I sincerely hope his family fares better now that he's gone - he must have been a terrible pain.
Might your family have first hand knowledge on the same subject? Your words here give that impression.
"he just fought the good fight against control freaks his whole life...he loved liberty..."
HST's liberty was in self destruction, illegal snd dangerous use of firearms and chemicals and the glorification of criminals. You seem to know very little about intimate connections between liberty and responsibility.
"Avaricious? - I doubt he died a particularly wealthy man...[later]...And sure, he was paid well. -- So what?"
You either miss the point or you find it convenient to argue two sides. The lifestyle he was addicted to demanded the cash and he could no more enjoy "liberty" as you call it than he could fly. He needed money because he was the slave of an expensive master. Don't kid yourself; his "liberty" was inextricably tied to money.
"I've seen through your 'forest' my son, and its not a pretty picture.
Sigh...
"Why do you still "struggle against the man"? He's dead..."
I don't. I gave an opinion that you and a handful of his libertarian fans disagreed with. Until yesterday, I have never written a word about HST one way or another. After today, I doubt I will again. HST is yesterday's trash.
"I suspect he was terminally ill, and ended life on his own terms. Obviously, that enrages you. How sweet."
Nothing could be farther from the truth. I don't care about his passing other than yesterday's comments on the news. You, OTOH, as an apparent HST insider, Constitutional scholar and right-to-choose enthusiast DO seem to have an emotional interest. How sad.
"I'm a student, not an 'authority' attempting to preach to the choir."
Care to provide the background that demonstrates the Founders were interested in a form of anarchy (liberty is the word you misused) that entailed NO personal responsibility of restraint?
"So why the condemnation? Your vindictive rhetoric serves no real purpose..."
I have condemned him to the same extent that you champion him. For you, my critique has no value. For others, it has seemed to hit the mark and been appreciated. For still more, it will serve to balance the MSM palaver being served. In any event, it's an expression of my freedom - HST would have approved.
"Someone asked you to endorse his lifestyle? Who?"
This is nonsensical.
"Might your family have first hand knowledge on the same subject? Your words here give that impression."
You're witty.
We obviously disagree about a sick man that lived a sick life. Frankly, I don't care what your thoughts are about HST anymore than you do about mine. Go pursue your liberties - given to us by men far better than the wreck you champion.