In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens

[Alias]

RIP

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16212418

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/ ... s-19492011

[unbroken69]

Never always agreed with his views, but it was always a pleasure to listen to or read his arguments. I recently finished his memoir Hitch 22 which was thoroughly enlightening. He was an inspiration and was always swimming against the tide, he dared to stand alone and was never afraid to stand up against pre determined leftist views. A man equally viewed with scepticism from the left and the right, simply because he never let his leftist principles determine any individual issue.

I don´t think he would appreciate an RIP, in fact he would positively despise such a sentiment. So I would rather say, farewell to the greatest polemicist of the modern era.

[Alias]

Hell's Angel, worth a watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WQ0i3nCx60

[APOLLO79]

Never always agreed with his views, but it was always a pleasure to listen to or read his arguments. I recently finished his memoir Hitch 22 which was thoroughly enlightening. He was an inspiration and was always swimming against the tide, he dared to stand alone and was never afraid to stand up against pre determined leftist views. A man equally viewed with scepticism from the left and the right, simply because he never let his leftist principles determine any individual issue.

I don´t think he would appreciate an RIP, in fact he would positively despise such a sentiment. So I would rather say, farewell to the greatest polemicist of the modern era.

so where do you stand?

[unbroken69]

@Apollo79. My point about Hitchens is that as his waist got bigger he didn´t journey from the left to the right as many say he did. He argued polemically if there was something he thought was wrong. His support for the Iraq war was from the point of view that anything which rids the world of Saddam Hussein has to be right. Of course for holding such a view he came in for criticism from the Guardianistas and other psudeo liberals for what they considered was his support for American imperialism.

He was equally as scathing of Israel´s actions in Palestine as he was about Islamic theocracies in the middle east, when the left in the west tended to take more of a simplistic taking sides approach. Of course the underlying rationale in Hitchens polemic was that anything which uses religious dogma to further political aims and control the state was irrefutably wrong. He didn´t however see the problem for his support for the Iraq war and the fact that both Blair and Bush cliamed that God had guided them to invade Iraq.

Where do I stand? I tend to be cynical of anything I am fed by the media. I will question everything including my own leftist leanings. I do however think we kid ourselves that we are a secular society when in the 21st century we watch our former PM Mr. Blair state on live TV that he talks to God.

[Hammer]

Hell's Angel, worth a watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WQ0i3nCx60

Cheers Alias, very interesting.

[unbroken69]

The portrait of Mother Teresa was indeed very enlightening. He was aslo an opponent of Henry Kissenger, who like Mother Teresa was also laughingly awarded the Nobel peace prize.

Here´s a link to a documentary based on his book "The Trials Of Henry Kissenger".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5tFtAtwqBI

Enjoy.

[Retrocanary]

Was listening to the always brilliant Danny Baker show on BBC London on Friday, and during the news the beeb decided to use a clip from Tariq Ali who was saying that he thought the real Christopher Hitchens died a decade ago, and that since then we've seen a new Christopher Hitchens that wasn't as brilliant as the old.

Danny (who himself just got the all clear from a tough battle with cancer) went on to say how bad taste it was for that clip to be used and then something like: "I hope when Tariq Ali passes they have me on there...oh yes Tariq Ali he showed some real potential in his early years, and had a fantastic ability to write eloquently, but he became a terrible bore, waiting to dance on someone's grave."

I myself have really admired Hitchens in the brief time since I've discovered the man's work. Haven't read much of his stuff, but I am looking forward to getting around to it.

[PaulD]

yes he was a great polemicist
unfashionable as it is whilst I disagree with most of what his brother Peter says he also wrotes well

[Arthur Streeb-Greebling]

I wasn’t really aware of the man until I started watching him on youtube a few years ago. Been watching him again over the last year and are seriously enjoying the ‘Hitchslaps’ compilations, his debating skills were second to none and his comedy skills were certainly impressive too.

It sure would have been interesting to hear his thoughts on todays crazy fucked up world.
Would he be cancelled? I think many would have tried but he would have destroyed them all.

[jcinblack]

Great revisit.
What a legend this man was. He, like Stephen fry, are the kind of people that you listen to and speak like you wish you could.

[Arthur Streeb-Greebling]

Great revisit.
What a legend this man was. He, like Stephen fry, are the kind of people that you listen to and speak like you wish you could.

Indeed and that debate with Stephen Fry & Christopher Hitchens vs Archbishop John Onaiyekan & Ann Widdecombe over the motion "The Catholic Church is a Force for Good in the World" is a classic. Always worth a revisit.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JZRcYaAYW ... hlbiBmcnkg