Hunter Stockton Thompson / 19372005 / Louisville, Kentucky, USA / Journalist, Author
Advice
A word to the wise is infuriating.
Hell’s Angels (1966).
America
We are turning into a nation of whimpering slaves to Fear—fear of war, fear of poverty, fear of random terrorism, fear of getting down-sized or fired because of the plunging economy, fear of getting evicted for bad debts, or suddenly getting locked up in a military detention camp on vague charges of being a Terrorist sympathizer.
Kingdom of Fear (2003).
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile, and the rest of us are f***ed until we can put our acts together: Not necessarily to Win, but mainly to keep from Losing Completely.
The Great Shark Hunt (1979).
In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971).
Weird heroes and mold-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of “the rat race” is not yet final.
The Great Shark Hunt (1979).
Freedom
Freedom is something that dies unless it’s used.
The Great Shark Hunt (1979).
Investigative Journalism
I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours.
Interview with Studs Terkel, in The Great Shark Hunt (1979).
Life
No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride . . . and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well . . . maybe chalk it up to forced consciousness expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971).
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
“Fear and Loathing at the Super Bowl,” Rolling Stone, 1973.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow! What a ride!”
Source unknown.
The Edge . . . there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.
Hell’s Angels (1966).
We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and—in spite of True Romance magazines—we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely—at least, not all the time—but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don’t see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.
The Proud Highway (1997).
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you until it seems that you cannot hold on for a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time when the tide will turn.
Source unknown.
For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971).
Paranoia
There is no such thing as paranoia. Your worst fears can come true at any moment.
Cited in E. Jean Carroll, Hunter: The Strange and Savage Life of Hunter S. Thompson (1993).
Procrastination
A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.
The Proud Highway (1997).
Television Journalism
The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason.
Generation of Swine (1988).
Thompson on Thompson
I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.
Fear and Loathing in America (2000).
I understand that fear is my friend, but not always. Never turn your back on Fear. It should always be in front of you, like a thing that might have to be killed.
Kingdom of Fear (2003).
Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously.
The Proud Highway (1997).
It never got weird enough for me.
Source unknown.
Please God, don’t let me live long enough to become a Conservative.
The Great Shark Hunt (1979).