Christopher Hitchens 1949-2011
December 16th, 2011
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I am very very saddened to say that Christopher Hitchens has lost his battle with cancer. He was 62 years old. He was diagnosed more than a year ago, and while there was at least a slim hope of beating the cancer, we all have known for some time that this day was likely to be soon upon us.
Hitchens was an illuminating, if controversial force who contributed much to the world, especially in the areas of ethical and religious debate. Despite his deteriorating health, he managed to continue his irreverent and pointed public commentary almost to the very end.
I first met Christopher Hitchens at Tam-5. Sadly I never got a picture with him, but at least I shook his hand. He was not able to make the next two Tam’s for various reasons and then he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, which prevented him from attending many more conferences.
I’m sorry I did not get to know him better, though many of my close friends did. We appreciate his contributions enormously and will miss him.
For those involved in skepticism, secularism and related areas, this is a sad day.
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December 16th, 2011 at 1:26 am
“My own opinion is enough for me, and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, any time. And anyone who disagrees with this can pick a number, get in line and kiss my ass.” – Christopher Hitchens in a debate at University of Toronto, in 2006.
He will be missed
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December 16th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
I always enjoyed his writings. He was sometimes controversal but always thought provoking. It is amazing he did manage to continue to write articles and commentaries almost to the very end, even if he was slowed quite a bit by the disease.
He had a lot of guts to say some of the things he did in direct confrontation to the religious establishment, but they were very often things that needed to be said.
62 years old. I don’t consider that to be old and it’s certainly young to die. He was only a few years older than myself. It reminds me of how glad I am that I quit smoking years ago. I wish more valuable members of society would not drink and smoke themselves to an early death, but Hitchens always said he knew the risks and did it willingly anyway and would do it again. I’ll never understand that, especially for smoking, which after a short time gives no pleasure at all, only a little relief from the constant withdrawal it causes. I guess Hitch was never one to apologize for his actions.
Indeed, he will be missed.
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December 16th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
That’s too bad. I think everyone saw this coming, but I am still surprised it happened now. I would have thought it would be a few more months. He had made comments on television and radio recently and written some more editorials. He did not look good at all, but the fact that he was able to do so at all made me think that he was hanging on pretty well and that perhaps the cancer was not progressing much. I would have assumed he’d be out of the spotlight and bedridden for a while before he finally died. It is amazing he kept it up to the end.
What is the likihood that his lifestyle is what caused the cancer?
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December 16th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Gordon said:
Not to mention defacing a fascist sign in Lebanon (he also didn’t apologise even after getting beaten up over it).
Q said:
I think there’s a very high probability that his smoking caused it (it was after all a form of cancer often associated with smoking).
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December 16th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
Q said:
Very likely. Almost likely enough that you could just assume it is the case and he admitted this.
He was a chain smoker for 30 years. Smoking is very very strongly associated with this form of cancer.
He was also a heavy drinker. Drinking is associated with it as well, but not as strongly as smoking, and is usually limited to very heavy drinkers. I don’t know how heavily he drank, but it was fairly heavy.
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December 16th, 2011 at 10:56 pm
Q said:
Q, that’s a very disrespectful question to put out there. Good job getting everyone to start blaming him for getting cancer. I hope when you die of a heart attack during sex, people publicly ask that question about you, too.
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December 16th, 2011 at 11:33 pm
thomas said:
Well… Hitchens was the first to admit it.
He said that he would do it again because he thought he “got more out of the bohemian existence” but would not recommend it to others.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/17/christopher-hitchens-desp_n_685021.html
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December 17th, 2011 at 2:32 am
thomas said:
I hope so too!
Hell, that’s the way I have always hoped to go! A whorehouse heart attack when I’m 95 sounds pretty good to me. If I can’t die in my sleep, I might as well die in bed — and “with my boots on,” so to speak.
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December 18th, 2011 at 1:32 am
@thomas, I think Hitchens would tell you that any attempt to forbid questions by invoking disrespect should be challenged immediately and often.
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