Editing Hunter S. Thompson (section)

==Legacy==
===Writing style===
{{Main|Gonzo journalism}}
Thompson is often credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of writing that blurs distinctions between fiction and nonfiction. His work and style are considered to be a major part of the New Journalism literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which attempted to break free from the purely objective style of mainstream reporting of the time. Thompson almost always wrote in the [[first person narrative|first person]], while extensively using his own experiences and emotions to color "the story" he was trying to follow.

Despite him having personally described his work as "Gonzo", it fell to later observers to articulate what the phrase actually meant. While Thompson's approach clearly involved injecting himself as a participant in the events of the narrative, it also involved adding invented, metaphoric elements, thus creating, for the uninitiated reader, a seemingly confusing amalgam of facts and fiction notable for the deliberately blurred lines between one and the other. Thompson, in a 1974 interview in ''Playboy'', addressed the issue himself, saying, "Unlike Tom Wolfe or Gay Talese, I almost never try to reconstruct a story. They're both much better reporters than I am, but then, I don't think of myself as a reporter." [[Tom Wolfe]] later described Thompson's style as "...&nbsp;part journalism and part personal memoir admixed with powers of wild invention and wilder rhetoric."<ref name="wolfetom">{{Cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Tom |date=February 22, 2005 |title=As Gonzo in Life as in His Work |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006325 |access-date=August 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050222142331/http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006325 |archive-date=February 22, 2005}}</ref> Or as one description of the differences between Thompson and Wolfe's styles would elaborate, "While Tom Wolfe mastered the technique of being a fly on the wall, Thompson mastered the art of being a [[fly in the ointment]]."<ref>{{Cite book |date=August 22, 1995 |title=Better Than Sex |author=Hunter S. Thompson |url=http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl/9780345396358.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415233459/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/178185/better-than-sex-by-hunter-s-thompson/9780345396358 |archive-date=April 15, 2022 |access-date=July 30, 2010 |publisher=Random House}}</ref>

The majority of Thompson's most popular and acclaimed work appeared within the pages of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Publisher Jan Wenner said Thompson was "in the DNA of ''Rolling Stone''".<ref name=wennerbook /> Along with [[Joe Eszterhas]] and David Felton, Thompson was instrumental in expanding the focus of the magazine past music criticism; indeed, Thompson was the only staff writer of the epoch never to contribute a music feature to the magazine. Nevertheless, his articles were always peppered with a wide array of pop-music references ranging from [[Howlin' Wolf]] to [[Lou Reed]]. Armed with early [[fax]] machines wherever he went, he became notorious for haphazardly sending sometimes illegible material to the magazine's San Francisco offices as an issue was about to go to press.

Wenner said Thompson tended to work "in long bursts of energy, awake until dawn, or too often, two dawns." He said keeping Thompson on track when finishing a piece required "...companionship, or what editors call hand-holding, but in Hunter's case it was more like being a junior officer in his war. He required his creature comforts, which meant the right kind of typewriter and a certain color paper, Wild Turkey, the right drugs, and the proper music."<ref name=wennerbook />

Robert Love, Thompson's editor of 23&nbsp;years at ''Rolling Stone'', wrote in the ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'' that "the dividing line between fact and fancy rarely blurred, and we didn't always use italics or some other typographical device to indicate the lurch into the fabulous. But if there were living, identifiable humans in a scene, we took certain steps&nbsp;... Hunter was a close friend of many prominent Democrats, veterans of the 10 or more presidential campaigns he covered, so when in doubt, we'd call the press secretary. 'People will believe almost any twisted kind of story about politicians or Washington,' he once said, and he was right."<ref name="love-cjr">Love, Robert. (May–June 2005) {{Cite web |date=May–June 2005 |title=''A Technical Guide For Editing Gonzo'' |url=https://www.cjr.org/issues |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070410013416/http://cjr.org/issues/2005/3/hst.asp |archive-date=April 10, 2007 |access-date=June 18, 2024 |website=Columbia Journalism Review}}</ref>

Discerning the line between the fact and fiction of Thompson's work presented a practical problem for editors and fact-checkers. Love called fact-checking Thompson's work "one of the sketchiest occupations ever created in the publishing world", and "for the first-timer&nbsp;... a trip through a journalistic fun house, where you didn't know what was real and what wasn't. You knew you had better learn enough about the subject at hand to know when the riff began and reality ended. Hunter was a stickler for numbers, for details like gross weight and model numbers, for lyrics and [[caliber]], and there was no faking it."<ref name="love-cjr"/>

===Persona===
{{Main|Raoul Duke}}

Thompson often used a blend of fiction and fact when portraying himself in his writing, too, sometimes using the name [[Raoul Duke]] as an [[author surrogate]], whom he generally described as a callous, erratic, self-destructive journalist, constantly drinking and taking hallucinogens. In the early 1980s, Wenner spoke with Thompson about his alcoholism and addiction to cocaine, and offered to pay for drug treatment. "Hunter was polite and firm;" Wenner wrote in 2022. "He had thought about it and didn't feel he could or would change. He felt that [his drug abuse] was a key to his talent. He said that if he didn't do drugs, he would have the mind of an accountant. The abuse was already taking a toll on his gifts.... It was just too late, and he knew it."<ref name=wennerbook />

In the late 1960s, Thompson acquired the [[Honorary degree|title of]] "Doctor" from the Church of the New Truth.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kaul |first=Arthur J. |url=https://web.english.upenn.edu/~despey/thompson.htm |title=Hunter S. Thompson |website=web.english.upenn.edu |access-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-date=October 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029152347/https://web.english.upenn.edu/~despey/thompson.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Johnston |first=Ian |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/05707-hunter-s-thompson-interview |title=A Quietus Interview – An Unpublished Interview With Hunter S. Thompson |magazine=[[The Quietus]] |date=February 17, 2011 |access-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127090903/https://thequietus.com/articles/05707-hunter-s-thompson-interview |url-status=live }}</ref>

A number of critics have commented that as he grew older, the line that distinguished Thompson from his literary self became increasingly blurred.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cohen, Rich |date=April 17, 2005 |title=''Gonzo Nights'' |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/17/books/review/17COHENRE.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523054908/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/17/books/review/17COHENRE.html?pagewanted=print&position= |archive-date=May 23, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 27, 2006 |title=Hunter S. Thompson (2/23/05) |url=http://theopinionmill.wordpress.com/2006/12/26/hunter-s-thompson-22305 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402124248/http://theopinionmill.wordpress.com/2006/12/26/hunter-s-thompson-22305/ |archive-date=April 2, 2012 |access-date=August 3, 2012 |website=December 26, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Clifford |first=Peggy |date=March 2, 2005 |title=Love Song for Hunter S. Thompson/18706 |url=http://www.smmirror.com/MainPages/DisplayArticleDetails.asp?eid=157 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402124248/http://www.smmirror.com/MainPages/DisplayArticleDetails.asp?eid=157 |archive-date=April 2, 2012 |access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref> Thompson admitted during a 1978 BBC interview that he sometimes felt pressured to live up to the fictional self that he had created, adding, "I'm never sure which one people expect me to be. Very often, they conflict—most often, as a matter of fact.&nbsp;... I'm leading a normal life and right alongside me there is this myth, and it is growing and mushrooming and getting more and more warped. When I get invited to, say, speak at universities, I'm not sure if they are inviting Duke or Thompson. I'm not sure who to be."<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 15, 2007 |title=Fear And Loathing in Gonzovision |url=http://thenewishjournalism.blogspot.com/2007/10/fear-and-loathing-in-gonzovision.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330080144/http://thenewishjournalism.blogspot.com/2007/10/fear-and-loathing-in-gonzovision.html |archive-date=March 30, 2012 |access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref>

Thompson's writing style and eccentric persona gave him a [[cult following]] in both literary and drug circles, and his cult status expanded into broader areas after being portrayed three times in major motion pictures. Hence, both his writing style and persona have been widely imitated, and his likeness has even become a popular costume choice for [[Halloween]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 31, 2006 |title=Hunter S. Thompson Halloween |url=https://images.google.com/images?hl=en&hs=293&safe=off&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N&q=hunter%20s%20thompson%20halloween&spell=1&oe=UTF-8&tab=wi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021001203319/http://images.google.com/images?hl=en |archive-date=October 1, 2002 |access-date=July 30, 2010}}</ref>

===Political beliefs===
Thompson was a [[firearm]]s and [[explosives]] enthusiast (in his writing and in life) and owned a large collection of handguns, rifles, shotguns, and various [[automatic firearm|automatic]] and [[semi-automatic firearm|semiautomatic]] weapons, along with numerous forms of [[Lachrymatory agent|gaseous crowd-control]] and many homemade devices.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} He was a proponent of the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|right to bear arms]] and [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|privacy rights]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Glassie |first=John |date=February 3, 2003 |title=Hunter S. Thompson |work=Salon |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/02/03/thompson/index.html?pn=2 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607032419/http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/02/03/thompson/index.html?pn=2 |archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref> A member of the [[National Rifle Association of America]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Susman |first=Tina |date=February 22, 2005 |title=Writer's suicide shocks friends |url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-ushunt224153856feb22,0,4715271.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127024140/http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-ushunt224153856feb22%2C0%2C4715271.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines |archive-date=November 27, 2007 |access-date=August 3, 2012 |publisher=Newsday.com}}</ref> Thompson was also co-creator of the Fourth Amendment Foundation, an organization to assist victims in defending themselves against unwarranted [[search and seizure]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Higgins |first=Matt |date=September 2, 2003 |title=The Gonzo King |url=http://hightimes.com/entertainment/mhiggins/970 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929131805/http://hightimes.com/entertainment/mhiggins/970 |archive-date=September 29, 2012 |access-date=August 3, 2012 |publisher=High Times}}</ref>

Part of his work with the Fourth Amendment Foundation centered around support of [[Lisl Auman]], a [[Colorado]] woman who was sentenced for [[Life imprisonment|life]] in 1997 under [[felony murder]] charges for the death of police officer Bruce VanderJagt, despite contradictory statements and dubious evidence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McMaken |first=Ryan |title=Hunter S. Thompson's Last Stand |url=http://archive.lewrockwell.com/mcmaken/mcmaken134.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313204113/http://archive.lewrockwell.com/mcmaken/mcmaken134.html |archive-date=March 13, 2014 |access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref> Thompson organized rallies, provided legal support, and co-wrote an article in the June 2004 issue of ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' outlining the case. The [[Colorado Supreme Court]] eventually overturned Auman's sentence in March 2005, shortly after Thompson's death, and Auman is now free. Auman's supporters claim Thompson's support and publicity resulted in the successful appeal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moseley |first=Matt |date=April 26, 2006 |title=Lisl Released from Tooley Hall |url=http://www.lisl.com/caseupdate.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506163933/http://www.lisl.com/caseupdate.htm |archive-date=May 6, 2006 |access-date=March 14, 2017 |website=lisl.com}}</ref>

Thompson was also an ardent supporter of [[drug legalization]] and became known for his detailed accounts of his own [[Recreational drug use|drug use]]. He was an early supporter of the [[National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws]] and served on the group's advisory board for over 30 years, until his death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aspen Legal Seminar |url=http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6823 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012115131/http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6823 |archive-date=October 12, 2011 |access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref> He told an interviewer in 1997 that drugs should be legalized "[a]cross the board. It might be a little rough on some people for a while, but I think it's the only way to deal with drugs. Look at [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]]; all it did was make a lot of criminals rich."<ref name="fargone" />

In a 1965 letter to his friend Paul Semonin, Thompson explained an affection for the [[Industrial Workers of the World]], "I have in recent months come to have a certain feeling for [[Joe Hill (activist)|Joe Hill]] and the Wobbly crowd who, if nothing else, had the right idea. But not the right mechanics. I believe the IWW was probably the last human concept in American politics."<ref>Hunter S. Thompson ''The Proud Highway: 1955–67, Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman'', p. 509.</ref> In another letter to Semonin, Thompson wrote that he agreed with [[Karl Marx]], and compared him to [[Thomas Jefferson]].<ref>Hunter S. Thompson ''The Proud Highway'', p. 493.</ref> In a letter to [[William Kennedy (author)|William Kennedy]], Thompson confided that he was "coming to view the [[free enterprise]] system as the single greatest evil in the history of human savagery."<ref>Hunter S. Thompson ''The Proud Highway'', p. 456.</ref> In the documentary ''[[Breakfast with Hunter]]'', Thompson is seen in several scenes wearing different [[Che Guevara]] T-shirts. Additionally, actor and friend [[Benicio del Toro]] has stated that Thompson kept a "big" [[Guerrillero Heroico|picture of Che]] in his kitchen.<ref>[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gonzo-the-life-and-work-of-dr-hunter-s-thompson Hunter S. Thompson: The Movie] by Alex Gibney, ''The Sunday Times'', December 14, 2008</ref> Thompson wrote on behalf of African-American rights and the [[civil rights movement]].<ref>Hunter S. Thompson, ''The Great Shark Hunt'' (London, 1980), pp.&nbsp;43–51.</ref> He strongly criticized the dominance in American society of what he called "white power structures".<ref>Hunter S. Thompson, ''The Great Shark Hunt'', (1980), pp.&nbsp;44–50.</ref>

After the [[September 11 attacks]], Thompson voiced skepticism regarding the [[9/11 Commission Report|official story on who was responsible for the attacks]]. He speculated to several interviewers that it had been [[False flag|conducted by]] [[9/11 conspiracy theories|the U.S. government or with the government's assistance]], though readily admitting he had no way to prove his theory.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bulger |first=Adam |date=March 9, 2004 |title=The Hunter S. Thompson Interview |url=http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/article.php?id=287 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125014310/http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/article.php?id=287 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=August 3, 2012 |publisher=FreezerBox}}</ref>

In 2004, Thompson wrote: "[Richard] Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for—but if he were running for president this year against the evil [[George W. Bush|Bush]]–[[Dick Cheney|Cheney]] gang, I would happily vote for him."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Thompson |first=Hunter S. |date=October 24, 2004 |title=Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/6562575/fear_and_loathing_campaign_2004 |url-status=dead |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709073911/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/6562575/fear_and_loathing_campaign_2004 |archive-date=July 9, 2008 |access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref>

=== Scholarships ===
Thompson's widow established two scholarship funds at [[Columbia University School of General Studies]] for U.S. military veterans and the [[University of Kentucky]] for journalism students.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Travers |first=Andrew |title=What's next for Hunter S. Thompson's Owl Farm? |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/entertainment/whats-next-for-hunter-s-thompsons-owl-farm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622151850/https://www.aspentimes.com/entertainment/whats-next-for-hunter-s-thompsons-owl-farm/ |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |access-date=June 19, 2020 |website=aspentimes.com |date=November 27, 2016 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="www.aspentimes.com-2016" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=CI: Gonzo Foundation Scholarship Fund |url=https://ci.uky.edu/ci/gonzo-foundation-scholarship-fund |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621123443/https://ci.uky.edu/ci/gonzo-foundation-scholarship-fund |archive-date=June 21, 2020 |access-date=June 19, 2020 |website=ci.uky.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hunter S. Thompson's Cabin Is on Airbnb — Proceeds Go To Columbia University Veterans |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/hunter-s-thompsons-cabin-is-on-airbnband-proceeds-go-to-columbia-university-veterans/1628769/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622055453/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/hunter-s-thompsons-cabin-is-on-airbnband-proceeds-go-to-columbia-university-veterans/1628769/ |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |access-date=June 19, 2020 |website=NBC New York |date=July 12, 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref>
Colorado NORML created the Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship to pay all expenses for a lawyer or law student to attend the NORML Legal Committee Conference in Aspen, generally the first few days of June each year. The funding from a silent auction has paid for two winners for some years. Many winners have gone on to become important cannabis lawyers on state and national levels.<ref>I've personally assisted in all aspects of this scholarship. Lauren Maytin, Aspen, NLC longest-serving member has been involved since the inception of this prestigious award.</ref>