Christopher Hitchens
I had, queued for myself tonight, the Hitchens/Craig debate that I searched for this morning after seeing an ad for the DVD. Little did I know I would discover he had died before (re)watching it. In addition to that I’ve been listening to god is not Great on my iPod for the past week or so, this one for maybe the fifth time! I think I’ve seen almost all of his full videos on youtube; I’ve stayed up so late, so many nights, trying to listen to everything he had to say. I don’t think I could find someone I enjoy listening to more than him; so cool and eloquent (I think he is how I would define the word).
I remember exactly where I was when I found out he had cancer: I was on my way to Palo Alto from SFSU via CalTrain. I was on the top floor on the right side of the train looking at my HTC Droid. I had just moments earlier learned that Hitch would soon be coming to my hometown of San Jose, Ca, only to find he had cancelled due to illness moments later. I was devastated to learn both, first and most importantly that he was diagnosed with an especially deadly form of cancer, and also that I would probably never get the opportunity to meet him.
There are a great number of people I would like nothing more than to meet and thank for their contribution to my life, but very few come as close to the top of my list as Christopher Hitchens. Now that the alcohol from a few hours ago is wearing off I’m starting to tear up, as I thought I might while I was drunk earlier when I found out. I imagine he’d find it a bit ridiculous, but would kindly appreciate the sentiment. Now, I just really hope his family is able to grieve unmolested (as I’m accustomed to hearing him say). I haven’t seen anything negative thus far, but know there are some awful people who will be celebrating in the morning (if not now).
On tumblr, Christopher Hitchens was pretty much an auto-like (if not reblog) for me. He was, and will continue to be, my favourite speaker of the New Atheists. I have actually never felt more like sharing something like this with my facebook friends, but I’m still not sure I will, just to avoid annoying confrontations. Like another hero, Carl Sagan, I’ll always wonder now what Christopher Hitchens would/will think of certain happenings on Earth. Unlike Sagan, though, Hitchens died at a time in my life where I could both appreciate him as a person as well as life and death. I suppose this is one of many upsetting times, if I’m lucky, that I’ll have to deal with the death of someone I care about.
I’ve been tempted to write “rest in peace,” but I always feel like that’s a lame response to a death. I just really hope future generations are inspired and encouraged by his courage, character, and charisma (I think he might’ve appreciated the alliteration). Cheers Hitch.
