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  • TUESDAY APRIL 24 2007 9:00 AM

R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut: "Despondent Leftist"

Submitted by Hunter

Edited by Rahodeb

Tags: Fox news, slant, republicans, vonnegut



FOX News recently made a segment commemorating the life and times of recently deceased author Kurt Vonnegut. Taught in classrooms across the country and read by millions, Vonnegut was truly one of America's greatest thinkers, and this video was a tasteful, fitting tribute to his memory.

Oh wait... It's FOX we're talking about here.

In true FOX News style, they couldn't resist taking a poke at a famous liberal and avowed science-lover like Vonnegut, even in death. Besides taking out of context his most cynical, self-denigrating sound bites from various interviews, FOX refers to his anti-war views as "despondent leftism," and names thematic parallels between his WWII trauma-opus Slaughterhouse Five and the atrocities of the then-current Vietnam War as the reason why he became a hero for "radicals" everywhere. They even found a poster of him where he kind of looks like Che. Priceless!

In a way, this is almost too perfect. An avowed atheist, Vonnegut acknowledged that when he died he would be fine with simply "pushing up daises." No fanfare, no ass-kissing, no maudlin talk of heaven. If by any chance Vonnegut was wrong and there is an afterlife, he's probably watching that ridiculously petty segment right now and chuckling at the madness of those vainly struggling to keep control of the world he left, i.e. republicans.

As someone who loves Vonnegut's biting humor, I don't want to get too mushy about it, so I'm not going to end on a saccharine note here. The only thing his fans can do at this point is smile, wipe away any moisture that may have formed, and remember his blindingly sensible statement on death:

"So it goes."

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Comments
Horrorflick

Horrorflick

Detroit, MI
February 2003

APR 24, 2007 09:46 AM

He had some great short stories, too. He will be missed...

Postblank

Postblank

New Brunswick, NJ
June 2004

APR 24, 2007 09:46 AM

I find great irony in Limbaugh's new phrase of "the drive-by media" for the "liberals" when the conservative media outlets are the ones that go out of their way to take their shots at everything they don't find 100% agreeable.

RileyStClair

RileyStClair

Los Angeles, CA
September 2006

APR 24, 2007 10:11 AM

k-von is my hero.

Sexdwarf

Sexdwarf

Hermosa Beach, CA
February 2003

APR 24, 2007 10:14 AM

aaw, how sweet of FOX

ZenTrixter

ZenTrixter

Portland, OR
October 2002

APR 24, 2007 10:24 AM

Well, one thing's for sure. Fox delivered the truth...

His name was spelled "K U R T"...

Beyond that...

deathbyjonny

deathbyjonny

I'm lost
December 2006

APR 24, 2007 10:26 AM

no maudlin talk of heaven? cos im sure i saw a header on SG a few days saying thats where kurt vonnegut was now.

Brigette

Brigette

Canada
February 2007

APR 24, 2007 10:33 AM

The header was a joke, deathbyjonny. smile

goodpoltergeist

goodpoltergeist

Douglasville, GA
January 2007

APR 24, 2007 10:52 AM

not a big fan of Slaughterhouse Five however Cat's Cradle, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Jailbird were all amazing.

He's great. he will be missed.

too bad others can't really appreciate him, even if they don't necessarily agree.

NinjaTech

NinjaTech

Minneapolis, MN
November 2003

APR 24, 2007 11:12 AM

This is fairly par for the course for Vonnegut's life.

MakinSELECTions

MakinSELECTions

Grand Rapids, MI
June 2006

APR 24, 2007 11:50 AM

to paraphrase val kilmer as jim morrison in the doors movie, fox news can 'suck a fart out of my asshole'. .....and so it goes.

jonzes

jonzes

Madison, WI
July 2003

APR 24, 2007 12:01 PM

Newsflash: FOX are cocksuckers.

Besides, if those assholes liked him he would have failed.

unheimlich

unheimlich

Reno, NV
March 2005

APR 24, 2007 12:59 PM

This was actually the toned down version of the FOX report on his death. The original was just to be a thirty second portrait of him with a banner that read "Mission Accomplished!"

brandxofttl

brandxofttl

Scranton, PA
March 2007

APR 24, 2007 01:20 PM

I like the part where the newscaster calls Vonnegut "rich and irrelevant." I'm assuming he meant "irreverent," the former term being a insult. whatever

The ending is what really gets me. They just have to throw in there that he "failed at suicide," which is the shittiest way you could put that, and then goes on to say he was never happy, which is completely untrue if you've actually read his stuff or any interviews he's done...the last interview he did for Rolling Stone would be a perfect example. I tell this to people all the time - just because you're cynical doesn't mean you're not happy with all aspects of life.

If anything, Fox News proves that his writing is more "relevant" than ever when conservatives stoop this low to insult a great man.

Cockzombie

Cockzombie

Japan
July 2006

APR 24, 2007 03:05 PM

that was a horrible report. It makes me sad that some Americans think like that.

Deadeye Dick was a great book. (that has nothing to do with the article or the news clip- but it was my favorite)

TheInsomniac

TheInsomniac

Washington, DC
October 2003

APR 24, 2007 03:46 PM

Insulting a national treasure after his death, huh? Sounds about right. Today I saw 10 seconds of Fox News. The headline was "Are terrorists inspired by reading the "Daily Kos"?"

Remember folks, they report. You decide. wink

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