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Wednesday Feb 27, 2008
RIP William F. Buckley, Jr.
National Review founder and brilliant author William F. Buckley, JR died yesterday.
HERE is the New York Times' article about him. It's very long, but an excellent read.
Buckley was an interesting man, and he will be missed.
HERE is the National Review, the magazine that Buckley founded. It's still an excellent source for conservative/libertarian viewpoints and analysis.
-Matt Hittle
Posted at 02:40PM Feb 27, 2008 by College Republicans in Media | Comments[2]
Buckley was a complicated man. I admire his intelligence but I feel his ultra-elite upbringing corrupted him into misusing it.
Buckley once suggested every one with AIDS should have to bear a large tattoo (a la the 'Scarlett Letter') proclaiming them as somehow 'outcast' from American Society?
He was definitely a hater of gays and was quite proud of that distinction. He spoke a lot about his disgust for 'queers'.
Frankly, I agree with Gore Vidal's assessment that Buckley was nothing but a “pro-crypto Nazi".
However he did finally come around a bit towards the end and loose some of his Conservative bitterness.
He advocated the legalization of Marijuana use which is a definitely enlightened position. More money is wasted enforcing marijuana laws than is spent on our children's education.
Frankly - I think the world is a much better place without Mr. Buckley. Good riddance.
Posted by Douglas Bryenldson on February 27, 2008 at 06:24 PM CST #
The only documented case of Buckley saying the word "queer" in a derogatory sense is when he called Gore Vidal one. You cannot say that he hated gays, or even that he was proud of it. He may have disagreed with their lifestyle choice, but that's far from hatred.
Second, I'm not sure if you're aware, but, while Buckley was born into a wealthy family, he immediately began denouncing Yale upon his graduation as a bastion of liberal elitism.
I also think that calling all conservatives bitter is one of those blanket statements you enjoy making. We College Republicans as a whole are conservative and not bitter at all. You might think about retracting that statement.
Also, you OBVIOUSLY didn't read the column in which Buckley discussed the possibility of tattoos for AIDS carriers. He said that a tattoo on the arm would prevent needle sharing and on the buttocks would prevent sexual transmission. I don't agree with Buckley's idea, but your statement that it would be to cast out gays shows your lack of understanding about the piece.
Of course, the article was written in 1986, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, and all sorts of solutions were thrown about. This was only one of the many.
Your diatribe isn't fair to the memory of Buckley, nor to conservatives and libertarians in general.
Posted by Matt Hittle on February 27, 2008 at 11:03 PM CST #