# Kel Varnsen - Latex Division - Fuck You **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 21, 2005, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139 "2005-02-21T06:59:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/1 "2005-02-21T06:59:48Z")
In [This Thread about HST’s Suicide](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=303468) Kel feels the need to chime in with his opinion about Thompson’s bravery or lack thereof. I think that calls for a heary “fuck you” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/2 "2005-02-21T07:02:09Z")
or a **hearty** “Fuck You”, even :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/3 "2005-02-21T07:02:48Z")
Yeah that seems like a pretty pointless drive-by. Second the fuck you. **Kel** , you got any personal experience to back up your claim? ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/4 "2005-02-21T07:04:09Z")
It takes a lot of guts to go through with killing yourself. What he said was untrue and uncalled for. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/5 "2005-02-21T07:07:53Z")
**KVLD** , You wanna tell me that my friend of about seven years was a coward? What little respect I had for you, (and trust me, it was _very_ little) is now lost. Until you come into this thread to clarify, my opinion of you remains that you are a fucking dick. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/6 "2005-02-21T07:10:23Z")
Well. there are a couple schools of thought here. 1. He’s a coward for not fighting whatever demon, disease, etc., and that he took the “easy” way out. Suicide is in no way easy, but that’s not particularly relevant to the charge of cowardice. 2. He ended his life on his own terms. There’s no arguing with that, but it’s a stretch to call something like that “bravery”, either. 3. What a waste. This is my own personal thinking on the matter. Regardless, it’s better to remember the man for the way he lived than for the way he died. Lots of famous people have committed suicide, and their deaths do not diminish their works. So, was he wrong? It’s a matter of opinion. But nevertheless, it’s just not something that your average person would have felt it necessary to say. As we all know, though, the poster in question is anything but average. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/7 "2005-02-21T07:17:55Z")
**Karl** , you weren’t fit to lick the sweat from Hunter’s balls. Fuck you. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/8 "2005-02-21T07:41:19Z")
There are a lot of adjectives I could think of the describe HST but “cowardly” isn’t one of them. The reasons people take their own lives are far too varied and complex to simplify it all to such a useless, stupid insult. The OP is warranted. Even if that was how **Kel** felt, it was uncool to go and piss in a mourning thread like that. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/9 "2005-02-21T07:47:05Z")
Are you guys really that put off by what KVLD says? That just seems twitchy. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/10 "2005-02-21T07:51:45Z")
The moment I read that post I came over here to Pit **Kel** , but in a way I’m glad I was beaten to it. One of the greatest journalists and writers of our time dies, perhaps by his own hand, and all you can say is “What a coward.” He was a _man_, God damn you, and worth a hundred snivelling goblins of your ilk: he had his problems in later years, but that ain’t the point: he’ll be sorely missed by many, and all you can manage is a drive-by slagging? I thought you’d toned down your act of late, but I was sorely mistaken: you’re still the same purulent excresence of venomous malice, oozing your pustular bile from every fetid maggot-ridden pore in your scabrous hide. Fuck right off. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/11 "2005-02-21T07:58:19Z")
> [@Rooves](#): > > Are you guys really that put off by what KVLD says? That just seems twitchy. I think a lot of us were real fans of Thompson’s writing, that we’re sincerely bummed and that taking a potshot at the man’s character in CS RIP thread was pretty insensitive. The fucking body’s not even warm yet. The sentiment itself is sort of douche-y and simplistic but easy enough to ignore. The timing and the forum were what drove it over the line into full assholery. Why post in the thread just to insult the guy? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/12 "2005-02-21T08:05:11Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I think a lot of us were real fans of Thompson’s writing, that we’re sincerely bummed and that taking a potshot at the man’s character in CS RIP thread was pretty insensitive. The fucking body’s not even warm yet. The sentiment itself is sort of douche-y and simplistic but easy enough to ignore. The timing and the forum were what drove it over the line into full assholery. Why post in the thread just to insult the guy? What he said ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/13 "2005-02-21T08:07:11Z")
> [@Rooves](#): > > Are you guys really that put off by what KVLD says? That just seems twitchy. Oh, you’re right. **Kel** ’s post was totally sensible. And very necessary. I mean, there we all were, grieving, and if **Latex** hadn’t come along to provide an intelligent, well-considered point of view, we might still be wallowing in our ignorance. :::golf clap::: **Latex** , fuck you, you fucking fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/14 "2005-02-21T08:10:59Z")
Yeah, i know. What KVLD seems to do is border on \*rollery…minus the T…know what I mean? Like whatever thread he’s in must be rooted in controversy and his needs are quickly met. Any mod wanna explain what subtle nuance it is that keeps him here? ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/15 "2005-02-21T08:24:04Z")
That was the fucking best you could do? Come out with a fucking pointless cliche like that? And you went out of your way to do it. It seems like such a pointless thing to do, people are grieving the loss of someone who brightened their lives and you have to show up and shit on the guy. What was your point? What did you get out of that? Did you think all those people were suddenly going to come around to your way of thinking and slam HST? What a dick Testy ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/16 "2005-02-21T08:24:09Z")
Kel, fuck your mother up the ass and feed you the [santorum](http://www.spreadingsantorum.com/). You deserve nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/17 "2005-02-21T08:37:16Z")
> [@Rooves](#): > > Are you guys really that put off by what KVLD says? That just seems twitchy. Hunter S fucking Thompson is dead. Dead, dead, dead. He’s not coming back. I’ll never get to read a fresh column of his. I’ll never get to hear his wit, his style, his sense of honor. The world has lost a living legend. And all **Karl** can do is slander his memory and call one of the greatest rugged individualists a coward. Man has the right to live as he will, and die as he will. Hunter S helped changed the American literary scene. While we’re mourning him, don’t disparage his memory. Just don’t. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/18 "2005-02-21T09:20:15Z")
> [@Testy](#): > > It seems like such a pointless thing to do, people are **grieving** the loss of someone who brightened their lives and you have to show up and shit on the guy. What was your point? and > [@Rilchiam](#): > > I mean, there we all were, **grieving** , and if **Latex** hadn’t come along to provide an intelligent, well-considered point of view, we might still be wallowing in our ignorance. You know, i like HST’s writing as much as any other fan, and i thought that **Kel** ’s drive-by in the other thread was typically boorish and pointless. But grieving? I truly don’t understand grieving over someone i never even met. Sure, i can appreciate his contributions, and i think the world is, in a small way, a lesser place for his departure. But i can’t bring myself to grieve for dead celebrities, i’m afraid. I’ve been flamed for saying it before on these Boards, but i think that people who say they grieve for celebrities are often just playing a game of “I’m a bigger fan than you are” one-upmanship. > [@FinnAgain](#): > > And all **Karl** can do is slander his memory and call one of the greatest rugged individualists a coward. Ferchrissakes, read his name, will ya? It’s **Kel**. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/19 "2005-02-21T09:23:58Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Ferchrissakes, read his name, will ya? It’s **Kel**. This might be a subtle dig at his Pit post about his name being gotten wrong all the time. I hope it was. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/20 "2005-02-21T09:24:51Z")
> [@Rooves](#): > > Yeah, i know. What KVLD seems to do is border on \*rollery…minus the T…know what I mean? Like whatever thread he’s in must be rooted in controversy and his needs are quickly met. > > Any mod wanna explain what subtle nuance it is that keeps him here? Well, he was pretty strongly warned in here a month or so back, so I think he’s on a knife-edge. What’s the bet the mephitic little turd doesn’t actually show his face in this thread, or only does so to claim that it wasn’t actually _him_ that posted that? And yes, that was his last ploy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139.md?page=2)