# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/81 "2005-02-21T21:13:02Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I usually don’t enter threads on celebrity deaths precisely because (a) i don’t generally have anything to add, and (b) i realize that some people feel differently than i do, and those threads are not the place to point out our differences. But this is _not_ the grieving thread, so if you don’t want to hear my opinion, and you feel i should “save the bandwidth,” then fuck off back to the other thread where you can grieve to your heart’s content. Are you suggesting that you _did_ have something to add to _this_ thread? And what makes this thread a more appropriate place to point out differences? You didn’t come in here to point out differences, you came in to smear the thread with your supercilious “You’re all a bunch of posers” snot. Save it. You claim people don’t sincerely grieve when someone dies unless they were personally known. That’s what’s going on here, fuckwit: Thompson was NOT “just a writer,” and certainly not “just a celebrity”; _he was an active, living personality in people’s lives_. I was aware of his loony presence as a continuing part of the world I live in, on a day-to-day basis. He was not words on a page; he was a fully-formed person in the mental landscapes of his fans. I’m not trying to educate you; I read your smarmy post, full of “rather remiss” and “another person who is incorrect.” I’m thoroughly not impressed that you are a Ph.D. candidate in History. I’m particularly not impressed that you assert that grief is a one-upmanship contest. And I’m fucking appalled that in the middle of so much **honest, obvious grief** you’d drop in to dismiss it all as a la-di-dah game of Look-At-Me. Fuck you, dude. Go back to your classroom. On preview: > [@](#): > > As should be obvious from this thread, i think grieving over people you’ve never even met is kinda lame, but i don’t march into the grieving threads to proclaim my opinion and piss people off. You’ve made your point. Fuck off, Herodotus. ---
**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, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/82 "2005-02-21T21:16:57Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Really, I don’t you making these judgments about what people can say about someone when a thread is started about a child murder. You took a great big shit **in a memorial thread**. Get it into your thick fucking skull. > [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Suicide is wrong and cowardly. When someone is wrong we should say it is wrong. Bullshit, judgemental asshole. Man may live as he wants, and die as he wants. And it isn’t your call, and you have no right to choose how someone else chooses to end their life. It’s wrong in your little fantasy realm where you have the unmitigated audacity to think you can enforce your aesthetic prefrences for death and call them ‘right and wrong’. > [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Also, I didn’t start the comments about how he lived his life. Why aren’t you pissed at the person who said he was brave. Is it only OK to make judgments about people if they are “positive” judgments? Because it’s a **MEMORIAL** thread! > [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > The thread was about more than just grieving HST life. People were making judgments about him. Why I am not free to post my judgment about HST? Can you only post a judgment about him if it is positive? It was a memorial thread, and although people were talking about it from different angles, nobody was slandering his memory. Except you. For fuck’s sake, just stop being an asshole and apologize! ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/83 "2005-02-21T21:22:22Z")
Nobody ever made it clear it was a memorial thread where only positive things could be said about the man. > [@](#): > > Bullshit, judgemental asshole. > Man may live as he wants, and die as he wants. And it isn’t your call, and you have no right to choose how someone else chooses to end their life. It’s wrong in your little fantasy realm where you have the unmitigated audacity to think you can enforce your aesthetic prefrences for death and call them ‘right and wrong’. Well, since nobody can tell me how to live my life, I going to do down to McDonalds and masturbate in front of everybody. Don’t judge me or tell me it is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/84 "2005-02-21T21:22:39Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Is it only OK to make judgments about people if they are “positive” judgments? > > The thread was about more than just grieving HST life. People were making judgments about him. Why I am not free to post my judgment about HST? Can you only post a judgment about him if it is positive? From the forum description page: “If you gotta flame, do it here.” (in reference not to Cafe Society but to the BBQ Pit.) You are free to flame in the Pit. In CS, not so much. And on preview, what **FinnAgain** said. ---
**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, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/85 "2005-02-21T21:25:21Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Who are you really mad at me or the coward you thought you knew through his writing? Ooh, are those my only two choices? “ **Kel-atchu** , I choose you!” You’re who I’m really mad at - and I don’t agree with your \*opinion \* that Thompson was a coward. Just Fuck Off. ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/86 "2005-02-21T21:26:11Z")
So, is all of CS only for positive things? Can I call _Law and Order_ a bad show or do I have to take it to the Pit? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/87 "2005-02-21T21:33:07Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > So, is all of CS only for positive things? Can I call _Law and Order_ a bad show or do I have to take it to the Pit? You appear to not have read the warning you [received](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5865901&postcount=64) in the other thread. > [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Others have said this, but I’m commenting Officially as Moderator: This is not the Pit. If you want to say nasty things about someone, the Pit is the place. This is Cafe Society. You can say nasty things about someone’s art or writings or performance, but not about them as a person. Your comment is inappropriate for this forum. Understood? Yes, you may call Law and Order a bad show in CS. ---
**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, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/88 "2005-02-21T21:33:46Z")
I’d say you can call L&O a bad show, but call Jerry Orbach a no-talent hack and you might be better served in this forum. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/89 "2005-02-21T21:34:19Z")
Shitting in a memorial thread is impolite bordering on naughty. **Especially when they involve cats** (Just so you know). Note the multiple Tuba threads we have. And the Carsons. Just such an illustrative example might serve you well here. You are being pitted for being impolite. The fact that you are a moron is admissible in this pitting because you have established a **pattern**. If this was an isolated incident, then we would take it on its face, and not judge you on your general punkness. Yes, I learned that from _Law & Order_. I didn’t go shit in the _Enterprise is cancelled_ thread. Think. Learn. Apply. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/90 "2005-02-21T21:40:15Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > So, is all of CS only for positive things? Can I call _Law and Order_ a bad show or do I have to take it to the Pit? Kel, you’re stretching here and I think you know it. I think you’re also being purposely evasive. What you basically did was go to a memorial service for someone who just died and peed on the roses. Would you do that in real life? I think not. Or if you would, you probably wouldn’t have many friends left. Would you want that done to yourself when you died as well? ---
**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, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/91 "2005-02-21T22:01:23Z")
Inre: the issue of mourning the passing of famous people who we did not know personally: All I know is that a person who had the ability through his writing alone to simultaneously inform me, make me think and make me laugh my ass off is a person who is making a positive contribution to my life and it’s a contribution I am entitled to feel bad about losing. HST’s literary voice was uniquely valuable and is irreplaceable. American journalism is now poorer for his loss. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/92 "2005-02-21T22:23:36Z")
[This](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302475&highlight=charles) thread was started in the Pit. Image if it had been put into Cafe Society right after the death. If you wanted to start a thread on the “cowardliness” of Thompson’s death, you should have put in the the Pit, preferably waiting a while before starting it. Even if you hated his work, show some respect and compassion for the Dopers who appreciated his stuff. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/93 "2005-02-21T22:29:15Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > It is also great to see people get so upset about a post And we call this what? :dubious: -Rav ---
**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, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/94 "2005-02-21T22:31:32Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > You claim people don’t sincerely grieve when someone dies unless they were personally known. That’s what’s going on here, fuckwit: Thompson was NOT “just a writer,” and certainly not “just a celebrity”; _he was an active, living personality in people’s lives_. I was aware of his loony presence as a continuing part of the world I live in, on a day-to-day basis. He was not words on a page; he was a fully-formed person in the mental landscapes of his fans. > > I’m not trying to educate you; I read your smarmy post, full of “rather remiss” and “another person who is incorrect.” I’m thoroughly not impressed that you are a Ph.D. candidate in History. I’m particularly not impressed that you assert that grief is a one-upmanship contest. And I’m fucking appalled that in the middle of so much **honest, obvious grief** you’d drop in to dismiss it all as a la-di-dah game of Look-At-Me… You’re really quite cute when you’re acting like a moron. Sure the second half of your name shouldn’t read “ass” instead of “elope”? Whether you’re impressed with my grad student standing is irrelevant to me, not only because _your_ opinion is manifestly worthless on its own, but because i only made the point to demonstrate that my lack of grief over Thompson’s passing had nothing to do with ignorance of his value as a writer and a cultural figure. If you can’t understand that, you’re even thicker than you appear, which would be quite a feat. Also, i didn’t “drop in” in the midst of the grief. In fact, if you bother to look at the thread in question, you’ll notice that i have not made a single post there. As i said to someone else before, if you want to grieve, go right ahead, and if you want to talk about your grief in that thread (or in any other), then do that too. But don’t expect me to walk on eggshells in _other threads_ just for your selfish ass. Fucking moron. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Inre: the issue of mourning the passing of famous people who we did not know personally: > > All I know is that a person who had the ability through his writing alone to simultaneously inform me, make me think and make me laugh my ass off is a person who is making a positive contribution to my life and it’s a contribution I am entitled to feel bad about losing. > > HST’s literary voice was uniquely valuable and is irreplaceable. American journalism is now poorer for his loss. :Sigh: Do i have to say _again_ that i believe the world is poorer for Thompson’s loss? After all, i’ve only said it in three of my posts so far. But if it makes you feel any better, i officially reiterate the sentiment again in this post. I’m not saying that we should feel nothing when someone like Thompson dies, only that, for me at least, what i feel for the loss of such people is not the same as what i feel (or would feel) over the loss of someone close to me. I guess this sort of things depend both on how we define and describe what grief means to us, and also on our own psychological makeup and how sensitive we are to different emotional stimuli. I’m not saying that you’re wrong to feel the way you do, any more than i’m saying that the way i feel is objectively “right” or “correct.” All i’m saying is that i don’t undertstand why you feel that way; it’s not something i can identify with in a case like this. Also, when i suggested that grief over celebrity deaths was a case of emotional one-upmanship i was overstating the case, for which i apologise; i don’t believe that this is by any means always the case, and i wasn’t trying to minimise the feelings of those who do, in fact, have genuine emotions over issues like this. Of course, the reaction of people like **jackass** only tends to confirm my suspicion that, for some people, grief is all about _them_. ---
**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, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/95 "2005-02-21T22:48:05Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Nobody ever made it clear it was a memorial thread where only positive things could be said about the man. Do you have no empathy at all? Was the vast outpouring of grief and mourning not evident to you? The shock, the sadness, the anger, the disbelief? You didn’t notice them? > [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Well, since nobody can tell me how to live my life, I going to do down to McDonalds and masturbate in front of everybody. Don’t judge me or tell me it is wrong. Pfft. Hunter killed himself in his own home. In the **privacy** of his own home. He’d called himself a ‘private criminal’ and he died the way he lived. If you go out into **public** and masturbate, well, you’re just a masturbating chimp. But this may very well be the case if you don’t go out in public, judging by your posts. For fuck’s sake, just be man enough to apologize. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/96 "2005-02-21T23:06:09Z")
> [@Rooves](#): > > Are you guys really that put off by what KVLD says? That just seems twitchy. Our friend **Kel** seems to have a tendency to do just this sort of thing. Often. It seems to be in his DNA. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/97 "2005-02-21T23:31:28Z")
The good thing is that Hunter obviously doesn’t give a rat’s ass what any of us think of his decision. It was his to make, and I’m sure his reasons were valid enough for him. And that’s that. The man is dead. For those who can’t understand or aren’t willing to see his greatness, it’s your loss. Hunter Thompson was a hero to me, much like Charles Bukowski and Kurt Vonnegut. I guess only one of them will actually die of old age. And sadly, he’s getting old enough to do just that. Fack. There just aren’t replacements for people like this. And they aren’t “celebrities,” they’re _writers_, and there’s a BIG fucking difference. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/98 "2005-02-22T00:18:28Z")
Do you LaTex ? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/99 "2005-02-22T00:59:55Z")
Speaking as someone who battles depression on a daily basis, and constantly has to keep thoughts of suicide at bay, I can tell you that there is no greater hell than knowing that your own body would like nothing better than to see you dead. I do not wonder why anyone kills themselves, I only wonder why so few do. Frankly, Kel, “fuck you” doesn’t express my feelings towards you well enough. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139/100 "2005-02-22T01:19:40Z")
**Kel Varnsen - Latex Division** …is a prick. And it is worth pointing out that he has no “ticker”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kel-varnsen-latex-division-fuck-you/291139.md?page=6)