So today I was going to do a Top Five Least Badass guys ever post in contrast to my Badass post the other day. I thought of the people I’d include this morning and Christopher McCandless, along with Lars Ulrich, and Abby Hoffman were on my mind. I changed that; however, when I watched Sean Penn’s 2007 docudrama Into the Wild today for “research.” (I guess I should be studying but it’s President’s Day so I’m chillaxing).
After watching the movie and getting rather infuriated by McCandless’s stupidity I decided to only write a Top Number One Stupidest Least Badass person ever post and that person is Christopher McCandless.
I first learned about the sad McCandless tale long before Sean Penn made a movie about him. When I was about 8 or so, there was a dateline or 20/20 documentary about him and I watched it. For those of you who have not heard of McCandless’s plight, he was a spoiled kid who had everything handed to him, like most of those types, he got dissatisfied with his reality and went off to live an idealistic lifestyle without anything modern. That’s all fine and good, but it brought about his demise in a rather tragic manner.
He graduated from Emory and had grades good enough to go to Harvard Law. His parents offered to buy him a new car as a reward and he yelled at them and belittled them for it. After that, homie had dreams of going to Alaska and living in the wilderness. Instead of using his sizeable bank account to fund it, he donated all $25,000 in cash to charity. When I first watched the 20/20 episode, I couldn’t fathom anyone having $25000 in cash and especially not that kind of money to give away. It was the early ‘90s after all. Then he took on a bunch of odd jobs to make the money to go to Alaska with a goal of doing absolutely nothing to contribute to society.
When he got to Alaska, he moved into a bus on the formidable Stampede Trail. He thought he was going off and doing some cool badass shit. Going against society, man. Doing what I want, fool. But he didn’t really. That Alaskan wilderness made him its bitch. It chewed him up and spit him out for a snack. Then it killed him. He died of starvation, never making it out of the bus alive. Why? Because he was a goddamned moron.
When he got to Alaska, he moved into a bus on the formidable Stampede Trail. He thought he was going off and doing some cool badass shit. Going against society, man. Doing what I want, fool. But he didn’t really. That Alaskan wilderness made him its bitch. It chewed him up and spit him out for a snack. Then it killed him. He died of starvation, never making it out of the bus alive. Why? Because he was a goddamned moron.
My problem with McCandless is two-fold and goes past my dislike of him for his stupidity. First, lots of people go out into the wilderness to follow their bliss. It’s whatever piques your own interest, I suppose. But McCandless did it in the lamest most pitiable way ever. Most who decide to live in seclusion in the wilderness are seasoned outdoorsmen equipped with enviable survival skills. McCandless was 22 years old and had no skills for living in the wilderness. Hell, even I like to go into the wilderness sometimes, but when I do I take the proper precautions and take enough provisions. I also don’t go BY MYSELF to remote and treacherous portions of Alaska.
Secondly, most people who live in Alaska are either 1) Eskimos who have unique genetic qualities allowing them to survive in Alaska’s harsh conditions; or 2) people who live in cities, relying on infrastructure for survival. (Interesting sidebar: My biological mom lives in Anchorage...even though she's from Phu Ket, Thailand). People weren’t meant to live in a cold bus in Alaska to make a statement. After he lived on a bus for a while and had terrible luck hunting or fishing for food, he died of starvation weighing only 67 lbs. 67 LBS!!! Although, word on the hiking trail is that he shot himself with his hunting rifle.
The sad thing is, some people idolize him. There have even been admirers who have perished while attempting to make a pilgrimage to his Death Bus. At the same time, he probably just had an undiagnosed mental disorder. Had he gotten the proper treatment, he may still be alive today and not fodder for jokes.
So even though he didn’t manage to win at life or at absconding from society and doing what he wanted, he wins a whole blog post about his anti-badassery. So here's to you Mr. McCandless, you’re the Number One Least Badass Dude Ever.
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| McCandless in Alaska. Before he starved to death. |
My opinion, fwiw--I'm not prepared to be as hard on Chris McCandless. Giving someone who cannot defend himself the benefit of the doubt, as I find it necessary to do, I take him as a person who was trying to deal with his own demons and honestly searching for a meaningful life for himself. Perhaps he was ungrateful--or perhaps he needed to experience self-reliance. Maybe those of us who did not grow up privileged sometimes fail to appreciate the blessing it is to know how to be self-reliant, to know that we can do for ourselves, that we don't have to depend on gifts from an affluent family. I don't think he had any obligation to try to "make society better"--an goal that, imo, has its own potential malignancies. And I didn't expect to hear that argument coming from you, Ms. Libertarian! ;) Moreover, I don't think that, in the process of trying to find his good life, McCandless hurt anyone (in the sense of violating their rights--disappointing people by not staying around when they would like you to doesn't count). He took big risks; he paid the ultimate price; but as far as I'm concerned, it was his life to gamble with. I might not make such a big gamble, but I admire the boldness of the venture. He certainly doesn't deserve any more criticism than every single person who participates in an extreme sport.
ReplyDelete--Sarah
This man undoubtedly hurt ppl. He disregarded his entire family, friends, teachers, & other community members feelings as he galavanted around not contacting those that cared about him & saw him through to that point in his life.
DeleteAs a parent I hope to NEVER have a child so ungrateful, selfish, & immature as to let me wallow in the limbo of never knowing if s/he is alive, dead, well, or perished horribly. Imagining the hell of uncertainty as his poor family searched & prayed to know his welfare is heartbreaking in the least.
Scars like that cannot be undone. They forever create negativity & cause pain. Such a betrayal of trust & love is devestating. I would never wish it on my worst enemy! So destructive, so painful, so hard to make right.
Those who participate in extreme sports tend to have researched and practiced at less difficult levels before taking on the Everest of their fields.
ReplyDeleteMany professional race car drivers have plowed into walls, but they knew how to drive. Many professional skiers had a tree jump up in front of them, but they generally learned how to ski on the bunny slopes.
Mr. McCandless effectively jumped out of the airplane before learning how to operate the parachute. He made a bad gamble and lost. A bit of training before his venture would have helped bring success instead of his death.
Every person has earned criticism of some sort, and Mr. McCandless criticism is deservedly more negative than positive.
-Jdude
Absolutely this man was not a person to be admired. He was a complete hypocrite. All the while as an "educated" person he did nothing to further humanity or offer anything of substance to this world. He threw away his support system, undervaluing the importance of family, friends, community & the sacrifice they all put forth to make sure he was wanting for nothing. He was uncompromising & inconsiderate of how difficult it was for his parents to provide him the best life they knew how to give. They weren't perfect, they made mistakes but like a spoiled child he was unforgiving & callous to their feelings along w many others along his "journey" of self discovery. He was incredibly selfish & immature. Using every person along his way for his own personal goals to gain infamy, fulfill his motives, & to prove he was above the ideals of all of us ordinary folk that work hard, follow rules, educate ourselves, live w/in society, pay taxes, etc, etc. It was not surprising at all to me that he perished so easily in such a short length of time in Alaska, my home, one of the most amazing, unforgiving, wild, beautiful, untamed, raw places in the world. His arrogance, ignorance, & immaturity was unfortunate & ultimately ended up in his demise.
ReplyDeleteHe was not a hero. A sad reminder of the arrogance & ignorance of a spoiled generation of unrepentant & self righteous beings. Self absorbed. Sad. He died lonely & seemingly full of regret, unnecessarily painfully & sadly out of touch w those that had given him love & support for all of his life up until the point he abandoned them. I grieved for his family & am saddened that he was glorified in any way for a life so wasted, so empty & full of hypocrisy.
You're probably some old, dull, conformist bitch that has no idea what shes talking about.
ReplyDelete"American Democratic Socialist." Yeah, that's original.
DeleteIf Richard Proenneke saw him today he'd beat him up for being a retard.
ReplyDeleteFuck it, you liberal twats probably don't even know who Proenneke is.