History Creator / ChristopherHitchens

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/christopher-hitchens_789.jpg]][[caption-width-right:250:Not actually [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]]...''[[FalseReassurance we think.]]'']]

* DeadpanSnarker: He was [[{{Understatement}} quite fond of a bit of snark]].

* DeadpanSnarker: He was [[{{Understatement quite fond of a bit of snark]].

* DeadpanSnarker: He was quite fond of a bit of snark.
* DevilsAdvocate: ''Literally.'' When the matter of raising Mother Teresa to sainthood was raised, Hitchens was brought in to argue against it (he described the experience as "working for the Devil ''pro bono''"), although the Church had by then abolished the former "Devil's Advocate" role.

* DevilsAdvocate: Literally. When the matter of raising Mother Teresa to sainthood was raised, Hitchens was brought in to argue against it (he described the experience as "working for the Devil ''pro bono''"), although the Church had by then abolished the former "Devil's Advocate" role.

* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: He most emphatically did not believe this was a good idea. His post-mortem broadsides at Mother Theresa and Kim Il-Sung have already been mentioned, but his crowning glory was probably being asked to comment on the death of Jerry Falwell:

Although admired for his speaking and writing, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who could ''always'' agree with him. Hitchens began his political career as a socialist, but broke with the left in the 1990s. He began to moderate his views on economic policy and promote interventionist foreign policy, which sometimes led to him being called a neoconservative, even though he was hardly a political conservative. He supported UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror and never regretted it (although he would later criticize the way it was conducted), but in contrast to the neoconservative camp, he was critical of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}, though he also made no secret of his disdain of Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran, Israel's main rivals/enemies. Many of his stances came as a result of his opposition to religion.

Although admired for his speaking and writing, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who could ''always'' agree with him. Hitchens began his political career as a socialist, but broke with the left in the 1990s. He began to moderate his views on economic policy and promote interventionist foreign policy, which sometimes led to him being called a neoconservative, even though he was hardly a political conservative. He supported the IraqWar and never regretted it (although he would later criticize the way it was conducted), but in contrast to the neoconservative camp, he was critical of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}, though he also made no secret of his disdain of Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran, Israel's main rivals/enemies. Many of his stances came as a result of his opposition to religion.

* TheAntiNihilist: Was always very outspoken about the inbuilt morality of human beings, and did not fear death at all, even when confident that he would experience CessationOfExistence (of course, as far as he was concerned, one would not exist and thus be unable to understand or regret the end of their life).

* BoardingSchool: He said ''"Don't believe everything you hear about our boarding schools. ({{Beat}}) Don't ''dis-''believe everything you hear either." '' this on the subject.

* DevilsAdvocate: Literally. When the matter of raising Mother Teresa to sainthood was raised, Hitchens was brought in to argue against it (he described the experience as "working for the Devil ''pro bono''").

* TheGadfly: He was so good at being a contrarian of prevailing notions, some began to suspect that some of his stated opinions were [[{{Troll}} actually his attempts of a wind-up]].
* GallowsHumor: Very much so toward the end of his life. His last book (written in hospital while already dying) titled "Mortality" is one of the best things ever written on the subject.

* ITakeOffenceToThatLastOne: When George Galloway said to Hitchens "You're a drink-sodden ex-Trotskyist popinjay", he replied "Only some of which is true". He later explained that he was very definitely an ex-Trotskyist, was quite probably a popinjay (meaning either a fop or, archaically, a frequent target) but was an expert at holding his liquor.

* PunBasedTitle: His treatise on Mother Theresa, "The Missionary Position".

* SiblingYinYang: With his younger brother Peter, a convert to Christianity and opponent of the Iraq war. This caused them to be estranged for a time but they eventually reconciled and engaged in a number of public debates on religion.

* CircumcisionAngst: He was very much about circumcision.

* AccentuateTheNegative: Unsurprisingly, ''god Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything'' focuses on the negative aspects of religion.

Although admired for his speaking and writing, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who could ''always'' agree with him. Hitchens began his political career as a socialist, but broke with the left in the 1990s. He began to moderate his views on economic policy and promote interventionist foreign policy, which sometimes led to him being called a neoconservative, even though he was hardly a political conservative. He supported the IraqWar and never regretted it (although he would later criticize the way it was conducted), but in contrast to the neoconservative camp, he was critical of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}, though he also made no secret of his disdain of Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran, Israels main rivals/enemies. Many of his stances came as a result of his opposition to religion.

* InsultToRocks: From his [[http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2004/06/unfairenheit_911.single.html scathing review]] of Michael Moore's Bush-bashing documentary ''Fahrenheit 9/11'':

-->""It will happen to all of us that at some point you'll be tapped on the shoulder and told, not just that the party is over, but slightly worse: the party's going on but you have to leave."

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: He claimed in his books and lectures that religion in general is ultimately a dangerous and destructive organization, referring to religious belief as "sinister and infantile", and that a religion-free world would be much better. However, Hitchens said this despite the fact that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism atheism also has a history involving bloodshed and manipulation]]; a notable example is [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny North Korea]], which Hitchens visited, whose existence appears to contradict his claims due to being a fragile state run by a [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2499811/Series-public-executions-sees-80-people-killed-North-Korea-watching-South-Korean-movies-possessing-Bibles.html murderously]] anti-religious totalitarian government.

* TheNecrocracy: He variously referred to North Korea as probably the world's first "necrocracy", "mausolocracy", or "thanatocracy", because its head of state, [[PresidentForLife Eternal President]] Kim Il-Sung, was a dead man.

* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: Christopher Hitchens was a member of the Four Horsemen of New Atheism, a group of four anti-religious intellectuals and scientists that also included UsefulNotes/RichardDawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris. Parodied by the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Subnormality}}'', where [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page433.html Hitchens is portrayed as the embodiment of Equality]].

* TheNecrocracy: He variously referred to North Korea as probably the world's first "necrocracy", "mausolocracy", or "thanatocracy", because its head of state, [[PresidentForLife Eternal President]] Kim Il-Sung, was a dead man. He was also fond of saying it was "just one short of a trinity". Hitchens died before Kim Jong Il, who was of course succeeded by his son.
* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: He claimed in his books and lectures that religion in general is ultimately a dangerous and destructive organization, referring to religious belief as "sinister and infantile", and that a religion-free world would be much better. However, Hitchens said this despite the fact that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism atheism also has a history involving bloodshed and manipulation]]; a notable example is [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny North Korea]], which Hitchens visited, whose existence appears to contradict his claims due to being a fragile state run by a [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2499811/Series-public-executions-sees-80-people-killed-North-Korea-watching-South-Korean-movies-possessing-Bibles.html murderously]] anti-religious totalitarian government..

'''Christopher Eric Hitchens''' (born 13 April 1949, died 15 December 2011) was an English-American author and journalist whose books, essays and journalistic career spanned more than four decades. He was a columnist and literary critic at ''The Atlantic'', ''Vanity Fair'', ''Slate'', ''World Affairs'', ''The Nation'' and ''Free Inquiry'', and became a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in September 2008. He was a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits. In 2005, he was voted the world's fifth top public intellectual in a ''Prospect''/''Foreign Policy'' poll. He was the older brother of fellow journalist and author [[Creator/PeterHitchens Peter Hitchens]].

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: He claimed in his books and lectures that religion in general is ultimately a dangerous and destructive organization, referring to religious belief as "sinister and infantile", and that a religion-free world would be much better. However, Hitchens said this despite the fact that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism atheism also has a history involving bloodshed and manipulation]]; a notable example is [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny North Korea]], which Hitchens visited, whose existence appears to contradict his claims due to being a fragile state run by a [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2499811/Series-public-executions-sees-80-people-killed-North-Korea-watching-South-Korean-movies-possessing-Bibles.html murderously]] anti-religious totalitarian government.[[note]]When this was pointed out, Hitchens gave it a controversial handwave by calling the political ideology of Juche and the cult of personality around the Kims a quasi state religion (which, by definition, while sharing some common and similar traits to a religion, are not religions). When religion is defined as "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods." Juche and the (all-too-human) Kim's cult '''are not''' religions. However, if viewed [[FromACertainPointOfView from the perspective of a North Korean]] the Kims certainly count as a "superhuman controlling power" and Hitch [[AssociationFallacy made a point that the constant praising of the leader is eerily similar to religion, though quasi means outwardly similar, not same/identical]]). Hitchens also lived during the time when Mao Zedong was still in power (while Mao's religious views are questionable, he was responsible for several acts of violent religious suppression in favor of a non-religious agenda) and the regime of Stalin was still fresh in people's minds[[/note]].

* TheNecrocracy: He variously referred to North Korea as probably the world's first "necrocracy", "mausolocracy", or "thanatocracy", because its head of state, Eternal President Kim Il-Sung, was a dead man. He was also fond of saying it was "just one short of a trinity". Hitchens died before Kim Jong Il, who was of course succeeded by his son.

Although admired for his speaking and writing, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who could ''always'' agree with him. Hitchens began his political career as a socialist, but broke with the left in the 1990s. He began to moderate his views on economic policy and promote interventionist foreign policy, which sometimes led to him being called a neoconservative, even though he was hardly a political conservative. He supported the IraqWar and never regretted it (although he would later criticize the way it was conducted), but in contrast to the neoconservative camp, he was critical of {{Israel}}, though he also made no secret of his disdain of Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran, Israels main rivals/enemies. Many of his stances came as a result of his opposition to religion.

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: He claimed in his books and lectures that religion in general is ultimately a dangerous and destructive organization, referring to religious belief as "sinister and infantile", and that a religion-free world would be much better. However, Hitchens said this despite the fact that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism atheism also has a history involving bloodshed and manipulation]]; a notable example is [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny North Korea]], which Hitchens visited, whose existence appears to contradict his claims due to being a fragile state run by a [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2499811/Series-public-executions-sees-80-people-killed-North-Korea-watching-South-Korean-movies-possessing-Bibles.html murderously]] anti-religious totalitarian government.[[note]]When this was pointed out, Hitchens gave it a controversial handwave by calling the political ideology of Juche and the cult of personality around the Kims a quasi state religion (which, by definition, while sharing some common and similar traits to a religion, are not religions). When religion is defined as "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods." Juche and the (all-too-human) Kim's cult '''are not''' religions. However, if viewed [[FromACertainPointOfView from the perspective of a North Korean]] the Kims certainly count as a "superhuman controlling power" and Hitch made a point that the constant praising of the leader is eerily similar to religion, though quasi means outwardly similar, not same/identical). Hitchens also lived during the time when Mao Zedong was still in power (while Mao's religious views are questionable, he was responsible for several acts of violent religious suppression in favor of a non-religious agenda) and the regime of Stalin was still fresh in people's minds[[/note]].

* TheAntiNihilist: Was always very outspoken about the inbuilt morality of human beings, and did not fear death at all, even when confident that he would experience CessationOfExistence.

* TheNecrocracy: He variously referred to North Korea as probably the world's first "necrocracy", "mausolocracy", or "thanatocracy", because its head of state was a dead man. He was also fond of saying it was "just one short of a trinity". Hitchens died before Kim Jong Il, who was of course succeeded by his son.

* DevilsAdvocate: Literally. When the matter of raising Mother Teresa to sainthood was raised, Hitchens was brought into argue against it (he described the experience as "working for the Devil ''pro bono''").

* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: Christopher Hitchens was a member of the Four Horsemen of New Atheism, a group of four anti-religious intellectuals and scientists that also included Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris. Parodied by the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Subnormality}}'', where [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page433.html Hitchens is portrayed as the embodiment of Equality]].

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: He claimed in his books and lectures that religion in general is ultimately a dangerous and destructive organization, referring to religious belief as "sinister and infantile", and that a religion-free world would be much better. However, Hitchens said this despite the fact that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism atheism also has a history involving bloodshed and manipulation]]; a notable example is [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny North Korea]], which Hitchens visited, whose existence appears to contradict his claims due to being a fragile state run by a [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2499811/Series-public-executions-sees-80-people-killed-North-Korea-watching-South-Korean-movies-possessing-Bibles.html murderously]] anti-religious totalitarian government. Even more ironically, Hitchens was a former Trotskyist, an ideology similar to North Korea's Juche as both are derived from Marxism. [[note]]When this was pointed out, Hitchens gave it a controversial handwave by calling the political ideology of Juche and the cult of personality around the Kims a quasi state religion (which, by definition, while sharing some common and similar traits to a religion, are not religions). When religion is defined as "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods." Juche and the (all-too-human) Kim's cult '''are not''' religions. However, if viewed [[FromACertainPointOfView from the perspective of a North Korean]] the Kims certainly count as a "superhuman controlling power" and Hitch made a point that the constant praising of the leader is eerily similar to religion, though quasi means outwardly similar, not same/identical). Hitchens also lived during the time when Mao Zedong was still in power (while Mao's religious views are questionable, he was responsible for several acts of violent religious suppression in favor of a non-religious agenda) and the regime of Stalin was still fresh in people's minds[[/note]].