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A man who has blown all his options can't afford the luxury of changing his ways. He has to capitalize on whatever he has left, and he can't afford to admit - no matter how often he's reminded of it - that every day of his life takes him farther and farther down a blind alley…
Hunter S. Thompson Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
by Hunter S. Thompson
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Hunter S. Thompson's "Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga" delves into the life of individuals who feel trapped by their circumstances. The quote highlights how a person who's exhausted all possibilities feels compelled to cling to what remains. Such a mindset leaves little room for transformation, as embracing change may lead to a painful acknowledgment of their bleak situation. This struggle can create a cycle of denial, where the individual continues down a path of desperation and futility.

The imagery of a blind alley reflects the hopelessness of being unable to see alternative routes. Those who find themselves in such a predicament often prioritize survival over reflection, leading to a deeper entrenchment in their current choices. Thompson's exploration captures the tension between the desire for change and the harsh reality that comes from feeling trapped, emphasizing the complexity and difficulty of breaking free from self-imposed limitations.

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Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
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Hunter S. Thompson
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Other quotes in Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga

There is a beautiful consistency about Buzzard; he is a porcupine among men, with his quills always flared. If he won a new car with a raffle ticket bought in his name by some momentary girlfriend, he would recognize it at once as a trick to con him out of a license fee. He would denounce the girl as a hired slut, beat up the raffle sponsor, and trade off the car for five hundred Seconals and a gold-handled cattle prod.
Hunter S. Thompson Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
There is a beautiful consistency about Buzzard; he is a porcupine among men, with his quills always flared. If he won a new car with a raffle ticket bought in his name by some momentary girlfriend, he would recognize it at once as a trick to con him out of a license fee. He would denounce the girl as a hired slut, beat up the raffle sponsor, and trade off the car for five hundred Seconals and a gold-handled cattle prod.
When you're asked to stay out of a bar you don't just punch the owner--you come back with your army and tear the place down, destroy the whole edifice and everything it stands for. No compromise. If a man gets wise, mash his face. If a woman snubs you, rape her. This is the thinking, if not the reality, behind the whole Hell's Angels act.
Hunter S. Thompson Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
When you're asked to stay out of a bar you don't just punch the owner--you come back with your army and tear the place down, destroy the whole edifice and everything it stands for. No compromise. If a man gets wise, mash his face. If a woman snubs you, rape her. This is the thinking, if not the reality, behind the whole Hell's Angels act.
The point is valid: the difference between survival and wipe-out in a physical crisis is nearly always a matter of conditioned reflexes.
Hunter S. Thompson Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
The point is valid: the difference between survival and wipe-out in a physical crisis is nearly always a matter of conditioned reflexes.
It had been a bad trip ... fast and wild in some moments, slow and dirty in others, but on balance it looked like a bummer. On my way back to San Francisco, I tried to compose a fitting epitaph. I wanted something original, but there was no escaping the echo of Mistah Kurtz' final words from the heart of darkness: "The horror! The horror! ... Exterminate all the brutes!"
Hunter S. Thompson Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
It had been a bad trip ... fast and wild in some moments, slow and dirty in others, but on balance it looked like a bummer. On my way back to San Francisco, I tried to compose a fitting epitaph. I wanted something original, but there was no escaping the echo of Mistah Kurtz' final words from the heart of darkness: "The horror! The horror! ... Exterminate all the brutes!"
There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was - as Khrushchev said of Nixon - 'like sending a goat to tend the cabbage'.
Hunter S. Thompson Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was - as Khrushchev said of Nixon - 'like sending a goat to tend the cabbage'.
This wavering paradox is a pillar of the outlaw stance. A man who has blown all his options can't afford the luxury of changing his ways. He has to capitalize on whatever he has left, and he can't afford to admit-no matter how often he's reminded of it-that every day of his life takes him farther down a blind alley.
Hunter S. Thompson Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
This wavering paradox is a pillar of the outlaw stance. A man who has blown all his options can't afford the luxury of changing his ways. He has to capitalize on whatever he has left, and he can't afford to admit-no matter how often he's reminded of it-that every day of his life takes him farther down a blind alley.
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They are afraid of him?' D'Harcourt raised his comedian's eyebrows. Danny Hislop's bright teeth flashed in his hairless, unremarkable face. 'If they were afraid, they'd tear him to pieces like schoolgirls. My guess is that he's gorgeous. A terrible tease and nasty at moments, but oh Maeve, he has such a way with him.… Is he gorgeous, dear Adam?' Adam Blacklock, thus addressed, said quietly, 'Undoubtedly gorgeous.
Dorothy Dunnett The Ringed Castle
They are afraid of him?' D'Harcourt raised his comedian's eyebrows. Danny Hislop's bright teeth flashed in his hairless, unremarkable face. 'If they were afraid, they'd tear him to pieces like schoolgirls. My guess is that he's gorgeous. A terrible tease and nasty at moments, but oh Maeve, he has such a way with him.… Is he gorgeous, dear Adam?' Adam Blacklock, thus addressed, said quietly, 'Undoubtedly gorgeous.
Henry of England had all the virtues and all the faults, and solved the contradiction by making scapegoats and sin-eaters of half his entourage.
Dorothy Dunnett The Game of Kings
Henry of England had all the virtues and all the faults, and solved the contradiction by making scapegoats and sin-eaters of half his entourage.
It isn't that music doesn't matter: the reverse, as it happens. So my defences against it are very strong. Can you understand that?
Dorothy Dunnett Pawn in Frankincense
It isn't that music doesn't matter: the reverse, as it happens. So my defences against it are very strong. Can you understand that?
The drink was almost certainly safe. He would probably get pleurisy, quinsy and pox from the cup.
Dorothy Dunnett Pawn in Frankincense
The drink was almost certainly safe. He would probably get pleurisy, quinsy and pox from the cup.
Happiness, that most childish of states, is infectious. Furthermore, in its innocence, it will not be hidden, even when tempered with sorrow
Dorothy Dunnett Gemini
Happiness, that most childish of states, is infectious. Furthermore, in its innocence, it will not be hidden, even when tempered with sorrow
The Buke of Ye Chess used the game as the basis for a series of sermons on morality. Neither book illustrates play or player improvement, but uses the chessboard and pieces to 'allegorize a political community whose citizens contribute to the common good'2.
Laura Caine Ramsey The Ultimate Guide to Dorothy Dunnett's The Game of Kings
The Buke of Ye Chess used the game as the basis for a series of sermons on morality. Neither book illustrates play or player improvement, but uses the chessboard and pieces to 'allegorize a political community whose citizens contribute to the common good'2.
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