Ever since I read Tourist Season (still my favorite, a book in which Floridian
terrorists are killing off tourists for all the right good-cause reasons), Carl
Hiaasen has been my guilty-pleasure author (although I’ve yet to read his 2016 Razor Girl). Last week, while I was in
Maryland, there was a mass shooting in nearby Annapolis at the offices of the Capital newspaper. Hiaasen’s brother,
managing editor and columnist Rob Hiaasen, was among the five dead. All of
these shootings are desperately heartbreaking and rage producing. I’ve never
read anything Rob wrote. But I’ve spent a lot of hours reading his brother. And
there’s something about that, as I’m sure you’ll all agree, that makes it feel
closer.
I have not read Carl Hiaasen and did not hear that his brother was among the casualties in Annapolis.
ReplyDeleteI am sure the book you mentioned is all in good fun, but I can't imagine (especially now) shooting tourists (or anyone) something to laugh at.
Living in a tourist-heavy place, I think daily about all the reasons, and some of the methods, for killing them. ;)
DeleteMy daughter just quit a job in the service industry in a very touristy area of Toronto. She has been yelled at and had hot chocolate dropped on her head from the second story of their shop. She shares your fantasies, Kim.
DeleteIt was a great dark comedy crime piece that did an excellent job (I thought) of showing legitimate reasons for choosing terrorism, but still coming up on the side of its being unjustifiable. A great balance. Mid 1980s. Environmentalist, native culture driven.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Clare’s thesis was (partly) about the militaristic vocabulary used to describe invasive species. I might have to read it.
DeleteI do agree (about feeling closer). I used to work in a newsroom, so the shooting hit close to home for me for that reason.
ReplyDeleteThis is a master of posts. And yes, when you love an author, you feel closer. I am also in need of a guilty-pleasure author, one I'm not embarrassed to mention, so I thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteIt was horrifying. And the language of that smug, baby-faced, entitled, white, alt-right neo-nazi (who's name escapes me) that encouraged shooting people from the media and then denied his words had anything to with the shooting was disgusting. I hope he is in some way held accountable.
ReplyDelete