I’m afraid of who the third would be.

Both Patrice O’Neal and Christopher Hitchens have died within the past month. I know this is an odd pairing, but these were two of the most brilliant thinkers that I had the pleasure of encountering. Patrice for his knowledge of the common world; Hitchens for his knowledge of the complex.

Their insights and passion were honestly some of the most genuine instances of human intellect that I’ve encountered. Of course, I do realize the absurdity of pairing a self-destructive, loud comedian who jokes about “Harassment Day” and a self-destructive, loud author who wrote furiously about the dangers of Islamofascism and the crimes of Henry Kissinger,  but these unusual and passionate rants are some of the most genuine things produced in their respective domains.

In short, I fear for Ron Bennington’s life.