Hitchens appeared to be a vicious jerk towards anyone of the Christian faith. Good writer yes, horrid human being. Its a good thing he didn't believe in heaven or hell.

Thank you.. Well said.

I was amazed at the twitterverse all aflutter over this man dying. Seemed like many were just trying to out grieve each other.

Hard living, heavy smoking, self medicating drinker. Died of cancer.. What were the odds?

Vaclav Havel is a man who ranks up there with Pope John Paul II, in his understated influence over history. I must make it a new year's resolution to begin reading some of his works.

It's because of the atheist thing, dude. Atheists make people crazy. Atheism is the Kardashian of the elite.
No question Havel was the man. But I don't recall his Faith or lack of it ever being an issue.

A tad harsh, perhaps. Havel was a great man, flaws and all, with a smaller circle of direct acquaintances in our media centers. His art was as a playwrite, a less accessible form than essay and journalism, and his native language is not commonly spoken.

Even living out here in the sticks I have friends and acquaintances who spent time with Christopher Hitchens, corresponded with him on occasion, and certainly he possessed a wide readership in American and the UK. The network effect made Hitchens a much more familiar and approachable figure. He was a notable character of a type widely accessible to Anglo/US types, rather than a quirky and unfamiliar Czech.

Is it any wonder his passing was more widely noted, especially as his illness prepared many for the day when they would relate their impressions?

I think the differences in reactions have far less to do with with the worthiness or historic stature of Havel and Hitchens than the different roles each had in public discourse.

A thoughtful and cogent comment. I take your point. Thanks.

Christopher Hitchens: Frequently wrong,never in doubt.
A very literate chain-smoking, alcoholic
Trotskyite.He once described himself as a Trotskyite.
Interesting that so many people think he was a great man, or even a great writer.

It was all showbiz for hitchens...no heart.

Hitch had the foresight to die loudly and slowly. He talked about his cancer all over the media for the last year or so. So all the obit writers had plenty of warning, plus a large number of events and incidents in Hitch's life to write about.

That's the trick to a good send-off; let everybody know you're going, and be really gregarious for a few decades before you go, so there are a lot of anecdotes for the obit writers to mine.

Havel, by contrast, seemed to die all by himself, catching us flat-footed. Not fair at all.

It is a sad truth that in a media where everyone has basically an equally loud voice, every idea can appear to get elevated to the same status. It is kinda like when on television, you have one guest who is rational and educated... and another that is a complete nutjob. It tends to give greater credibility to the nutjob than is deserved.