The New York Times‘ best essayist, Ross Douthat, has an eloquent commentary on the recently deceased Dr. Jack Kevorkian.
Kevorkian was the hero of the recent hagiographic film You Don’t Know Jack, starring Al Pacino as the thanatologist license-revoked doctor.
Douthat describes Kevorkian’s media reception following his release from prison:
After his release from prison in 2007, he was treated like a civil rights revolutionary — with fawning interviews on “60 Minutes,” $50,000 speaking engagements, and an HBO biopic starring Al Pacino.
Kevorkian’s inexplicable groupies submitted to the charms of a serial killer who, immediately after one of his 130 murders, pulled up the man’s shirt and cut out his kidneys.
Douthat resists Kevorkian’s charms:
Kevorkian was obsessed with human experimentation, and pined for a day when both assisted suicides and executions could be accompanied by vivisection.
Douthat’s essay is aptly titled;
“Kevorkian a Killer, not Civil RIghts Hero”
Douthat knows Jack.
Cross-posted on Egnorance