Vale Chopper Read.

[Dave70]

Lets face it.
With his choice of lifestyle, it was long overdue.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/mark-brandon-chopper-read-dies-at-age-58-from-liver-cancer-in-melbourne-20131009-2v8b9.html

 

[djar007]

I will. Miss his artwork the most.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

I see this as a win for craft beer, one less megaswill drinker in the world.

 

[Spiesy]

I see this as a win for craft beer, one less megaswill drinker in the world.

Pretty ordinary comment.

 

[Yob]

He certainly had a lot of funny stories to tell and anyone who spent any time with him knows he was a fairly likable fella..

Ive always liked his comments about not letting the truth get in the way of a good story.

RIP Chop Chop.

 

[Bribie G]

Probably wasn't all that likeable if he was breaking the legs of one of your loved ones. Glad there's one less like him on the planet, pity he didn't take six with him.

 

[micbrew]

He certainly polarized or pulvarised the community at times , similar to other notoruis criminals ala Ned Kelly

I to was intrigued by him , but not sure why , he was certainly laconic and memorable
so yeah

RIP Chopper

 

[DU99]

How many got a movie made about his life,and he also refused a transplant..

 

[punkin]

I grew up with lots of people like him. They make a room an uncomfortable place to be.

 

[Yob]

Probably wasn't all that likeable if he was breaking the legs of one of your loved ones. Glad there's one less like him on the planet, pity he didn't take six with him.

wont somebody cry me a river for the poor ******* smack dealers....

Ed: those c*nts never fucked up anybody... Sho' nuff'

 

[Black Devil Dog]

No great loss.

 

[heyhey]

He was actually a reasonable bloke to chat to. Me and the missus had lunch with him in Albury once. He was chatting to us because we left him alone, but all the bogan crunts kept coming up to him hassling him for autographs, getting him to say a phrase, etc.

I'm indifferent about him, he fcked up a lot, but he is one of those small percentage of crooks that turned their life around. I'm at least thankful for him being less of a drain on my taxpayer money than he could have been.

 

[eungaibitter1]

Apart from anything else, I appreciated some of his humour. That's only going on having read a couple of his books and the live spoken word DVD with jacko, I never met him.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

At least he gave a few ideas for some really funny shit.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Pretty ordinary comment.

My apologies if you're a family member.

 

[hellbent]

He was a hood!

 

[mje1980]

Don't worry, there's plenty of bikies willing to step in and play the role of glamorised criminal for the masses. Especially in Queensland

 

[Dave70]

Read was a violent psychopath and a cunning manipulator who used murder and torture for financial gain and only made an honest dollar as an unlikely author in later life. He never pretended to be anything else.
His life reminds me of mob hit man Richard Kuklinski. Kuklinski was assessed with both anti-social / paranoid personality disorders. He also had the right gene for 'fearless' behavior.
It's pretty well accepted that upbringing of people with such traits plays a key role in the path their lives take. In a nurturing stable family environment, they may go on to be things like soldiers, firefighters, cops and so on. In both Reads and Kuklinski cases, they were brutalized by their parents and their peers and violence was a constant theme in their formative years.
I'm in no way absolving Read of his crimes or saying he was just misunderstood, but there by the grace of god..and all that bullshit..

His boys have lost their dad at a tender age. They're the ones I fee sorry for.

 

[pat_00]

I met him once (very unexpectedly) at a friends house party, he was a nice guy with a good sense of humour. He was pretty quiet though, don't think he really liked crowds too much. I reckon everyone in Melbourne has a chopper story

I don't really get why he was famous/infamous. Must be that latent criminality seething under the surface of our ex penal society

 

[Yob]

Read was a violent psychopath and a cunning manipulator who used murder and torture for financial gain

At least youre not saying he was a bad person

Personally, I dont think breaking off a few fingers of smack dealers to be a bad thing, its a risk associated with the job. and also... fuk em.

He was a standover man, not a bully, if fact, he hated bullies and would often stand up for the persecuted and those being victimised. Seen it.