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GANGSTERISM

                                             September 3, 2013

  Think about what the world was
  like back before the beats...

  First, consider the prohibition era,
  the war against the rednoses and the bluenoses,
  where the underground world of speakeasies
  and gangsters have a clear romantic appeal.

  Then you've got that strange wave of conformity
  that overtook the United States after World
  War II.

  What outlet is there for anyone with a touch
  of spirit, an ounce of rebellion, what
  direction do you go, if by inclination or                      BEAT
  circumstance the straight world doesn't seem                   BEAT_PATROL
  so welcoming?                                                  BEAT_BREAK

      Crime, of course.

      This seems transparently stupid if you've
      thought about it seriously for half-a-minute,
      it's ridiculously knee-jerk: *they* want me        To state the obvious:
      to go *there*, so I'll do the *exact opposite*!    if you define yourself
                                                         as the opposite of the
                             We might speculate for a    people you hate, you're
                             moment on the barriers to   still letting them
  And the reason I           thinking it through:        dictate your life.
  bring all this up          You're not supposed to
  is in an attempt at        think about it *at all*,
  explaining where I         so when you do go there,
  think the early            there's a trepidation
  beats were coming          about it-- and any
  from... Burroughs          reluctance to follow it
  with his fantasies         through may seem like
  of elaborate               cowardice.  That's always
  crime schemes,             a great way to completely
  hooking up with            confuse your judgement.
  fences, narcotics
  dealers, becoming
  a drug addict...
  Ginsberg fascinated
  with the Times
  Square underworld,
  letting his apartment
  be used for a cache
  of stolen goods,                                        LONG_SHADOW
  getting caught by
  the police riding
  around in car filled
  with stolen goods...








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