Friday, December 28, 2001

Marc Maron is an interesting fellow who performs in the alternative stand-up scene in NYC--his book The Jerusalem Syndrome just came out, and it is based on a one-man show he's done, so you can see as there would be some contextural similarities.

After 9/11 he was asked repeatedly by outsiders "how New York was", and this is his reply:

"New York is like the girl at the office who was raped. Afterwards everyone comes up to her and says, 'Are you okay? I'm so sorry... we were all watching through the window but we couldn't do anything..'"

Acerbic, biting and accurate. Nobody likes being a victim--playing that role is as dehumanizing as any other role. Since I've been visiting in Seattle for the holidays I've been asked a few times if 9/11 was "bad". The flare of anger I feel is so enlightening--I understand veteran's reactions to simplistic questions about combat so much better now.