Monday, June 22, 2009

I'm a John to an Attention Whore: Viewing the Perez Hilton Beatdown Through Chuck Klosterman's Glasses


By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com

I'm only putting my one cent in here, and not two, really. But I still feel dirty for commenting on such an overblown story.

I'll get the superficial out of the way first: He was quoted as saying after being hit for the first time he thought his eye was going to fall out. And look at that horrifying gash to justify that fear! That's unforgivably wussy. That's the end of my superficiality.

The story reminds me of something written by one of the best American writers under the age of 40- Chuck Klosterman. In the January 2008 Esquire (it could have been the February, actually. The link to it is here.) In the article's second to last paragraph he writes...

It is impossible to deny that the culture is coarsening. Everyone concedes this -- even the people who are happy about it. It is now acceptable to say almost anything, about almost anyone, in a public space, and for no reason whatsoever. There is no line to step over, because such lines no longer exist. And I think those boundaries disappeared the moment people really, truly lost the fear of getting punched in the face. Americans have understood this intellectually for decades, but I don't think we accepted it in totality until now. Adults are now so insulated by technology (and so protected by modernity) that the possibility of a physical consequence for any action is a psychological nonfactor. We have removed interpersonal fear from day-to-day behavior. Today, boxers are the only people who get hit for fucking up.

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