[UA] Joe Campbell Shits His Pants
Gregory Paul Stolze
holycrow at mindspring.com
Wed Jun 21 20:00:22 PDT 2000
Here is the expurgated quote.
"The glory came not in going but in coming back.... [E]ach individual who
could go and come back brought something new...to add to the culture[.]"
Understand that the "going" referenced in the quote is a dangerous,
unpleasant and extremely confining experience. It involves the loss of
almost all freedoms and being cut off from one's usual home and family. It
is, very much, a symbolic death.
I think this is very Campbell omnimythic. What's scary is the source.
Here's the whole quote.
"Your 'work' brought you in contact with the police and, since jail was
part of the job description, you simply prepared ahead of time for the
mind-fuck of being a prisoner. The glory came not in going but in coming
back. To come back showed a willingness to 'stay down.' It fostered an
image of the set as legitimate, and each individual who could go and come
back brought something new--walk, talk, look, way of writing--to add to the
culture of the 'hood."
-From "Monster: The Autombiography of an L.A. Gang Member" by Sanyika
Shakur, aka Monster Kody Scott.
-G.
It's an honor just to be nominated.
http://www.thehungersite.com/index.html
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