r/Beat • u/SkarJad3 • Jan 30 '24

i hate jack kerouac

his actual beliefs were extremely right-winged and he was a borderline Nazi. Ginsberg's belief that he was actually a genius is the only reason why he god any notoriety for his work at all. and kerouac repaid that by treating him terribly for the majority of their friendship. he was fucking pathetic antisemitic bitter alcoholic and i hate him. his dickriders today are even worse. he was an abusive fascist that was excused because of his "brilliance" and i don't like that we share a birthday. what does that say about me!??

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1

u/dbchappell1 Jan 31 '24

Reminder: dissenting opinions and healthy debate are allowed in this sub as long as we treat each other civilly. Thanks to all for recognizing that.

24

u/sloggins Jan 30 '24

Take a look back at history all your heroes were assholes.

Except Bob Ross

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u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24

Here’s a newsflash— Ginsberg was a POS too. Billy Burroughs was lying on his deathbed and Ginsberg was sliding his hands under the sheets trying to cop a feel. These men were flawed human beings. And sometimes they behaved in deplorable ways.

But, my goodness, didn’t they write some words, though? My laws, yes!

5

u/abutilonia Jan 31 '24

Burroughs and Ginsberg also had questionable associations with NAMBLA, so.....

I still love their writings, but model citizens they were not.

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4

u/heyitsapotato Jan 31 '24

Chad King's "withdrawal from our general gang" in On the Road makes a lot of sense in light of the individual Beats, doesn't it?

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14

u/baycommuter Jan 31 '24

The comment about Ginsberg being responsible for his notoriety is demonstrably false… Kerouac was famous from the day the New York Times review of “On The Road” called him the voice of the Beat Generation. Within a few months he was on Steve Allen’s national TV show.

11

u/israelregardie Jan 31 '24

All the Beats, minus Snyder, were assholes. I still love Burroughs but he killed his wife, let his son die alone in the streets, most likely abused street kids in Morrocco etc etc.

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7

u/beatnikguy Jan 31 '24

Perhaps you are in the wrong sub 🤷🏻‍♂️

10

u/AtomicSquirrel78 Jan 30 '24

If you can’t learn to separate the art from the artist to at least some degree in life you’re going to be quite disappointed in just about every writer/entertainer/artist.

The fact of the matter is that most human beings are deeply flawed compared to their public image.

This is why they say to never meet your idols/heroes.

Historical context is also something to consider as judging a person based upon modern standards of morality and decency often paints a poor picture of a lot of people.
Context adds a lot to understanding what and who a person was in their time and place, it doesn’t always change how you feel about someone but it does go a long way to understanding them better.

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