(no subject)
"god. are the right men in jail or the wrong men in jail?"
"both. the right and the wrong."
"you've been in jail. what's it like?"
"it's the same."
"what do you mean?"
"I mean, it's a society of the world in another element. they grade themselves according to their trade. the swindlers don't hobnob with the car thieves. the car thieves don't hobnob with the rapists. the rapists don't hobnob with the indecent exposure cases. all men and graded according to what they got caught at doing. for instance, a maker of dirty films is graded failry high while a man who molested a child is graded damn low."
"how do you grade them?"
"all the same: caught."
"all right, then. what's the difference between a guy in the big-house and the average guy you pass on the street?"
"the guy in the bighouse is a Loser who has tried."
Charles Bukowski, Notes of a Dirty Old Man (excerpt)
"both. the right and the wrong."
"you've been in jail. what's it like?"
"it's the same."
"what do you mean?"
"I mean, it's a society of the world in another element. they grade themselves according to their trade. the swindlers don't hobnob with the car thieves. the car thieves don't hobnob with the rapists. the rapists don't hobnob with the indecent exposure cases. all men and graded according to what they got caught at doing. for instance, a maker of dirty films is graded failry high while a man who molested a child is graded damn low."
"how do you grade them?"
"all the same: caught."
"all right, then. what's the difference between a guy in the big-house and the average guy you pass on the street?"
"the guy in the bighouse is a Loser who has tried."
Charles Bukowski, Notes of a Dirty Old Man (excerpt)