Sept. 20: The last book I read

 The last book I read was I WEAR THE BLACK HAT by Chuck Klosterman. 

Chuck Klosterman is from North Dakota. He is a couple years older than I am. He used to work at Spin Magazine. I have read a few of his books but I WEAR THE BLACK HAT is my favourite. My least favourite of his is KILLING YOURSELF TO LIVE, which is about a road trip Chuck Klosterman made where he visited places where rock stars died. It starts at the Chelsea Hotel, where Nancy Spungen died in October of 1978. It ends at the site of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly. I don't like the book because it's more Chuck Klosterman's personal life than it is a road trip*. Also, Chuck Klosterman talks about snorting cocaine in this book. You lose points with me if you romanticize hard drug use.

I WEAR THE BLACK HAT is a book about villains. In it, Chuck Klosterman talks about fictional villains (Morris Day in Purple Rain, Walter White in Breaking Bad), real life villains (OJ Simpson, Perez Hilton, Jerry Sandusky), and evil dictators (Hitler.) His thesis is that the villain is the person who knows the most and cares the least. It's a pretty good thesis, even though, near the end of the book, Klosterman confesses that his theory falls apart because of one historical figure. Even so, I like his theory. I think it holds.

Consider the following: Pretend that there's an industrial accident and all sorts of poison winds up seeping into the water supply. Let's further pretend that this poison has no colour or taste, that it is undetectable. Let's further pretend that this poison is deadly, but not everyone knows that.

Let's now pretend that there were four people in the control room when the accident happened.

Person A knows how deadly the poison is. He immediately sounds the alarm, notifies the police and the media, runs out into the street and starts screaming at people not to drink the water.

Person B thinks the poison will just give you a mild stomach ache. He still sounds the alarm and calls the police and warns people to seek out alternate water sources.

Person C also thinks the poison will just give you a mild stomach ache. As such, he doesn't get too worked up. He goes home and watches television, but drinks bottled water all night.

Person D knows that the poison is deadly. He warns no one. He goes home and drinks bottled water and watches a Joanie Loves Chachi marathon.

Who is the most villainous? Probably person D, right? He knows the most (that the poison is deadly) and cares the least (warns absolutely no one.) Person C is also villainous, but not as bad as person D. He doesn't know as much as person D, so you can't charge him with being as cavalier as person D. But he's still bad. He's like a guy who will beat someone up, but will stop short of killing them.

Person A and person B are both equally heroic, but we might like person B a bit more because he is sacrificing all of his energy because he doesn't want anyone to get sick. Most of us will probably cross the street or drive across town to save someone's life, but we might not make such a trek to bring someone a bottle of Pepto Bismol.

Chuck Klosterman sort of reminds me of me, but not really. I guess I might be him if I was an American and more liberal and I liked recreational drugs and I had red hair and was fascinated with pulp culture. Conversely, Chuck Klosterman might be if he were Canadian and Christian and was fascinated by ice hockey and playing cards and belly buttons.

 

 

 

 

-

* I know. Pot calling the kettle black, right?