Writing for the Observer, Ken Kurson tells us Bogosian gave up acting in order to become an historian. Ken is reading Bogosian's book on the Armenian genocide while eating lamb gyros at a narrow Turkish restaurant on 9th and 43rd Street. Later Kurson discusses the book, Operation Nemesis in Bogosian's apartment. The book is about a plot to get revenge on the architects of the Armenian genocide. Kurson says Bogosian's writing is notable for creating bitterly funny characters rather than exhaustively researched tomes leaden with footnotes. Their discussion is about Bogosian's immigrant grandparents and the depth of the family's inherited psychology of impending doom.
Do you think your grandparents' trauma seeped into your life?
Oh, absolutely. This is a topic that’s becoming bigger and bigger; what happens is you develop these fearful populations and they give their kids the gift of being fearful. Marian MacCurdy just came out with a book on the topic, and she said that when she was small and wanted to go out to play, [her father] would say, “don’t go out.” And she’d go, “why?” and he goes, “Well, something might happen.” Half my family looked at things that way.
That sounds similar to the Meitivs couple in their modern Brooklyn neighborhood with their so-called free range children, a modern urban Child Protection Services type label for otherwise normal children enjoying undisturbed psychologies in ordinary times and places. But, Man, that is it funny, "Don't go out!"
In that moment I'm reminded of the boy with his grandparents waiting outside in line for King Tut exhibit. I chatted it up with the four elders in the group while the boy remained silent. I told them I lived right there and pointed. It's an easy one minute walk over. Suddenly the boy became talkative telling me directly and animatedly about how he can walk all the way down here from where he lives up there on the hill at Washington, all the way up there by Whole Foods. Amusingly, the grandmother interjected on my behalf, "He could probably walk that far when he was your age too." Meaning me. Of course I could walk that far and still can, but it did seem odd for a boy to be wandering around alone that far from his home with no purpose other than pure wandering. As an adult I felt a pang of protective shield come out of myself.
And I'm also reminded of Molly Shannon describing her upbringing. Her father thought everything she came up with was just great, every absurd girlish adventure was fantastic by him. He eagerly listened to all of it and fully supported her adventuring no matter what. As a girl Molly stowed away on a plane and ended up in another city. She had a proper fun adventure. I forget what all that involved but Molly's dad was fine with it, and look how normally Molly Shannon turned out, she'll comically throw herself against a wall just for laughs, then fix her dress and smell her fingers.
Back to Bogosian's interview, Kurson says, "You write in your book, 'it is one thing to wish harm on one’s enemy, but it is a very different thing to step up to someone, put a bullet in his brain and watch him die.' Do you think you’re capable of such violence?"
I am, given the right circumstances. What happens on the day when chaos hits the city and everybody wants to get out of town at the same minute, and needs to get into the tunnels and needs to get over the bridges? I wouldn’t put it past myself to do whatever I needed to do to protect my family.
And then strangely, this: "Did your study of retribution change your view of the death penalty?"
I’m against the death penalty because I’m a member of Amnesty International and we categorically are against the death penalty because we consider it a form of torture. If there was a way to, I guess, make a decision about the death sentence instantaneously, like the minute it came (claps), the guy’s dead, then, O.K. But when you put somebody of death row, you’re torturing them.
Killing them, no problem *clap* death row, now there's a problem because that's torture.
This concludes the post on Eric Bogosian, his interview and his book about retribution.
All of this is on a page at Observer that keeps refreshing to an item about Marco Rubio when he was in High School dancing onstage as a Chippendale performer. The photograph recently emerged. He did talk about this in his book half way leaving out the part that people find interesting. It's not really Chippendale, they just look similar. They're actually vying for title of King Cobra, the school symbol. He didn't win, but if I read that correctly eventually the winner married Rubio's sister.
