Beware the Bat-Shit Crazies:
In 1968, Pop artist Andy Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanas, a peripheral figure in the New York art world. Two bullets from Solanas’ .32 Beretta ripped through Warhol’s stomach, liver, spleen, and lungs. Doctors barely saved his life — in fact, he died, briefly, but was revived — and the experience had a lasting effect on his art.
Valerie Solanas was born in 1936 in New Jersey. The only thing GOOD society ever gave Valerie was her name. Before she could reason she was beaten and broken. Valerie died in 1988 in San Francisco of pneumonia.
Between those two dates, Valerie led an interesting life as a struggling fill-in-the-blank. While Milton Berle was entertaining most Americans at least one American was sodomized little Valerie. Is it any wonder her views have been described by Alice Echols as “unabashed misandry“. Let me save you the Google lookup – it means she hates men with great passion.
The Andy Warhol press release of his shooting described Valerie as ” a peripheral figure in the New York art world”. In real words, Valerie was a bat-shit crazy hanger-on mostly seen clutching a worn self-published Manuscript that she would swear to be the next Moulin Rouge or some such ranting fodder. We all know the Valeries of our respective communities. We silently moan when they spastically flop into a chair and holding their manuscript as if a club, await the comments period.
In 1968 Valerie was one of maybe a thousand that was crazy enough to need help. Valerie actually GOT help at hospitals several times in her life. Did they work? BUT TODAY – here’s the bad news: the number of Valeries has increased. Maybe one in twenty? What do you think? It sure as hell ain’t getting better. Shame on us, or as Aunt Edda would say: Tch Tch Tch . Be careful out there. If we were looking at a very old map the seas surrounding all lands might say in large forbidding font “Beware the Bat-Shit Crazies”.
kongoboken 