Russell Harty visits Quentin Crisp’s filth-covered East Village dump in 1985.
At one point, Crisp comments that what makes New York City different is that it’s the only place where everyone talks to everyone. That may still be true for certain strips of Brooklyn, but it’s mostly a thing of the past otherwise. And it’s not just New Yorkers who have become so alienated from others–people who visit here from the rest of the country (and the rest of the world) seem even worse. We’ve always been tribal, but the tribe used to be more bound to geography and genuineness. No more. Now the virtual network of “friends” we accrue online is our tribe. The other self we create on social networks, which has only a glancing connection to the truth, is who we think we are. But it’s not real and we’re disconnected from ourselves and disenchanted with reality when it has the gall to encroach on our bubble. Things have gotten murky.
Tags: Quentin Crisp, Russell Harty