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LeanMeanDrMachine t1_j71ztte wrote

It's so odd the idea of Jack Kerouac doing stuff like being in the army and a college football team considering how so much of his work is spent rejecting the American middle class ideals and throwing himself into counter culture. It's kind of like Trotsky going to work as a bank manager.

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urbanfirestrike t1_j7224t1 wrote

Trotsky’s uncle was literally a millionaire connected to international arms smugglers

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Goalie_deacon t1_j77esq9 wrote

He wasn’t in the military when he was aboard the SS Dorchester. He was a civilian merchant mariner. He did later enlist in the Navy Reserve, but was discharged for mental health problems.

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semiote23 t1_j76y9jx wrote

I think that it’s likely that actual rejection of American middle class ideals requires strong familiarity with them. So many of the folks who followed him and the other beats don’t seem to realize that they rejected what America was offering because it had become a stultifying shadow of a place of promise. You can’t see through the bullshit without being well versed in it and loving much of it.

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bolanrox t1_j720jqf wrote

that anti sematic Mama's boy - this punk rock girl i knew in college

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