:: Punky Bruce-ster ::

Monday, August 30, 2004

This is Lenny Bruce's last communication to the world, imprinted with an IBM typewriter halfway down a sheet of paper that, like most in the year leading up to his death, contained part of the manic (but lucid, and cogent) logorrhea he thought would help overturn his conviction on obscenities charges, exonerate him and lead to his redemption. Ever the innovator, he didn't stop in mid-sentence, he stopped in mid-word. Actually, his last words before he stuck the needle in his arm and pumped his veins full of heroin were probably "Now that's some killer smack!" but no record past beyond the typewriter exists for posterity.

Bruce wasn't just a pottymouth stand-up, he was a social critic. Think Andrew Dice Clay but with satirical... wait, strike that, don't ever think of Andrew Dice Clay.

Bruce made powerful enemies, notably in the Catholic church and within the law-enforcement / judicial communities (after being arrested in Philadelphia and informed that a small bribe to a judge would ensure his release, Bruce went public with the information, humiliating the judge and virtually guaranteeing a life of legal harassment). He became a liability to prospective club owners who, fearful aiding and abetting actionable "obscenities", blackballed him into destitution.

Why am I bringing him up? Because of Bruce and legal precedents that resulted directly from his appeals process entertainers today can't fall victim as he did. They can say whatever they desire, no matter how profane or offensive, in a comedy club or drama theater, and enjoy protection under the first amendment. Bruce was a free speech martyr, like Jesus, except his downfall was stigma, not stigmata. And he chain-smoked, and cursed a blue streak, and had orgies.

But anyway: free speech is something I'm going to observe personally over the next week, starting tomorrow as I walk to work one block away from the RNC. Things today went smoothly, and I honestly don't expect that to change. Regardless, it will be good to be reminded that Bruce's words, right down to his last, made a lasting impression.

Posted by morland @ 12:24 AM

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