Temple U
William Wright
Surprise professor for the day, shock rocker Marilyn Manson,
in trademark makeup and black suit,
opens the class with a question:
Can he share a bottle of red absinthe with the students?
All is quiet as he sets his bottle down on the desk.
I brought enough for everyone.
A student raises her hand, and Manson calls on her.
What’s your name?
Karen.
Nice to meet you, Karen.
Let me just say that from now on, no one needs to raise his or her hand to talk.
The only rule with talking is don’t interrupt — it’s rude, OK?
A few nods.
Good. Now Karen, what did you want to say?
Well, I just thought you should know that many of us,
myself included,
aren’t legally old enough to drink alcohol.
You could get in trouble, and so could we.
That’s a good point.
Yes, I know there are risks involved, but I accept those risks.
I’m inviting you to accept them with me.
That’s stupid.
Scattered chuckles.
And your name is?
Jerrol. Listen man, you gotta be careful with that shit.
You think just ‘cause we’re young, we don’t know what absinthe is.
That shit’s illegal, dog.
Jerrol, I never assumed that
because you’re young, you don’t know what absinthe is.
You’re the one assuming here, not me.
If you want to call the police, go right ahead but understand this,
I was only trying to be nice.
That’s not nice!
Thank you, Jerrol. Anyone else?
...Hi, I’m Bill.
Hi, Bill.
I just wanted to say...it’s not stupid.
I appreciate the sentiment, Bill, but I’m not really
concerned about whether people think what I do is stupid.
Jerrol thinks it was stupid, and that’s fine.
You think it wasn’t, and that’s fine too.
We all have our opinions.
The problem is not that we disagree,
but that we live in a society where expressing unpopular views are
discouraged, and even censored.
Right here in America,
land of the free.
May I have a glass?
Manson smiles.
Why yes, of course.
Manson prepares two glasses of absinthe and hands one to Bill.
Bill takes a sip.
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