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William S. Burroughs

William S. Burroughs Quotes

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Famous William S. Burroughs Quotes

“Take a shot in front of D.L. Probing for a vein in my dirty bare foot... Junkies have no shame... They are impervious to the repugnance of others. It is doubtful if shame can exist in the absence of sexual libido... The junky's shame disappears with his nonsexual sociability which is also dependent on libido.”

IfsFeetFrontsShotsShameDisappearAbsenceDirtyDependentVeinsDoubtfulJunkieSociabilityImperviousProbingBare FeetLibido
Book:Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
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“If a weaker baboon be attacked by a stronger baboon the weaker baboon will either (a) present his hrump fanny I believe is the word, gentlemen, heh heh for passive intercourse or (b) if he is a different type baboon more extrovert and well-adjusted, lead an attack on an even weaker baboon if he can find one.”

IfsBelieveWellsDifferentI BelieveTypeStrongerGentlemanPassiveIntercourseExtrovertsBaboons
Book:Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
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“Ever see a hot shot hit, kid? I saw the Gimp catch one in Philly. We rigged his room with a one-way whorehouse mirror and charged a sawski to watch it. He never got the needle out of his arm. They don't if the shot is right. That's the way they find them, dropper full of clotted blood hanging out of a blue arm. The look in his eyes when it hit --- Kid, it was tasty.”

IfsWayLooksEyeKidsRoomsWatchesSawsBloodArmsShotsHotMirrorsBlueOne WayHis EyesHanging OutNeedlesRiggedTastyHot Shots
Book:Naked lunch
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“Wouldn't it be great,as Scott Peck suggests, if all medical students had to undergo the symptoms and feeling of a spectrum of illnesses. From acute infections to terminal cancer - and Kuru, the laughing sickness. Just a month for each exposure, controlled of course, and a good heavy dose of excruciating pain. So they'll know what that feels like.”

IfsKnowsFeelsFeelingsPainCoursesLaughingStudentsMonthsCancerIllnessHeavyMedicalSicknessControlledSymptomsExposureSpectrumDoseInfectionTerminalExcruciating PainTerminal Cancer
Book:Last Words: The Final Journals of William S. Burroughs
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“If you wish to alter or annihilate a pyramid of numbers in a serial relation, you alter or remove the bottom number. If we wish to annihilate the junk pyramid, we must start with the bottom of the pyramid: the Addict in the Street, and stop tilting quixotically for the "higher ups" so called, all of whom are immediately replaceable. The addict in the street who must have junk to live is the one irreplaceable factor in the junk equation. When there are no more addicts to buy junk there will be no junk traffic. As long as junk need exists, someone will service it.”

IfsNeedsLongWishNumbersStreetsHigherRelationBottomFactorsRemoveTrafficAddictEquationsJunkPyramidsSerialsIrreplaceable
Book:Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
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“The idea that addiction is somehow a psychological illness is, I think, totally ridiculous. It's as psychological as malaria. It's a matter of exposure. People, generally speaking, will take any intoxicant or any drug that gives them a pleasant effect if it is available to them.”

PeopleIfsThinkingGivingIdeasMatterEffectsDrugAddictionIllnessAvailableRidiculousPsychologicalPleasantExposureMalaria
Book:Burroughs Live: The Collected Interviews of William S. Burroughs, 1960-1997
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“I am not one of those weak-spirited, sappy Americans who want to be liked by all the people around them. I don’t care if people hate my guts; I assume most of them do. The important question is whether they are in a position to do anything about it. My affections, being concentrated over a few people, are not spread all over Hell in a vile attempt to placate sulky, worthless shits.”

PeopleIfsWantImportantCareHateHellPositionPositiveWeakAssumingAffectionDon't CareSpreadI Don't CareGutsWorthlessSpiritedImportant QuestionsSulky
Author:William S. Burroughs
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“In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen. The dogma of science is that the will cannot possibly affect external forces, and I think that’s just ridiculous. It’s as bad as the church. My viewpoint is the exact contrary of the scientific viewpoint. I believe that if you run into somebody in the street it’s for a reason.”

IfsThinkingBelieveReasonHappensRunningUniverseForceI BelieveChurchStreetsAccidentsContraryRidiculousThings HappenDogmaCoincidenceViewpointsExternal Forces
Author:William S. Burroughs
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