I have two points I’d like to make.

First, while I have no admiration for Mailer’s works, I am mystified by people who say, “Well, I haven’t read any of his works, but I agree with you completely.” This seems akin to walking down the street, hearing a boxing match being held, running into a building, and starting to kick a man who has already been knocked out. At the very best, you’re simply going to get “booed” by the people who have paid the admission and understand the game. You certainly won’t be applauded for “being on the winning team”. It would also be easy to expound on the political consequences of the idea that, “I don’t need to have read it to have an opinion”, but this is really not the place.

Second, Mailer’s delusional thinking about his own importance and the awe in which not just the literati but EVERYONE was supposed to hold him is illustrated in an anecdote. This comes from “NYC Babylon” by Victor Bockris. I unfortunately don’t have it in front of me, so I’ll paraphrase. During the 70s, Mailer was mugged on his way to a dinner party in Lower Manhattan. Stumbling into the apartment with blood running down his face, he shouted of his attackers, “Don’t they know that I’ve always been a friend to the Negro?”