Darlings, Revenge May Not Be Sweet, But It Sure Does Sell!!!!!!!!!

Girls, let me tell you, I was thinking recently-another thing that still haunts me about the Tyler Clementi situation is that cryptic statement attributed to him before his death--"Revenge never ends well for me." This suggests two things--that Tyler's frustration and anger had been pushed to the point where he was considering vengeance as an option (and who could blame him), plus reinforcing the notion, believed by many (but unsure in these quarters here), that, by this statement, Tyler is indicating there had been incidents in his life prior to this. We may not know, for sure, but one thing that concerns me was the spate of articles fearing in his wake a slew of copycat suicides. However, no one considered a worry which occurred to me--that if such incidents continue, there might be one too many, where a grief stricken friend, classmate, or family member, takes it upon themselves to enact vengeance on the perps.

Not that the thought has not occurred to me, regarding Darvi and Wei. As it has, I am sure, to others. But demonizing and fantasizing is one thing. Most of us have enough impulse control to know that going beyond the contemplative stage is senseless. But there always exists the possibility that someone out there could be pushed over the edge.

The "prank-gone-wrong-and-avenger" story has been a standard generic staple. Take, for example, the 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis classic, "Terror Train." In its opening sequence, a group of frat boys set up a geeky, vulnerable young man named Kenny Hampson, on an alleged date with Allana (Jamie) to whom he is attracted. The situation literally crumbles; when taking the "woman" in his arms, she falls apart, as it turns out to be a borrowed lab corpse. With the boys laughing at him, Kenny goes off the deep end; the boys not knowing he had a prior history of mental illness. This sets up the situation for the remainder--those in the prank are systematically knocked off one by one on a Senior class train trip. We the audience know Kenny is behind this (and are rooting for him!!!!) but just where on the train is he?????

Now, I am NOT suggesting the Tyler Clementi incident was a prank gone wrong. It was a deliberate assault of harassment on a young man known to be both gay and vulnerable. Even though they had been roomies for only several weeks, I am sure Ravi and Tyler picked up on aspects of the other's personality. The difference was Tyler just accepted things for what they were, and went about his business; Ravi, clearly homophobic, instead of seeking a room transfer, concocts this humiliation, which he, I imagine, imagines will drive Tyler out to another room; instead, it drove him off the George Washington Bridge. This was not a prank, but an assault.
Nor am I suggesting that someone should hunt down Ravi and Wei, though I think a lot of us would be satisfied if they were dealt more harshly than they have been by Rutgers and the justice system. But that is for time to tell, and we must let it do its work.

Such musings led me back to two "revenge" story novels I had read awhile back, one of which, in a very different way, echoes the Clementi situation. The earlier of the two, first published in 1977, and read by yours truly in either '78 or '79, is Gerald Di Pego's "With A Vengeance." Di Pego is today some kind of screen or television writer, but when young, this was his first published work, a standard revenge thriller that stood out because of an interesting gimmick within its standard premise.

"With A Vengeance" is a classic prank-gone-wrong story. A young man wants to join a fraternity at his college. Part of his initiation involves being tied to a tree all night, in a cold wooded forest. The frat boys, for protection, concoct a fire near him to provide light and warmth. But they make the mistake--unknowingly, but tragically--of placing it at an angle, so that when the wind picks up, flames flicker near the tree, ignite it, and the trapped young man burns to his death. The boy's father, understandably so, is grief stricken. But when the boys go basically undisciplined , and he feels the school did not do enough in dealing with them (just as Rutgers did not do enough with Darvi and Wei) he, predictably, decides to take matters of vengeance/justice into his own hands. However, his method is really twisted. He allows time to move on, the boys to forget and carry on with their lives. In a clearly contrived plot mechanism, each boy marries, and has a son. Some twenty years later, when those sons are college age, the dead boy's father begins going after THEM, because he wants to make them feel the exact same pain he did!!!!!
Which is pretty clever. Now, I have not read this in 30 plus years, so I cannot tell my girls now how things turn out--for the boys, for the father, how things are implemented. Thinking back, I had to wonder how a man, now, say in his sixties, would have enough strength and stamina to go about going after a group of presumably healthy younger men in their late teens, early twenties!!!! Which is why I think it merits a reread; however, being out of print for a long time, it will take me awhile to track this one down. But if I do, I will give all my girls a full report!!!!!!!!

Then there is the still readily available "Valentine" by Tom Savage. Let me first say, this was filmed about ten years ago. I saw it on either January 1 or 2 of 2001, and it still, as things turned out, remained the worst film of its year. This is because they took the basic skeleton of Savage's story, but jettisoned the details for standard crap. I will only deal with the Savage novel.

Darlings, I am surprised this was not entitled "Three Little Bitches From School Who Get Exactly What They Deserve," because that is it in a nutshell!!!!!
Jillian Talbott, well beyond school, is a successful writer, living in New York. She has a handsome boyfriend, a Village apartment....and presumably writes better than Carrie Bradshaw....but then who doesn't, including yours truly??????? Out of the blue, she gets these mysterious Valentine's Day cards, the sender she does not know. When she discusses them with her therapist, we learn an important part of Jill's past.

At Hartley College in New England, Jill, shy and unpopular, desperately wanted to join a group of campus girls known as the Elements (Earth, Wind, and Fire, after the rock group) who were pretty, rich, popular, and their own private sorority. The girls--Sharon Spencer (Earth), Belinda Rosenberg (Wind) and Cass McFarland (Fire)--lure Jill into their inner circle with promises and attention, but, in true frat fashion, get her to do all their drudge work. Sharon, the ringleader, is clearly the blonde bitch type (you know, girls, what would at one time have been the Morgan Fairchild role), Belinda is simply her acolyte, while Cass, though part of the group, has her own ideas, and sometimes questions their actions, as shall be shown. Also attending college with them is a geeky, unattractive guy named Victor Di Mortta (Victory Over Death). Victor is straight, but unattractive and awkward--Youth's Deadliest Social Combination. Naturally enough attracted to the Elements' surface beauties, he is continually rebuffed, until Sharon decides once and for all, to put an end to things by teaching Victor a lesson. In a scheme that closely foreshadows the Tyler Clementi incident, the Girls entreat Jill to deliver to Victor a note from Sharon, setting up an alleged date with her in Belinda's room, on the evening of Valentine's Day. The note is delivered, a happy but naive Victor goes to the room, where Sharon IS seductively there, the place decorated for a Valentine's party. She comes on to Victor, and once he is stripped down, the song "My Funny Valentine" begins to be heard, and Belinda and Cass burst out from a closet door, filming Victor's humiliation with a video camera. Not unlike Tyler, darlings, just less technological!!!! However, prior to the prank, to her credit, Cass, who is described at one point as "the essentially good natured redhead", keeps questioning, and rightfully so, whether or not this is a good idea. As does Jill, who is not in the room for Victor's humiliation, but in her own room. She can hear what is going on, though. What she hears is laughter turning to rage and screams, as Victor retaliates, fighting back, smashing Belinda's nose, while a scantily clad Sharon runs to Security, crying "Rape!" As a result, Victor is expelled from college. There is a hearing, where Jill, having had it with the Girls, turns on them, telling what really happened. But the Dean, who is sexually involved with Sharon, backs them up!!!! Nevertheless, Jill takes over the Elements' cafeteria table, dismissing them all. Several weeks later, a genuinely repentant Cass stops Jill after class, thanking her for what she did, and admiring her for standing up to Sharon.

What none of them knew was that Victor came to college with a set of emotional scars as well. His parents have physically and psychologically abused him his entire life, to where he is both cowed and ready to boil over. Which he does when he returns home, because, once there, the abuse accelerates, and so does Victor's rage, driving him to murder his abusive parents. You have to sympathize with Victor, to a point. He is sent to prison, where he does twelve years. But instead of blaming his parents and his rage, Victor blames the Girls in college, and sets out to avenge himself upon them. He works out physically in the gym, reinvents himself cosmetically once released, so no one will recognize him--though I should think twelve years imprisoned would do that, anyway. The rest of the story details Victor's plan; the mystery being, where in the present day is Victor now????? Tom Savage throws a few red herrings, and an interesting plot twist, that, again, makes this standard story stand out.

The macabre cover art of Savage's book is outstanding, but Di Pego's is classic--the titled words in a flaming red background, showing a screaming young man tied to a tree, being burned. This is the Dell paperback edition, darlings!!!!!!! I can still vaguely recall the tag line; something like "They killed his son. Now they have sons of their own. And he is out to get them....With A Vengeance!!!!!!"

Let's face it, dolls, revenge sells! So it would not surprise me that in the wake of Tyler Clementi's death, a spew of stories of this type may follow. Maybe a reissue of "With A Vengeace," which would make for an effective film.

Nevertheless, each story shows in its own way that revenge is NOT the answer!!!!!! With unspeakable tragedy, time and justice must do the work!!!!! For more speakable ones, like a blemished complexion, the answer girls, is a good astringent!!!!!!!!

Astringe THIS, loves!!!!! Have a fabulous day!