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Isn’t this what the twentieth century is all about? . . . People [hiding] even when no one is looking for them?
Jack Gladney, the hero of Don DeLillo’s great novel, White Noise, asks himself this as he searches out a university colleague who always makes it extremely difficult to find her. The novel is full of characters “avoiding situations,” as one of them puts it.
“I’m here to avoid situations. Cities are full of situations, sexually cunning people. There are parts of my body I no longer encourage women to handle freely.”
People in Gladney’s town, Blacksmith, drape themselves in oversized sweatsuits and create state of the art all-inclusive houses so they rarely have to go out. Their massive cars have darkly tinted windows. There’s a shared undifferentiated paranoia which drives people in on themselves. Some of his neighbors belong to tiny hidden cults.
In other words, the hijab and burqa were just waiting for us. Hiding’s what you do when it’s like this out there. UD‘s surprised it took this long for an entrepreneur to see the possibilities.
November 9th, 2021 at 12:31PM
Some of his neighbors make anonymous comments on blogs.
I think a lot of socially anxious people appreciate face masks. No makeup, no need to smile at strangers, some anonymity. And maybe a feeling of moral superiority as well. Definitely some similarities with a hijab/burqa.
November 9th, 2021 at 12:42PM
Anon: Yup.