Still Paging Mr. Salinger

Okay, followed the link to the NYT, read the article. Cannot get worked up about this guy. I liked Catcher in the Rye, back in the 60s, but I can't remember any of it now. I say, if he wants to hide out, who cares?

Now, I was reading an article about The Ritz Hotel in Paris. THAT'S interesting! The Ernest Hemingway Bar, which linked to Harry's Bar in Venice, and so on to Lucy's Tiger Den on Patpong Road, Bangkok, and finally, Rick's Cafe' Americain, in Casablanca...YES!

I read Catcher in the Rye for the first time this year.  I hated it so much, I dubbed it "Crapper in the Rye".  Of the 15 novels I've read since April, it is second only to Camus' The Stranger for the title of my LEAST favorite.  My FAVORITE, by the way, was Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

Holden Caulfield may be going through a bad time but he has still given me no reason to want to spend my time in his company.  I've been told this is a book that is best read when you were 16 and feeling the same sense of isolation as the character.  I disagree.  When bullies were picking on me at age 16, Holden Caulfield is the kind of guy who would have stood by, smirked, and done nothing to help.  His hypocrisy (hating alledged "phonies" in the same sentence as boasting about his great skills as a liar) provides the potential to make him interesting as an unreliable narrator but he can't even live up to the potential.

For a better example of the kind of narrator Salinger seems to have been trying to provide, check out Dostoyevsky's Notes from the Underground, the last book I read last year.  Dostoyevsky does well what Salinger does badly.

Wow, memories. 1964, my junior year of high school. I had read Catcher in the Rye the summer before and was blown away. What made it especially good was the fact that the book was BANNED in Bakersfield. WOW.

That spring I had to write a term paper about an American author for my English class. I chose Salinger. I read everything I could find. The outcome was I got an A++ on the paper. Years later my teacher told me she couldn't decide if she was more surprised that I wrote it on Salinger or that I got an A++ (I was bright, but lazy)>

As for his receeding from the national spot light. Maybe he got tired of people bothering him. I can imagine an army of youths wanting to relate to Holden and talk about it.

Or maybe he feels he has no more to say. Either way, I think we can be happy with what he has left us.  OR, maybe he feels he has don his best work and anything else would pale in comparison.

The Rick's Cafe in Casablanca is in the Hilton, not a big deal although they do make a great G&T.  Besides, all the people trying to get to America during WWII went through Tangiers, not Casablanca.

Harry's Bar in Venice is great. The opened a resturant in Century City in LA. I haven't been there in decades but it was a pretty good replica.

bonne nuit IIsa, partout où vous êtes

I am sure she is missing Rick.

I saw the NY Times article when it came out- or rather saw that it existed and wasn't  seized by the desire to know more.  ( I did read it this AM.) I seem to remember some other journal discussing him not too long ago. Could it have been SPY?  Maybe it was  Vanity Fair. In any event, the upshot was that his reclusive behavior seemed to have several gaps, in which he tried hard to impress some attractive female or another with his (reclusive)  fame. The tone was less than lionizing.

DPR, I don't blame you, but I think maybe you are being a little bit harsh on Holden and on Mr. S.  After all,  that voice that irks you so completely is pretty authentic, isn't it? And we  know that it takes a lot more than simply being or having been an adolescent to describe and  express that "fun" time. 

One of the attractive females Salinger DID impress was Joyce Maynard. She wrote BABY LOVE and  TO DIE FOR, (which became a movie with Nicole Kidman) but she was famous for LOOKING BACK, which she wrote at the ripe age of about 19 in the early 70s. She lived with Salinger for a little less than a year and, either because she wanted it or because there was so little else, seems to have been famous for that and not much more all of these years.

http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/2162/index2.html  

Do you reckon he intended all of this comment on his art to somehow become a part of it? Limited output, if it is good, tends to encourage more and more attention.  Compare Salinger, if you will, with Hemingway, whose most prolific period seems to have been after his death. Or with Fitzgerald, who flopped around a little too publicly before he expired with no dignity left.

At this stage, he is a 90 year old deaf guy who fought in WWII.   Chances are, regardless of anything else, he has some pretty good stories to tell.

Given the choice between J.D. Salinger, Vladimir Nabokov, Joseph Heller, and Kurt Vonnegut, I'm afraid J.D. Salinger would come in last... Sorry, J.D. 

I totally disagree with DreadPirateRoberts about Camus, but I gotta agree with him about Salinger.  When I read 'Catcher in the Rye' back in the 60s, my reaction was, 'Why is everybody so excited about this?'

I swear sometimes I AM Holden Caulfield... There are days when everything seems phony & lousy, and I think of him, and laugh.

I resented Salinger, and still do not forgive him, for taking time away in AP English that could have been more profitably used staring at this one classmate (who shall remain anonymous) and her breasts. What a toss-pot wanker Salinger is!!!

It's rather like the moment in "Blackadder Back & Forth" when Blackadder literally runs into Shakespeare in the hallway of the palace. After helping him up and getting an autograph, Blackadder punches Willie Trask's namesake square in the face on behalf of every oppressed schoolboy for the next four hundred years. And then kicks him for Ken Brannagh's interminable Hamlet.

Salinger, you've got one coming! There's a reason he's been in hiding. He knows that there are multiple generations of high school males (like I used to be) who want nothing more than to clean his clock for getting in the way of some decent tight sweater angora fuzzy oogling.

But he invented the ballpoint. I am still proud to bear his name.

And, conveniently, he is played by Mr. Darcy, that  toffee nosed git.

How about Charles I played by Fry in The Cavalier Years? 

Jonathan,
Thanks for letting your feelings about this man run rampant this morning. Now I remember why I don't remember his bloody book.

Holly, *from yesterday* OPSEC is short for operations security.  These days that invovles not blabbing on the internet about the specifics of your husband/son/brother/etc deployment and unit strengths and weaknesses, etc.  It is a long shot that someone would pick up on your chatter, but better safe than sorry.  Here are some vintage opsec posters...

http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/ww2/images/ww36.jpg

http://www.ncbluestarmothers.org/images/opsec.jpg

Ooops, I meant to put that on the travel page.  Oh Well

The beauty of YouTube. Share the moment with me.

No, John, we can never get back those English class moments. Oh, but I was happy when we moved on to Donne!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n03GM6dhzQ

And regarding Donne: we had to memorize and recite a poem in class. Here was mine.

To his mistress going to bed

COME, madam, come, all rest my powers defy ;
Until I labour, I in labour lie.
The foe ofttimes, having the foe in sight,
Is tired with standing, though he never fight.
Off with that girdle, like heaven's zone glittering,
But a far fairer world encompassing.
Unpin that spangled breast-plate, which you wear,
That th' eyes of busy fools may be stopp'd there.
Unlace yourself, for that harmonious chime
Tells me from you that now it is bed-time.
Off with that happy busk, which I envy,
That still can be, and still can stand so nigh.
Your gown going off such beauteous state reveals,
As when from flowery meads th' hill's shadow steals.
Off with your wiry coronet, and show
The hairy diadems which on you do grow.
Off with your hose and shoes ; then softly tread
In this love's hallow'd temple, this soft bed.
In such white robes heaven's angels used to be
Revealed to men ; thou, angel, bring'st with thee
A heaven-like Mahomet's paradise ; and though
Ill spirits walk in white, we easily know
By this these angels from an evil sprite ;
Those set our hairs, but these our flesh upright.
Licence my roving hands, and let them go
Before, behind, between, above, below.
O, my America, my Newfoundland,
My kingdom, safest when with one man mann'd,
My mine of precious stones, my empery ;
How am I blest in thus discovering thee !
To enter in these bonds, is to be free ;
Then, where my hand is set, my soul shall be.
Full nakedness ! All joys are due to thee ;
As souls unbodied, bodies unclothed must be
To taste whole joys. Gems which you women use
Are like Atlanta's ball cast in men's views ;
That, when a fool's eye lighteth on a gem,
His earthly soul might court that, not them.
Like pictures, or like books' gay coverings made
For laymen, are all women thus array'd.
Themselves are only mystic books, which we
—Whom their imputed grace will dignify—
Must see reveal'd. Then, since that I may know,
As liberally as to thy midwife show
Thyself ; cast all, yea, this white linen hence ;
There is no penance due to innocence :
To teach thee, I am naked first ; why then,
What needst thou have more covering than a man?

I think I was too old when I read Catcher in the Rye. I was in grad school, teaching my first set of incoming college freshmen students, and all I could think was "What the hell is this kid's problem?  Grow the f*#$ UP!!!"  Lucky for me, the book wasn't one that I had been assigned for a class I was taking, so throwing it away didn't cause any future problems.

Even though I have not been published, I can understand the reasons some authors go into seclusion when fame comes running.  Authors are, by and large, solitary creatures.  Writing is usually a one-person project, and many writers hate any sort of intrusion while they work.  So, when people start asking for the next project, the next hit, joining the tour circuit, book signings, talk shows, etc etc etc, an author who is used to dealing with the world through the distance of the mail (or email, for modern folk) can get the urge to jump in a hole and pull the earth in over themselves.

As for me, however, should I ever get published, I will revel in the chance to meet people who want to talk to me, as long as there is a good wine and cheese reception after :)

What a refreshingly Little Rascals discussion we're having this morning! Everybody (who's anybody I want to hang out with) comes to Rick's. Or JP's, in this case. Having random thoughts this morning-now THERE'S a surprise!

For growing up weird, I like Manchester's The Last Lion for nonfiction, Twain's H. Finn for fiction, and Woodhouse's Jeeves and Wooster stories for comedy (Bertie's still maturing, of course). I always thought Fry and Laurie would make a great Aubrey and Maturin, and a nice long Granada or BBC 2 production of the entire canon of O'Brien's series would be smashing. One can hope...

Doc-Vonnegut wins, hands down.

Jonathan, don't hold back-tell us how you REALLY feel! Love your Nordic passion, dear; a-viking we will go! lol

Whew! I sat up a little straighter after Donne 'n Isles' declamation! Didn't Jesse Ventura say something similar, only with lots more brevity? I like Donne's better, though...

Suz, the art on that sailor poster reminds me of Hildebrandt. Very nice, Rockwellian. Where do you FIND these gems?

Thank you, Peter...le oiseau-mouche had a very good night...*secret smile*

Blackadder, the cavalier years:

(or some part thereof)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbhAjVBdDLQ

The beauty of it is Fry has captured Charles perfectly.

Umm, not Charles I, of course, but some other royal Charles...

Olivia, do you remember the scene in A MIGHTY WIND where everyone is asked to hum and the one character does it with her mouth open? 

Oh, Jonathan Isles...ne'er did I meet a beach I didn't love, and your photograph makes me long to walk barefoot on that one. 

Perhaps I read Salinger too late, too early, in the wrong mood, but I rushed-and-skipped through, tossed him away unfinished. Very young, I'd felt obliged to finish a book in fairness to the author, but outgrew it: If his characters didn't engage me I left him. First I felt guilty about it, but soon lost that unhealthiness. In Salinger's case, because many fair fainted at mere mention of his name, I thought the fault lay in me, so years later I gave him another try, but he read the same. Maybe the fault IS mine, but there you have it.

I, too, welcomed Donne and others of his ilk....

...oh! Jonathan, your Donne quotation is among my favorites

DPR,

A bit of advice: It wasn't very often that bullying was a problem for me. I had older brothers.

Once though, I got trapped in a chicken wire coal bin by a guy who thought that because there was a heavy overcoat for "protection," that it would be fun to peck away at me with a BB gun and he did.

Very early the next morning, as he cut through our back yard on the way to his paper route, I stepped out of our tent, pointed a twelve gauge shotgun at his midsection just below the heavy paper bag strap, thumbed the hammer back and let him have it in the breadbasket.

The noise itself was impressive. He went down and stayed.

My dad and brothers came tumbling out the back door and when I showed my brothers the paper shell that had been cut off down to the wad, they got it.

My dad, who didn't know his arse from a hole in the ground when it came to guns, needed some explaining.

I never heard a word about it after that but that kid, though he couldn't resist shooting his mouth off, always did it heading in the other direction- fast.

Jonathon,

A pretty sizable group of guys in the fifties and therefore older than yourself, took matters into their own hands- so to speak- and enjoyed a lot more than a furtive peek at fuzzy bumps while reading Salinger. Our memories are richer than your own.

What??!  What's that you say?!

Beneath another essay is a comment about the writer's being "..excluded from the Peterman trip..." because of his sex.  Has there been A Trip? For those of my sex? Or any, for that matter. If so, I've missed references to it, and I joined The Group as soon as I learned of it. 

Do tell, please.

"How would you know you weren't being a phony? The trouble is, you wouldn't"

My favorite line from a guy with the power to inspire contempt and resentment that would make him chuckle.

I'm really glad I followed this link and read this article. I never knew this about Salinger—

Hapworth:

"The story used to be available only in samizdat — photocopies of photocopies passed along from hand to hand and becoming blurrier with each recopying."

But like him, and like DeLillo, I find myself obsessing about the ego paradox of a writer, or any artist for that matter.

The ugly truth that you have to create distance from the construct (phoniness—in Salinger's word—a little harsh—I think) in order to write it.

Which means hanging said ego on a nail outside your writing room before you enter. Which means not letting the construct dictate what you say about your characters, or their motivations. Which means not caring that Holden Caufield comes off like an arrogant shit. Because that's more honest. And if he hadn't been that honest, nobody would know the name Holden.

I love that he has at least on work that bares the mark of that paradox. That remains obviously a gift that came at great cost to its writer, rather than something that has so perfectly reproduced and price-tagged, that we forget what a wholly generous 'gift' art is, no matter how much we dig it.

Good stuff.

MissI,

While you were in NC, you should have gone to Holden Beach. It has been called a lot of things, but phony isn't one of them.

Georgia, is MissIve's  Lark the trip in question? 

MissIve,

You are so right on the button. Without Holden Caulfield, nobody ever hears of Salinger. Ergo, he must have done that boy at that age, scary well.

Clyde Edgerton's Mattie Rigsbee in "Walking Across Egypt," knocks me out the same way.

If you ask: How do they do that? The answer must be: It's art! Deal with it.

Olivia, the trouble, such as it is, with Wodehouse is he wrote 80 books. If you don't get cracking, you'll never get through them all. Of course, not all are Jeeves and Wooster, but several of the non-Bertie ones are good anyway.

Is there a Hold the Phone / Holden Phony joke around somewhere?

I may have told this story before. If  so, please forgive me.  Not too long ago, a friend of a friend was in NYC to see a revival of an  Arthur Miller play.  To his delight, Miller was at the show and the tourist went up to shake his hand. He came home and told his friends.

"Was it a thrill to shake the hand of a great playwright?" they asked.

He replied quickly "That doesn't matter to me. I just wanted to shake the hand that had touched Marilyn Monroe's breast." 

MissI, if you don't have the NYer on disc, you ( and others) can grab it for $16 plus ship on eBay stores. It may not run on Vista, but it is worth keeping an old (XP)  computer to serve as a reader.

Willie,

Just imagine Dimaggio: Thirteen time all-star and ...

Also, Missy, being a Job's Daughter, doesn't have to worry about quirky OS issues.

Stoney,

BOTH HANDS

The other thing about Catcher is the time is was published. Like I said before, it was banned in our town and many others. Kids of that era were not supposed to be unhappy or angry. Here comes Holden with his teen angst and rage and parents were shocked, SHOCKED.

Holden spoke to my generation. I can see why he may not be as relevant today. Kids have gone WAY beyond Holden. He seems quite passive in comparison, but in 1964 he's was a big deal.

nachista..Those posters..great stuff. When I taught US History I had the kids go to the "Power of Persuasion" web site. They have all the WWII posters. The students then had to create one of their own and base it on the Iraq war (for or against). They came up with some really amazing posters.

Thanks for the share. Will send those book titles on THIS Site this afternoon as I can't find the email link. I had it but lost it.

Willie Trask, thanks for noticing my query, and my answer is I Don't Know What Trip...I simply read the reference, and didn't want to miss something WE (i.e., The Community) have done, will do....

Stoney, I love your amplification of the Joe Dimaggio reference:  BOTH HANDS on, beneath that sweater!  And you're right about Clyde Edgerton, who has lots to offer.

Anyone else notice how many of us, male and female, have memories involving Angora sweaters?  I swear this next is true: Someone told us that if you keep your Angora sweater in the fridge it will grow, so we did -- Angora socks, too.  Never caught mine growing (this particular one, pale pink, as were the socks), but I sho'-God kept it in that refrigerator.

When I run into a former classmate and hear (sincerely), "Those were the happiest days of my life," I've no response -- not one I'd say...but my thought is, If those were your best, WHAT have you done since? Unless I could know what I now know, not for all the tea in China would I re-live those years of part-child-part-woman. Fun, yes, and friends, and learning, but inside where it counts, a very square peg in a perfectly round hole, trying to behave like everyone else, to fit in. Which on surface I did, if shyly, but unlike many of you brave folk, never forward enough to be an obvious loner 'til I was older and found people like me.  What an epiphany, which begs the question "How many friends also suffered through those years?" Surely many, but we'd been brainwashed by mores and parents -- my mother wasn't alone in teaching, "Don't raise your hand in class because boys don't like smart girls." All led to "what boys like." Ironically, simultaneously practicing strict discipline where boys were concerned, about which I've commented when we spoke of such. What a mingle going on inside young brains, bodies...hormones hopping, too. 

Single-sex high schools (300+ years; our public schools among the nation's first) produce better grades (it's proved), but mingling with the opposite sex was thereby limited to one-night-a-week meetings of HS sororities and fraternities in DIFFERENT rooms at the YMCA!  My gosh, I get demerits for straying furthest from topic -- but no: As I read it, all's connected.... Understanding how rules kept us from much that would've meant trouble, I weep, cringe, worry when I see today's crop of that frightening age.

THank heaven for thr library, which kept me alive.  I've an essay I might send if I learn it's not too long. Editor of a lit. journal asked writers and editors to tell how they fell in love with words; it's the result of that.

Does anyone know what happend with private messages?

How to reach, etc?

Here a couple o days ago, now GONE GONE GONE.

About The Best Part of Our Lives,

Even without Angora Sweaters, High School has much to recommend it in the way of more or less adult bodies, a complete refusal to be embarrassed about knowledge and intelligence, and best of all, surprisingly little in the way of responsibilities.  Of course, the obvious downside is no money, no experience and not enough of that knowledge (or intelligence, for most of us.) Somebody said Real Life is a lot like High School and I think it may be- there are certainly things beyond our control and mean people and losers (and worse) in positions of great prestige and power.  But many of us have learned how to use our intelligence, gained some experience, and generally gotten used to the world we appear to run.

Yeah, peaking at 18 is a bad thing. Peaking in attractiveness, peaking in happiness, etc. Sad, sad, sad. But consider all of the things such a shallow outlook allows you to miss.

Sometimes thinking more doesn't really help and sometimes caring more only hurts.

Holly, you mean the Power of Persuasion virtual exhibit at the National Archives?

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html

Willie Trask..thank you for wondering where the private messages went. I was beginning to think I had imagined their existance.

Maybe the great and powerful Peterman took them?!?!?

I wasn't finished with my post.

I was lucky enough to see an exhibit of some of these posters the last time I was in D.C. and I loved it (about 1997).  Late 19th century and early 20th century posters make such an impact because the focus was on the artists rendering, instead of a photograph, there was always an emotional interpretation present in that medium. 

Holly I meant to ask you, in your experience teaching high school, did you or your students ever participate in the "Close Up Foundation" experience?  I was lucky enough to go twice and I loved it, I thought it was a great way to get students interested in political science and the governmental process, as well as a chance for them to dip their toes in early American history.

For a wedding present to Sir Boyscout I purchased some original WWI and WWII newspapers/magazines on  Ebay, cut out the advertisements for Coca-Cola that had Marines in it (he's a big coke fan) and had them framed.  It was an inexpensive way to put an authentic piece of vintage Americana on the walls.

Willie Trask, you say things that make sense, then they resonate. 

I too wonder about 'private mesages' in the same brain-cell with 'how put photo on The Eye.' Matt, is 't thee I need?   'rt thou being again flogged?

On "where do you want to go?" oddly I'd thought only "other countries, but as long as I've spoken to hdq of The Owner's Manual, a visit there would be interesting. (And maybe there's an outlet)

Nachista...We have several things that the kids get involved in. Freedoms Foundation, People to People. But in CA the the seniors participate in We the People which is a nation wide competiton on the Constitution. I used to coach Mock Trial which is also nation wide. That was a great way for students to learn about not only law, put government. It was fun.

To all: How do you get the map onto your main page???

Georgia..I read your comments on single sex schools. One semester I had a class of ALL boys, (a scheduling fluke) They were great...attentive, polite, LEARNING. Nine weeks into the semester the first girl arrived in class...it all began to fall apart.

While I know kids can learn in mixed classes, it was nice to have that bit of heaven. But I have also taught in China where manners are practically inbred into the students. They were great to teach...NO discipline problems, but then they were older.

I taught some 10-12 year old Chinese students one summer and the boys were like boys EVERYWHERE. Cute but not to attentive.

Still the idea is a good one. THey have proven that girls are whizzes at math and science when they are taught separately.

Just had a chance to read through these.

Isles, fecking hilarious!
And you should know this. Mind you, I'm projecting. Ms. Angora most likely noticed, through furtive glances of her own, that you didn't give two shits about the book. Maybe she also noticed your thinly-veiled sarcasm when called upon by the teacher. And, prior to reading about Holden, she would have found your behavior 'juvenile.' But post-Holden, your behavior piqued her curiosity and was the impetus for, at bare minimum, a three-month-long crush. Maybe even led to an eventual groping. So see, you don't know what Mr. Salinger did for you, um, under the covers. Perhaps you are more beHolden to him than you know. Grin.

Trask,
Please tease out your impulse of 'hold the Phony.' This is good stuff. Have not heard of or been to that beach. Must look into that.

Stoney,
I kept reading your 'Job's Daughter' as a biblical reference at first. I was genuinely flattered, thinking, hmmm, I never thought of myself as particularly patient, but okay!!! And then it clicked. Still flattered that you know that PC references are lost on me.

CoyoteMike,
I too thought I was too old when I read Catcher. I think I was 25. But the more I read about and by Mr. Salinger, the more I think possibly, if you LIKE Holden, you were too young when you read it. I humbly submit, as I hate to pretend to understand a writer's goals, nor do I think really good writers go into a project with hard and fast goals, that possibly Holden was not meant to be a hero. At least not wholly.

And Nachista,
What a very thoughtful idea for a gift. I imagine they're lovely.

MissI,

why why why do I see my name and TEASE together in your post, right after that bit about the fluffy sweater?

 I am told there is an Ed Wood Bio called LOOK BACK IN ANGORA...

I just watched THEY ALL LAUGHED, a fun little 70s film about people who seem to recombine at will, or maybe without any choice sometimes.  It starred Dorothy Stratten, who was killed before it came out- and John Ritter, who has also gone on. And yes, Audrey H, who isn't making any more., either. But the neat little surprise was looking up Patti Hansen, who made two movies and then quit work, because her husband's work kept him on the road. Wherever he laid his hat was his home. Elizabeth Pena is in there, too, though she must have been about 6 when it was made.  Who Knew?

The Director? That would be Dr. Elliott Kupferman. 

Hold de Phone

Holden de Phone

Holden de Phoney

Phone Home

It's in there somewhere.

Holden Beach, Sonny Beaches, I don't know...

Anybody ever see the Sofa King ads? 

Where prices aren't just low, they're SOFA KING low.

I have to ask my son about the relevence of Holden Caulfield these days, its too far removed for me, but I wonder what else JD has written and hidden.  Maybe in my new years resolution to read more I will read it again, just a little book, and more interested in the glass family, but backsliding on that too.  Another resolution is to particapate here more, when I am awake....  rock on, PE's

you rock on, too, un-h...

say goodnight Gracie....

Doc,

Yes, I remember we argued the Camus issue before and respectfully agreed to disagree with each other.  Interesting, though, that we agree about Catcher because the two books actually felt quite similar to me in many ways.  The hero's ambivalence toward life and lack of interest or enthusiasm for anything in particular seems to make Caulfield and Meursault thematic cousins under the skin.  No?

Coyotemike,

You and I seem to have similar backgrounds in terms of the bullying issue.  I grew up overweight and started losing my hair at twelve.  I loved opera, hated football, had an IQ of 148, and never learned how to throw a punch decently.  I was a bully's wet dream.

I've been thinking a lot about the question:  What kind of adult does the schoolyard bully grow up to become?  Some, of course, straighten out, see the error of their ways, and live decent lives.  Some become the town drunk.  Some take on jobs where they can order others around and belittle them in public (ever see Swimming With the Sharks?)  But I still don't understand what they get out of it.  How do they benefit from their physical and/or verbal brutality?

Some bullies grow older and become cops.   Of this I'm sure.  Some bullyed kids grow up and become cops so they can become bullies.