How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Billy had been trying to avoid a certain thought, a realization born of his recent immersion in the swirl of limos, luxury hotels, fawning VIPs; he knew intuitively the thought would bring him down and so it did, mushrooming into awareness despite all best efforts. Mr. Whaley was small-time. He wasn't rich, he wasn't particularly successful or smart, he even exuded a sad sort of desperate shabbiness. Mr. Whaley will return to the forefront of Billy's mind on Thanksgiving Day as he hobs and nobs at the Cowboys game with some of Texas's wealthiest citizens. The Mr. Whaleys of the world are peons to them, just as Billy is a peon in the world of Mr. Whaley, which in the grand scheme of things means that he, Billy, is somewhere on the level of a one-celled protozoan in a vast river flowing into the untold depths of the sea. (Bully.122)
Ouch. Finding out that your place in the world is the equivalent of something smaller than a speck of dust is way harsh, Tai. But in reality, is Billy that insubstantial? Is money the determining factor for a human being's value? For some people, it certainly seems to be, but that doesn't mean those people are right.
Quote #2
Billy is thinking if you took every person he's ever known in his life and added up the sum total of their wealth, this presumably grand number would still pale in comparison to the stupendous net worth of Norman Oglesby, or "Norm" as he's known to the media, friends, colleagues, legions of Cowboys fans, and the even mightier legions of Cowboys haters who for whatever reason—his smug, kiss-my-ass arrogance, say, or his flaunting of the whole America's Team shtick, or his willingness to whore out the Cowboys brand to everything from toasters to tulip bulbs—despise the man's guts even as they're forced to admit his genius for turning serious bucks. Norm. The Normster. Nahm. (All Americans.1)
As Billy points out, it's strange that Americans will respect someone with tons of money, just for having tons of money, even if he or she is clearly a bad person. There may be something in this of the Calvinist idea that money is a sign of God's favor, so the more money you have, the better you are. But most people just kind of accept this idea without really knowing where it comes from; there's just kind of this myth that money should get you respect. Billy is starting to see through all of that.
Quote #3
But they are different, these Americans. They are the ballers. They dress well, they practice the most advanced hygienes, they are conversant in the world of complex investments and fairly hum with the pleasures of good living—gourmet meals, fine wines, skill at games and sports, a working knowledge of the capitals of Europe. If they aren't quite as flawlessly handsome as models or movie actors, they certainly possess the vitality and style of, say, the people in a Viagra advertisement. Special time with Bravo is just one of the multitude of pleasures available to them, and thinking about it makes Billy somewhat bitter. It's not that he's jealous so much as profoundly terrified. Dread of returning to Iraq equals the direst poverty, and that's how he feels right now, poor, like a shabby homeless kid suddenly thrust into the company of millionaires. Mortal fear is the ghetto of the human soul, to be free of it something like the psychic equivalent of inheriting a hundred million dollars. This is what he truly envies of these people, the luxury of terror as a talking point, and at this moment he feels so sorry for himself that he could break right down and cry. (All Americans.30)
Rich people do seem to live in some kind of #blessed alternate reality. Think of those reality shows about people losing their minds over a botched facelift, or think of the fact that almost every woman on those shows has incredibly skinny upper arms. (Do rich people not have to lift things?) On the other hand, there's poor Billy. Literally. He's about to go back to a place where you have to poop in a hole and worry about whether or not someone's going to blow you up while you're at it. Those rich people have no idea what fear and hardship mean.