But yet, but yet, woe, woe unto those who think that the Beat Generation means crime, delinquency, immorality, amorality ... woe unto those who attack it on the grounds that they simply don't understand history and the yearning of human souls ... woe in fact unto those who make evil movies about the Beat Generation where innocent housewives are raped by beatniks! ... woe unto those who spit on the Beat Generation, the wind'll blow it back.
Jack KerouacItโs a sort of furtiveness โฆ Like we were a generation of furtive. You know, with an inner knowledge thereโs no use flaunting on that level, the level of the โpublicโ, a kind of beatness โ I mean, being right down to it, to ourselves, because we all really know where we are โ and a weariness with all the forms, all the conventions of the world โฆ Itโs something like that. So I guess you might say weโre a beat generation.
Jack Kerouac