So I missed this earlier during our discussion of hard-up coke dealers cold-calling clients, but apparently the fact that one guy's friends and colleagues aren't buying drugs anymore because either they're unemployed and can't afford to do so or because those with jobs are being slightly more cautious and not blowing rails in the bathroom at work means everyone's a grown-up now, and has come to the conclusion that illegal substances = bad (blowing guys down at the Port Authority for a bump bad).
Damien, 27, who quit doing coke almost two years ago, has been contacted by three different cocaine dealers, all wanting his business, since June. "None of my friends mess with that anymore," Damien says, "It's like they grew up overnight when the banks died."
Do you note the proselytizing tone of voice here? The whole labeling of coke as "that stuff," i.e. that evil stuff that'll ruin your life if you don't quit it? There's obviously a negative connotation thing happening, and I don't think Damien's friends put that spin on it, I think he did. Factor in the detail that Damien quit two years ago way before "the banks died," and has been waiting been waiting for something like the fall of Western civilization to get his druggie off the yayo and over to his way of life and I think you'll be able to see what I'm getting at. I'm not entirely clear what it is but it has something to do with propaganda, and Damien being a prick and stuff like that.
