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Such as?Some people face really intense physical stuff. People with MS, arthritis -- they're on pain meds just to get out of bed. The other night, there was a girl who said 'I always go to your shows. I never have the courage to talk to you, but my body's in so much pain right now, screw it! I'm gonna meet you!' She said 'Usually, I'm on my back for days at a time because I have this condition, but when you come to town, I take my pain meds and I tough it out and I sit in a chair, which is very painful. And right now, I'm standing and I'm wracked with pain...' Some security guy ran over and said 'Can we get you a chair?' And she said 'No. If Henry Rollins is standing then I'm gonna stand.' We talked for a while and I eventually said goodnight. But it's an honor to meet these people. They're better than I am.
When someone after the show says 'Thank you. You gave me the courage to come out to my parents,' what do you say to that guy? 'C'mon fella, wrap it up! I've gotta go'? This guy has taken his guard down and he's giving you his jaw -- punch it, slap it or befriend it. I will not betray that level of trust and vulnerability. I will respect it. I will protect it. I will honor it. I take this really, really frickin' seriously. This is a big damn deal to me.
For someone who's not a people person, that's a lot of people...One of the most problematic things for me is having a guestlist. You meet all those people, then someone goes 'Let's go out for dinner!' Are you kidding? I am so done. I'm done with humans. I only want to hear them now from phonographic records or read about them in books. Both of those mediums I can turn off. So, say, on a day off, like the day before yesterday, I worked out, I did my laundry, I ate my food, and I sat in a Starbucks until it closed and just drank coffee and wrote. That was a great night off! People will say "It's Thanksgiving! Come to our house!" and I think 'Hmm.. I just don't wanna...'
-- @Raemondjjjj
