Sorority sisters’ complaint
The lead story in the Daily Iowan (campus newspaper) today:
Sororities say they were duped by man posing as self-defense instructor
Hundreds of sorority members showed up to presentations this year expecting to learn self-defense from an accredited instructor.
But the man – who called himself David Portnoy to some and David Parker to others – was a fraud.
Portnoy…Portnoy…unusual name, no? Does it remind you of anything?
Say, Philip Roth’s classic novel Portnoy’s Complaint? The title of which has come to mean “a disorder in which strongly-felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse nature…” (Wikipedia)
Luckily, it looks like the guy was more of a financial opportunist than a true creepo, as he seems to have just been trying to sell pepperspray under the false auspices of a self-defense organization. Still, I guess none of the sorority members was an English major.
“Warring” seems a bit strong for what was going on with this guy, but it’s a fun bit of literary reference. I wonder if something like the literacy of the local crooks should be considered by UNESCO in the future?