What do you think about Charles Manson?

[MrAnarchy]

I think that he is very interesting to say the least. I found out about him about a year ago and since then I've taken interest in him. Watched and read his interviews... Personally, think he is innocent. I dont see him as a leader of any cult nor was there any. He was just a charismatic hobo who played the guitar at a ranch and people flocked to him and girls loved him and then some guys did the crime by their own decision. I dont think he propageted this "Helter Skelter" bullshit at all. He didnt have a defense attorney and was declared guilty by Nixon on then news. I mean come on! Even if he did commit the crime of instructing a murder, maximum penalty is 16 years. He is obviously a political prisoner since he is still in jail. Aside from my speculation about his innocence, I think that he is very smart and intelligent. He has a lot of interesting things to say and I enjoyed watching him talk.

 

"Prison is in your mind. Can't you see I'm free?"

[Blair Thaumic]

"Come down off your spaceship, Charles"

 

I think he was a crank. Occasionally an interesting crank, but a lot of dictators and cult leaders could be called interesting cranks too.

 

I have a lot more sympathy for Sharon Tate who was killed by the Manson followers. And Roman Polanski, who had to lose his family once to the Nazis and again to the Manson family.

 

(It's another topic, but I don't condemn Polanski, because I can't imagine living through all that he did and not having some lasting psychological damage. He's also directed some of the most implicitly feminist movies ever made, which doesn't excuse his raping a girl but suggests that at least part of him knows better.)

Edited February 20, 2016 by Earwall

[MrAnarchy]

And Roman Polanski, who had to lose his family once to the Nazis and again to Manson.

Not to Manson, but Tex Watson and the others. There is literally no proof that he ordered those murders or that he led a cult. "Innocent until proven guilty." law obviously doesn't apply here.

Another convinient thing here is the fall of the hippie movement to which this story contributed. What better way to warp the image of hippies to the common folk than to present them as cultists and murderers?

Some of them were obviously but that is a huge minority and I dont think Manson had anything to do with it.

To me its kind off obvious that it was a set up.

 

I actually understand everything he is trying to say so I wouldn't call him a lunatic.

 

Murder is an awful thing. Of course I'm not gonna talk like I'm 100% sure about this but it simply is my speculation and opinion.

[Blair Thaumic]

Edited.

 

You might be interested in the books 'Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream' by Jay Stevens, and 'Weird Scenes Inside The Canyon' by David McGowan. Not about Manson specifically, but they go into the "dark side" of hippie culture and the hippie's relationship with government and intel agencies.