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This is another book about Charlie Manson. My favorite was the one by Ed Sanders, which gave more information of the times and how 'normal' kids could have slipped into his clutches.
This was the first that I remember in which Charlie's early family were interviewed. His sister said that at the age of six he was conning little girls to gang up on little boys who Charlie did not like and when caught, he said the girls were operating independently. That tactic evidently worked for him all his life.
I saw the review this morning. I wish the author had covered more about Manson's childhood experiences and how they affected him, e.g. his uncle forcing him to wear a dress to school when he was in first grade as a punishment for crying. It does appear to explain why he was able to search out and find followers that he knew would buy into his "family" life. Will the real Charles Manson stand up? A new book retraces his steps. - latimes.com
I saw the review this morning. I wish the author had covered more about Manson's childhood experiences and how they affected him, e.g. his uncle forcing him to wear a dress to school when he was in first grade as a punishment for crying. It does appear to explain why he was able to search out and find followers that he knew would buy into his "family" life. Will the real Charles Manson stand up? A new book retraces his steps. - latimes.com
"You had to know how to pick out just the right girls, Charlie learned, the ones with self-image or Daddy problems who'd buy into come-ons from a smooth talker.... You wanted girls who were cracked but not broken. The trick was to make them love you and fear you at the same time."
I read the Bugliosi and Sanders books and maybe I'll get this one, as well.
Bugliosi gives little insights into the dynamics of the situation, mostly concentrating on the law and order aspect. Sanders gets more into the atmosphere and how the followers gradually got bent by Charlie.
I often think we would benefit as a society if we knew how these monsters evolved.
What is it about that ugly old monster-fart that STILL attracts some folks?
I'm not talking about biographers or anyone like that, but his "fans".
It's part of human nature. Humans get status by having all eyes on them -- no matter WHAT they are doing. People tend to assume that if someone has a book written about him that he is intrinsically more important than other people, more worth listening to, even if he's batsh!t insane. And a guy like Charlie is more than willing to feed into that. If you've killed a few people and you're photogenic, you automatically get a lifelong celebrity career with no talent, no skills and no real accomplishment. And other people who feel their prospects of success are no more promising than his want to learn the secrets of his success, and they write.
I am interested because he picked up a troop of kids who, outwardly, came from decent middle class homes and turned them into a cult that would follow his will, even to the extent of killing for him.
In Ed Sander's book he said that, while in jail, he picked up signals of the Masons and later got off when caught by flashing those signs to the judge (many of whom are Masons). He also studied Scientology and whatever he could find on mind control techniques, including the use of drugs early on by the US government.
He studied magic and I think there was an instance when, in court, he was staring at Buglioci and made the lawyer's watch stop.
He's really a nut case, but not stupid. Extremely dangerous. To his followers, at the time, he was a kind of god.
This was not just your ordinary serial killer or mass murderer who, like maybe Dexter, could not stop himself. This was an ultimate sort of control freak.
What is it about that ugly old monster-fart that STILL attracts some folks?
I'm not talking about biographers or anyone like that, but his "fans".
It's not that difficult to understand if you've ever heard him "rapping." He's one of those individuals who has an ability to confidently spit out a stream of BS that sounds profound if you are young and naive.
Neil Young described his ability to conjure about different lyrics on the fly to songs he had written as comparable to Dylan. It's not an accident that Young gave his name to a record company and Dennis Wilson and Guns n' Roses recorded a couple of his songs. The guy did have musical talent.
You combine his charisma with the musical ability, the chicks, the willingness to flout authority and you have someone that certain people, especially young people, are going to be attracted to.
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