One thing I was curious about is the influence Manson has on people today. Before his death sentence could be carried out, California passed a law that does not allow the death penalty. Manson is still in jail today, and he still has many visitors, despite him having been on trial for murder. Even after 40 years, Charlie still has incredible influence on people. A follower of his told CNN that currently Manson’s goal, “is to basically save life on the planet Earth from the humans.” It’s disturbing to think that even after being convicted of murder Manson has a strong support group. Prosecutor Bugliosi’s oppinion is that “[Manson] has come to represent the dark and malignant side of humanity, for whatever reason, people are fascinated by pure, unalloyed evil.”
The Manson Murders’ Motive: Helter Skelter
Probably the craziest part of the whole book is the Charles Manson’s motive for killing seven random people. Through interviewing past Family members, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi was able to figure out just what Manson was trying to gain by killing.
Helter Skelter was Manson’s theory that the black man would rise up against the white man and take over the world. He believed that all white men would be killed except the ones hiding in the desert. Charlie planned to lead the Family in the desert where they would hide in a great bottomless pit that only the Native Americans knew about. The pit would be filled with gold and riches and would allow them to live there until the revolution was over. Once the Family had a population 144,000 (a number he got from the book of Revelations) they would be able to rise and take back the world from the black man who would then beg to become their slaves. Charlie (aka Jesus Christ) would then rule the world.
Manson’s conviction for his Armageddon theory came from a Beatles’ album titled the White Album. He claimed the Bible talks about the Beatles (four angels) being prophets. The singing group’s lyrics were telling the black man to “rise” against whites to start the revolution. Manson in fact got the term “Helter Skelter” from the Beatles’ song in which he thought the Beatles were describing the Family emerging from the bottomless pit.
Manson believed that the black man needed help starting the revolution. His serial killing plot was concocted to demonstrate to the black man how exactly to rise against the whites. Manson, as Jesus Christ, decided he needed to show the blacks exactly how to start Armageddon.
Why Would I Spend My Summer Reading About A Serial Killer?
Well I will tell you.
Over the summer I read the book Helter Skelter: The True Story of The Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi. I actually enjoy murder mysteries, and this non-fiction crime seemed really interesting. The book involves the investigation and trial of Charles Manson who was responsible for seven different counts of murder. In a slightly sickening twist, Manson was aided by his cult of followers called the Family, who, without a doubt, believed that Manson was Jesus Christ.
This led to the set up the slightly disturbing, rather gory, but extremely fascinating murder and trial case of Charles Manson, written by Manson’s prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi.
When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide, and I stop and I turn and then I go for a ride.
