With all the school shootings we are going to hear more in the media (books, etc.) about the origins of "Gunfighters."
But this angle to the Tate massacre has been completely overlooked, maybe because "knives" were also used. But then "knives" were used by the Indians. Anyone SEE where this is going?
Robert Hendrickson
P.S. "Death to Pigs and the MANSON DVDs are available at ExclusiveFilms.com - with a 10% discount IF this Blog is mentioned.
22 comments:
Robert,
I'm lost. Could you give me another clue?
Whut
If they went into the victims homes and just shot them, it probably wouldn't be so bizarre. I think that the fact that knives were used makes the murders creepier. The thought of teenage girls possibly coming into your home and stabbing you is really freaky. If they were using guns, not so much.
Possible scenarios: If Tex hadn't of had a gun, he wouldn't have gotten the upper hand against Jay or Frykowski. If Sharon had a gun, it wouldn't have helped, because she wouldn't have been able to get to it.
Knives are up-close and personal. Guns are not.
If Sharon had got to a gun she would have most likely handed it to Jay and things may have ended very differently.
Sharon wanted nothing to do with guns.
She was encouraged several times by a close "friend" to get a gun after she moved to cielo (because of the remoteness of the location) but she saw no reason to have one.
She probably wouldn't have needed one ever if it weren't for this flukey incident she ended up being involved in with these flukey people.
Guns are less personal than brutal knife attacks. The cops originally labeled the murders a drug hit because of the brutality. It wasn't just a kill - it was a MESSAGE.
By the way, doctors kill more people per year than guns do... But we never hear any chatter about banning doctors.
There was a gun at Cielo. Given to Roman after "Rosemary's Baby". Found in the master bedroom closet, IIRC.
Don't ask, don't tell.
Wojciech probably knew it was there but never had a chance to get to it.
After the murders, Doris Tate got a gun and said that no one would ever enter her home to hurt her family without a fight.
Gunfighter nation:
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-gunfighter-nation/#disqus_thread
This should make more sense.
Letter from Charlie to Tim Leary, 10/9/70:
"Guns are what people get killed with. Their fear is your strongest weapon. People who are afraid of dying carry guns because they are afraid to face death."
Now I have to put up a gun quote of my own, "...I missed his heart because, I use dick and don't know much about guns". Charles Manson
Robert,
Thanks for the url. I guess I'm a little thick. As near as I can tell you're telling us that we're going to hear more of the gun control debate.
To Orwhut:
I believe many thoughts can be derived and debated from the American "Gunfighter" Nation video, but for me, the fact that Ameica is a Nation built upon the GUN culture, strikes right to the heart of the Manson Gang's exploits. The fact that the GIRLS used knives and the men used guns is but a gender biased reality. BUT the girls were being taught how to use guns and of course some later (after the Tate massacre) DID use them. Squeaky actually made GIRLS with GUNS a woldwide visual reality and she didn't even get a shot off.
The program also explores the role of guns in the old West and WAR which really bares relevance to the Manson Gang. Just look at their HOME - a western town movie set and the time period - Vietnam War.
Richard Slotkin explores the cultural reality of America and guns, which is very relevant to todays "school shootings" except BANNING Guns to eliminate a significant part of America's history is not unlike BANNING "money" to get rid of Republicans.
America CREATED the atomic bomb and other sophistocated weapons- and NOW we want to BAN all other Nations, except our partners, from using them. Of, course, that makes sense to us, we have everything to gain and nothing to loose.
A GUN in hand makes even the small and weak nerdy kid EQUAL - hense the EQUALIZER
Only a woman has POWER over a man without a GUN and that ain't gonna change anytime soon.
The best we can do is BAN old John Wayne movies.
Robet,
Your explanation was really helpful.
Thankyou
Maybe if the victims lived in the "GUN culture" you speak of Robert H., instead of within the "DRUG culture", they'd still be amongst us.
To Spudnut:
EXACTLY, but IF Terry Melcher had, at least, warned the new tenents (why HE moved out) they would likely ALL still be alive.
NOTE: the "GUN culture" includes ALL of us. For those who do NOT have guns, THEY rely upon COPS do do their GUN bidding for them. The point being - GUNS are NOW a significant ingrident included in the all American Pie.
" The point being - GUNS are NOW a significant ingrident included in the all American Pie"
They always have been. This isn't something new.
I reject this idea that there is a "Gun Culture". I say we live in a "Lawn Mower Culture". Almost everybody on my street has a lawn. You can freely buy a lawn mower at almost every hardware store, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Sears. Hell....even Target will sell you one. There doing this with no age restrictions. They don't even check to see if you know how to responsibly care or handle a lawn mower.
Everywhere you look, they're pushing lawn mowers on us (and our children) without any discretion or concerns of the consequences. I can't even sit down with my kids on Saturday morning and watch cartoons with them. They always slip a Toro commercial (propaganda) in hoping to brainwash our children that it's OK to own a lawn mower. Get em' when they're young! Whether we like it or not, the Lawn Mower is now part of the American fabric!
On a serious note....I don't think Vietnam, John Wayne, Terry Melcher, President Johnson, Yosemite Sam, Wyatt Earp, or George Bush are responsible for Leslie shoving a knife into Rosemary's butt, nor Tex breaking the handle of the Buntline on Jay's skull, or Krenwinkle using a Buckknife as a meat tenderizer on Gibby.
Spud, last I checked the perps that slaughtered people en mass in schools, theaters, malls and other public places did not use lawn mowers.
I've always thought the TLB murders always made the argument for gun ownership. Knives were the main inanimate object chosen to slaughter people in mass with. Guns would of only equalized or given the victims the upper hand on the situation.
To quote RH, "A GUN in hand makes even the small and weak nerdy kid EQUAL".
A lot of knife poking can happen in the 4 or more minutes it takes the police to get to you to do the "GUN bidding" for you. This is after or if you are even able to call 911.
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
Spud, if Adam Lanza had entered a public building that you were in that day and you happened to have a say in what weapon he was carrying, I'm certain you would choose a knife over an AR-15.
I'll refer to my last comment.
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