SOCIAL COMMENTARY | CULT STORY | TRUE CRIME
I Could Have Been a Charles Manson Follower
Had I been born in a different time and space
The story of Charles Manson and his group of followers could have been my story if I were of my grandparents generation and lived in the United States. Well, until the murders and their aftermath. After that point, I no longer relate, and there are some key reasons why.
Many of the people in the Family, as Manson called his followers, were already prime candidates for committing murder before they ever met him. In the case of the Family, I think several of the girls bonded with Charlie because they shared similar attributes.
It begins as the typical cult story: emotionally broken young people being seduced by a smooth talking wannabe guru, lots of sex, and mind control. There are also ways where it deviates from a traditional cult story. Things that are fucked up that don’t fit the standard cult narrative.
We are all products of our environment and Charlie Manson was no different. What he and his followers did was take it to an extreme that people hadn’t really seen yet. People know that the story of the Family is different.
