Photo: MansonDirect.com
I remember my “Fiction into Film” course very well. I was a junior in college—hustling and bustling to get my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in English Language and Literature—when I was assigned to read Helter Skelter. This book, which recounted the murders of actress Sharon Tate, wife of director Roman Polanski, and four other victims who were visiting her Los Angeles estate, was one of my most memorable reads. The gross imagery of these murders, along with the word “PIG” written on the wall, awakened me to a world in which people like this do things like that. It’s one of the most profound stories of violence of its kind.
News outlets all over the United States are reporting that Charles Manson, the 80-year-old man responsible for the crimes outlined in the book, has obtained a marriage license and is hopeful to marry 26-year-old Afton “Star” Burton. Manson will be walking down the aisle—swastika tattoo on his forehead and all—long before my LGBTQ brothers and sisters in certain states ever will. This is almost as insane as Mr. Manson himself.
One can only hope that this newfound media coverage will awaken people to a new kind of violence against humanity: the prospect that this marriage is more legal and binding than the marriage of LGBTQ couples in 17 states, including South Carolina, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana. The irony of this situation simply cannot be lost on anyone, let alone our policy makers.
But what’s almost more alarming than the prospective marriage itself is the comments on countless social media blogs and posts from everyday American people. It seems as though middle class America is still just as racially and sexually divided today as it was in the 1960s, when Manson first committed his crimes. Some of my favorite quotes from these “law-abiding” citizens include “Why are you talking about gay marriage? That’s gross,” and “no wonder, she’s white.” Freedom of speech at its finest.
People are wondering, “What kind of woman marries a man like this? She’s 54 years his junior.” She can’t be mentally stable.
Well, I’m not going to attack her race, her age, or her motives. This might actually be one of the most successful long distance marriages of its kind. Who am I to judge?
After all, marriage is marriage, and if two people love each other, then who are we to stand in the way of love and the union of two souls, however tainted they may be? My only hope is that lawmakers across our country can come to the same rational, respectful conclusion.
