Tales From The Bud - Charles Manson Interview

By far the most infamous serial cult leader of our time, Charles Manson's penchant for leadership is due in part to his persuasive, outrageous and street smart character. In the video, interviewer Heidi Schulman gets to the heart of who Manson believes himself to be and his justification for the crimes he believes he didn't commit. Amidst a barrage of incredibly outrageous claims and obscenities, the 2:23 mark pretty much sums up the obscene yet cartoonish worldview that defines Manson. He says, "if I wanted to kill somebody, I'd take this book and beat you to death with it. And I wouldn't feel a thing. It'd be just like walking to the drug store." His self-proclaimed lack of emotion and human sympathy is both astonishing and frightening. But it's perhaps his frankness and bleak unapologetic view of human nature that's somehow managed to captivated and manipulate a cult following. Manson's closing line does seem somehow genuine, and may have been intended to gain sympathy from his audience. He declares, "I've been with prostitutes and bums and winos all my life. The street is my world. I don't pretend to go uptown and be anything fancy. I can, but I find more real in the world that I'm in than I do the tinsel, and the real world is the one I have to deal with everyday." A peculiarly heartfelt declaration from a man with no heart.