The media continue to perpetuate the myth that Manson’s only motivation was to start a race war. Actually, his brainwashed so-called family unknowingly served as a hit squad for organized crime figures that he had met in prison. Three decades later, Manson continues to be a symbol for the end of the 1960s. One thing is certain, though. Charlie was never a hippie. Recently, Variety, the bible of Show Biz, reported that prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi’s 1975 book about the Manson family, Helter Skelter, has been bought by, appropriately enough, Propaganda Films.

Paul Krassner, “Charlie Manson’s Image,” in Everything You Know is Wrong, edited by Russ Kick (86)