Today in Presidential History: Family Edition

 

 

12.17.1975: Squeaky Fromme sentenced for an assassination attempt on President Ford.

Of course, Fromme was a member of the infamous “Manson family”.  Her attempt was the first of two (the second by Sara Jane Moore, another former Manson family member). 

I’m surprised how little academics have written on the Manson family.  One paper stands out, though.  In “The Manson Family: The Folklore Traditions of a Small Group“, Gary Fine argues that every group engaging in a “meaningful interaction” will develop its own “idioculture” – its own folklore. They traditionalize things to construct shared meanings.  

Fine  goes on to document all the different sources Manson drew from to construct the family’s idioculture:

In prison Manson became aware of such diverse sources of cultural knowledge as pimping, magic, warlockry, Masonic lore, the Bible, the Beatles’ lyrics, scientology, ego games (he borrowed from Berne’s Games People Play), and science fiction (notably Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land).

Fascinating throughout.

[BTW, I was a bit creeped out by the existence of a “Helter Skelter” coaster, until I learned it’s a traditional name for a fairground ride.]