TCN's reference to Access Manson and any linked information should not be seen as an endorsement of Charles Manson or his viewpoints. Neither is it a critique. TCN links you to the information for you to review so that you can mould your own informed opinion instead of relying on the version of the Charles Manson story that you may have heard from the mainstream media, or from the book Helter Skelter authored by the Crown Prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi. There is information posted at various URLs for readers to make of it whatever you will.

It is interesting to note that Charles Manson who claims to be "God to his friends and the Devil to his enemies" is becoming more popular than ever among the disillusioned kids of North America in the 21st Century. It is likewise interesting to remember that Charles Manson, a kid of the 1940's was popular with the youth in the 1960's on an unparallelled scale.

Richard Metzger, Creative Director of Disinformation <www.disinfo.com> interviews George Stimson, Webmaster of Access Manson <www.atwa.com> on November 30, 2000. Access Manson is a website dedicated to Charles Manson, though he does not participate in the production of the website.

The purpose of Access Manson is to begin to lift the shroud of lies and distortions that have been used for thirty years by self-serving individuals, the mass media, and certain California state departments and offices to cover the reality that is Charles Manson. The purpose is also to begin the process of correcting the wrong done to Charles Manson by the denial of his constitutional right to defend himself during his trials, a denial that resulted in his illegal convictions and incarceration.

Richard Metzger (RM) : What is your purpose in putting Access Manson on the World Wide Web in the first place and when did the site go up?

George Stimson (GS) : Access Manson went on-line on January 26, 1996, the 25th anniversary of Manson's illegal conviction for murder. The purpose of the site is stated on the home page, to tell the world the truth about Charles Manson and to get him his rights by showing how those rights were taken. This has not been possible through over 25 years of dealing with the mainstream media. They are only interested in presenting the same old story that still sells so well. Only through the technology of the World Wide Web, and by our ability to use that technology to put out exactly what we want, can we achieve our purposes.

RM: Tell me about how your own interest in Charles Manson began . . .

GS: I began getting interested in his case after Lynette Fromme went to see President Gerald Ford in 1975 [Ms. Fromme (an alleged member of Manson's "Family") tried to assassinate Ford.]. I was reading a lot of true crime at the time, and so naturally I wanted to know about the "Manson Case". I started by reading the DA's book [Helter Skelter], then Ed Sanders' [The Family], Atkins' [Child of Satan, Child of God], Watson's [Will You Die For Me?], etc. etc. The more I read the less sense the "official" version made to me. It made me curious. Why would all these people want to lie about Manson?

RM: How were they lying?

GS: They lied about the motive for the murders, they lied about Manson's influence over his friends, they lied about events that occurred. Why did they lie? The DA lied to win a case, write a book, and launch a political career. Some of Manson's former associates lied to mitigate their own responsiblity for the events of August, 1969.

RM: How did you go about contacting him?

GS: I had written him two letters over the years that I did not really expect him to answer, and he didn't. Then I met some people who regularly corresponded with him and they enclosed one of my letters with theirs, sort of like a personal introduction. He responded and we began corresponding fairly regularly after that.

RM: When did you decide that you wanted to meet the man?

GS: I hadn't really considered meeting him until Sandra Good [Ms. Good is an alleged former member of Manson's "Family"] suggested that I begin visiting him. After trying to study the man for over fifteen years it seemed like a logical progression to meet him.

RM: What was your first meeting with him like? Were you nervous?

GS: I was anxious, but that was mostly due to the maximum security setting. Manson put me at ease pretty quickly. I've never been nervous around him.

RM: What's Charles Manson really like?

GS: Well, I've only seen Charlie in the visiting room at Corcoran, so I only know what he is like in that situation. He's a convict, that's for sure. But he's also so much more than that. If I said he was like the universe, that might be too general. I get along with him very well.

RM: What kinds of subjects do you and he bullshit about, anyway?

GS: We talk about current events, things we've done, things we are doing, things we want to do. We talk about what's going on in our lives, about people we both know. We talk about the moment. We play a lot of cards, and chess.

RM: What has the public's reaction been so far? Do you get a lot of fan mail or is it just hate mail?

GS: Reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, like 90%. And little of the negative mail has showed much mind beyond just saying we're crazy. Positive responses have ranged from many-paged messages expressing empathy and a willingness to help, to messages that simply say "thank you".

RM: What sort of people are sending these letters? Is it mostly kids?

GS: A lot of different kinds of people from different walks of life have contacted us. We've heard from students, lawyers, blue collar people, people who are still affected by the counter culture, all kinds. And yes, we hear from a lot of young people, many who are not familiar with Manson and his case from their own memory of the time. Kids are fine. The people who were with Manson in 1969 were mostly kids.

RM: What sort of help do they offer? Working on the site? Monetary support? Forming a guerrilla army to bust him out of prison?

GS: Mostly they offer to do "anything I can". We've had a few offer to help with the site. We have several projects in the works right now, and if these projects go where we want them to we will have plenty of things for people to do. We're keeping a list of the people who have offered to help, and when the time comes we will be getting in touch with them.

Richard Metzger is the Creative Director of Disinformation.

Lynette Fromme & Sandra Good Tell Another Side of the Charles Manson Story at this URL: www.atwa.com/red&blue.htm