Manson: Vote For Me For Invitational

Posted on December 25, 2007
Filed Under Articles, Flashbacks, Staff |

manson-34.jpgOriginally ran on MiseTings, Sept. 4, 2002

CORCORAN STATE PRISON, Calif. — Promising plenty of “mischievous, irreverent antics” were he to win, incarcerated serial murderer Charles Manson made an appeal to the Magic community and began asking Wednesday if people would please vote for him to participate in the Magic Invitational tournament this year.

“I’m the bad boy of Magic!” Manson said.

Manson, now 67, is known for his role as a cultlike leader of “The Family” in the grisly and notorious slayings of Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring and others in 1969. He is currently incarcerated for life and has been repeatedly denied parole, and said he will play Tinker after the November rotation.

“Whether I’m trash-talking before a match, ribbing an opponent who has made a mistake, or threatening to plunge a bayonet into the neck of a judge and scrawl Beatles lyrics on the walls with his blood, I am exactly the sort of brash, arrogant, antiauthority maverick that Magic needs right now,” Manson said in a widely distributed e-mail.

“I’m in your face and don’t care what you think. That’s why I’m asking for your vote,” Manson said.

Supporters and fans said that flamboyant figures like Manson are good for the game and provide exciting match details for Internet journalists.

“Charlie is cool. Maybe not everyone likes him, but that’s exactly what makes him so much fun to watch,” said Manson fan and former cult member Leslie Van Houten, who is serving a life sentence in the California Institution for Women, Frontera, and whom prosecutors said participated in the legendary slayings by stabbing Rosemary LaBianca 14 to 16 times.

“You just never know what Charlie will do next, and that’s the sort of thing that draws spectators to pro tours and events like the Invitational,” Van Houten said. “Maybe he’ll say something funny to an opponent, or kill someone.”

“I mean, Charlie don’t surf. You know?” she asked.

Manson said that most professional Magic players are boring.

“People don’t want to see the good guy,” Manson said. “They want to see the bad boy. And that’s me! You just never know what I’m going to say, or even what I’m going to wear. I will challenge your conventions, shake your foundations and all the while win your heart with my rebellious brand of whimsical insouciance.”

The voting for the Invitational ended Thursday, shortly after Manson began making his plea. It’s unclear whether Manson received any votes.

“You know, I used to talk a lot about revolution back in the 60s and 70s. But if you say you want a revolution, wait until you see my revolutionary Ponza sideboard. It’s amazing!” Manson had said in the e-mail.

“Also, I promise to write a really cool tournament report, with poetry, song lyrics and everything,” he said. “Please, won’t you vote for me?”

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