INTERVIEW WITH LYNETTE FROMME

A 1987 INTERVIEW WITH LYNETTE FROMME Why did you try to escape from prison, and... if your escape had succeeded, what did you want to do? I didn't try - I escaped. I was headed West to take a female bull off Manson's back; a staff member who had set herself up as a roadblock between us. Our communications were diverted and she wouldn't permit him to call me. I've talked to him twice in 17 years. The calls are monitored. I've seen women in prison call however many husbands, boyfriends, or lesbian lovers they have in other prisons. One guy (in the last prison Manson was in) got out, had a sex change operation, married his in-prison lover and got conjugal visits. That was while we weren't allowed to talk. I didn't object to these peoples' relations AND AFTER TWENTY YEARS NO ONE SHOULD OBJECT TO MINE. So when I got word from three different sets of people who all said Manson had cancer, I knew I couldn't get straight info from his staff and had no choice but to go over the fence for it. Because your name is well-known, has it caused personal persecution by prison officials? No, not here. It's getting worse but this is "West-By-God-Virginia' and the original staff I've met had homes and farms. They for the most part had good intuition, full lives, and didn't need Hollywood for entertainment. At the California prisons where people follow each other an circles trying to be in the vanguard, Manson gets harrassed by staff people who think they'll be popular for it. Prisoners aren't blind to that. They may play on it, but they see it. One of the women employed there wrote in a report about one of Manson's visitors as "a follower", and you can see the bogus books in their brains, but - they don't realize they've been propagandized. It's useless to tell them in words. How can the prison system be improved? How can the social system be improved? It's a crime to smoke marijauna, a plant, but poisoning millions of people through toxic wastes is business as usual. How much will you give for the lives of your children's children, which is yourself? How much are people willing to give up for air, earth, water, animals, and the coming generations? I think the answer to that is pretty clear. In 1975, what was your reason for trying to assassinate President Ford? I pleaded "NOT GUILTY" to the charge of "attempted assassination of a President". There were 4 bullets in the handle of the gun - none in the chamber. Had I wanted to use a bullet, I would've jacked back the slide ‘til it clicked and pushed it forward, injecting one into its chamber. I moved spontaneously, as anytime feeling or intuition is strong, and I didn't choose to load the weapon. So - the plea was true. If Manson had anything to do with it, it is this - He asked the women around him to put the Earth before him to work for air, trees, water, animals (he calls it ATWA). He told me long ago that life on Earth does not begin with humans, but with all that keeps us alive. He said the Earth and its animals can survive without people. People cannot survive without it. Such a simple thing. You may say that everyone knows it; but humans behave now as if they can eat money and drink gasoline and oil. I had that and other pollutions on my mind when Ford flew into Sacramento for a big Business and Industry breakfast the following morning. I had tried for five years to meet the always changing requirements for visiting Manson and was to be permanently barred no matter. I had just seen the book written by the District Attorney in the Tate/LaBianca trials, and other books just an wrong. I was thinking of the day Manson first spoke to the judge about retaining his voice in court - his attitude; simple, sincere. I was at the back of the courtroom, which was silent, packed with reporters on the edges of the benches, craning to see and hear. I saw them all jump at the sound of the gavel and bow to the judge's voice which was terse and full of authoritative rebuke - "This is MY courtroom, Mr. Manson, And I make the rules here." He put an end to Manson's voice in the courtroom. Now - by Supreme Court rulings, all defendants have the right to represent themselves in court. Then - the lawyers showed nothing but chaos. The DA made mucho money. The movie confused a lot of kids. But, that's how the Society of Ladies keeps a man a little boy for her use. Surety and faith are God's. What, do you feel, is most misunderstood about Manson? One thing people don't understand is "now". Most minds think from A to B to G to 0, or hold goals and ambitions to keep them going. The prosecutor and other writers were highly ambitious, so they say that Manson aspired to be a singing star. That's foolish to anyone who saw him pass up, time after time, the chance to become one. The producers wanted him to come to the studios by himself. He got a bunch of unprofessional kazoo and spoon playing dropouts to go with him. He said, "What fun would it be without all of us together?" Those were different times. What people don't understand is that he wasn't looking for attention, which is part of one reason he got so much of it. We wanted to know what he had. Manson, though, seems to have been unsuccessful in getting his music properly recorded, and heard. With the 'right' promotions, how successful do you think he could have been as a songwriter/music artist? Regarding your first statement - He was successful within his own judgment but he was not willing to make the bargain required for financial success and that's the first and most important requirement before the industry is willing to handle an artist. Many musicians will say they do not care about the money yet they must commit themselves to appear at given times and places, and to produce what sells; whether they believe in it or not. It depends on contracts. Manson didn't want to be imprisoned by anything except.... there is one, maybe two words I could use to say what he was committed to, but I would leave that to him. Who's music do you listen to these days, and consider as the 'driving force' in music today? Money - That's always been the driving force in the industry. They put out what they can roll. The Beach Boys were owned and operated. Dennis didn't have pocket change at times. It wad said (not by him) that we were thrown out of his house. Not so. We were considered a threat by his investors because he kept saying he wanted to just leave the group awhile and go off into the woods. He asked us to wait for him but he didn't keep his word. He'd make three appointments at one time. When he did it to those of us in his house, we told him once. The second time, we split. A little bit of soul, in music, gets out and calls to the same in all of us. Then, the buyers and sellers dam and divert it to their ends - so, pretty soon what you are paying for is the asphalt on the road to hell. Who do you consider as the music artists that have been the most influential over the years, and why? Beethoven, Taliesin (the Merlin), and some whose names are lost. I could tell you what Manson told me about music but it's not for sale, and I would betray myself to do so. I don't even know who you are. On a superficial level, I could say those names you already know. He (Manson) grew up in the 30's with Hank Williams the first who was, he tells me - originally called 'Luke the Drifter', - Lefty Frizzel, Frankie Laine and he always mentions Bing Crosby. Charlie's got a fine voice with three or four comfortable octaves, but he generally only sings soft, beautiful songs in soft, beautiful places. He can sing "When They Begin The Beguine" going up three octaves on the guitar, and on my spine, but he doesn't like to sing old or over-used stuff that is not in now. What comments, or thoughts, would you like to convey in conclusion? Keep talking about moving toxic wastes, but never let it cross your mind to quit producing them.
Keep judging yourselves in Manson. Don't look in the mirror.
You will serve the Earth as much as she serves you, or you will commit suicide.