| This is interesting to me because I'm currently reading a survivor's account of Jim Jones' People's Temple:
"It seems quite odd to me that the American people have immediately accepted the fact that one man can brainwash 900 human beings in a mass suicide but will not accept the fact that a ruthless group, the Symbionese Liberation Army, could brainwash a little girl by torture, degradation and confinement."
-- John Wayne
I think this says a lot more about the American public than either of the groups involved, and their willingness to absolve a rich white girl of responsibility versus 900 mostly poor minorities. I can't reach any conclusions because I know very little about the public response to either of these events, so I'm going to do some more research and then maybe write a comparison.
On a side note, I love that the Jonestown "Death Tape" is available online for downloading, unlike the SLA communiques. | comments: 9 comments or Leave a comment   |
| Well, I thought it was a link worth saving: SLA hated more than fascists!
I have been busy reading about the Weather Underground, the Jonestown Massacre, Ted Williams, and Whitey Bulger, but I will be back soon with lots of INSANELY INSIGHTFUL commentary on our favorite citizens of Symbionia. | | comments: 5 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | Rounders (the movie) | | Security: | | | Subject: | Sex Queen of the SLA | | Time: | 07:12 pm | | Current Mood: | amused |
|
| | I don't have time for a real update, but here's another funny link that demonstrates rather well the media obsession with the SLA. I'd watch it, except apparently it's mostly porn. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | Clash City Rockers // The Clash | | Security: | | | Subject: | T-shirt | | Time: | 05:27 pm | | Current Mood: | relaxed |
|
| | Well, I'm in a goofy mood, so here's a link that I thought was pretty amusing. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | Star Wars Trilogy Soundtrack [Disc 1] | | Security: | | | Subject: | "Guerrilla" Documentary | | Time: | 03:40 pm | | Current Mood: |  cold |
|
| So, the "Guerrilla" documentary aired two nights ago on PBS. I must say I was slightly disappointed; Robert Stone rarely went into details such as the claims that DeFreeze comitted suicide before the fire killed him. Nor did he mention the parking ticket left negligently in the Harris's abandoned van which led the police to the safehouse. However, the actual footage was truly staggering. Hearing the SLA members chanting in unison, 'Death the fascist insect...", watching the PIN mini-riots, analyzing first-hand Patty Hearst's halting speech -- all prove far more effective than the transcribed statements or descriptions. The filmmaker should be commended for his extensive search for this archive material.
The interviews with former SLA members Russ Little and Mike Bortin were, if not particularly insightful, at the very least quite intriguing. Little especially came across as fairly unlikable in my opinion, discussing the murder of Marcus Foster as though he played no role in it. The film was also shorter than I had anticipated. All in all, "Guerrilla" is definitely worth seeing, but don't expect a huge amount of detail or analysis.
And even if it had sucked, it would have been worth watching anyways just to find out how the hell you pronounce Cinque, because I couldn't figure it out until now.
Links:
The official movie site
Reviews
PBS "American Experience" site
| | comments: 7 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | Bridge Over Troubled Water - S&G | | Security: | | | Subject: | "Guerrilla" PBS | | Time: | 04:15 pm | | Current Mood: |  tired |
|
| For an introduction to the SLA and Patty Hearst, the PBS site for the new documentary "Guerilla" has photographs, book excerpts, analysis, and more. I found the interview with the filmmaker, Robert Stone, particularly interesting, with some favorite quotes including:
"Most people abhor ambiguity because you have to really inform yourself and struggle to make sense of things from a variety of perspectives. Political extremism, however you want to define it, is seductive because its prerequisite is the absence of doubt."
"... In a weird way I can sympathize with a lot of what the S.L.A. tried to articulate about our materialistic society and consumer culture. But it was framed in such over-the-top paranoid crazy rhetoric, and hammered home through such idiotic acts of violence, that they undermined any real message they might have had. Through force of arms and a great deal of flamboyance and political savvy, they captured the attention of the world, and then had absolutely nothing to say."
| | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| The Voices of Guns, by Paul Avery and Vin McLellan, is currently selling on ebay. This first edition copy is signed by Paul Avery and inscribed to Charles Bates, leader of the San Fransicso FBI search for Patty Hearst.
| | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | Suzanne Vega | | Security: | | | Subject: | KPFA | | Time: | 09:49 pm | | Current Mood: | tired |
|
| The first of Patty Hearst's recorded statements and several SLA documents were delivered to the left-wing Berkely radio station KPFA (94.1 FM) in February of 1974. Will Lewis, KPFA manager, was jailed for refusing to turn over the tapes to the FBI.
(From Every Secret Thing, by Patricia Campbell Hearst, and the history section of kpfa.org)
| | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | America - Simon & Garfunkel | | Security: | | | Subject: | Safe Houses | | Time: | 07:54 pm | | Current Mood: | sick |
|
| SLA safe houses:
- 1721 W Street. The primary headquarters. Now an apartment.
- 914 T St, upstairs, apt. #4. Safe house used following Opsahl's shooting.
- 2728 Capitol #6, Sutter Apartments. Now above the frat boy Monkey Bar.
(from nokilli.com.)
| | comments: Leave a comment |
| |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=88.8){kind=small}
freesymbionia's journal
lazy