Beat Me, Beat Me

 Marilyn Manson. I was never a fan. I found the guy articulate. Intelligent. But edgy? Dangerous? Controversial? Exciting? Only if you grew up in the suburbs. Or were Christian. His whole act seemed just like shock theatre aimed at a very specific audience. He did it well. It worked. But it was hardly shocking to anyone who was paying attention.

Now it is all kind of falling apart. Accusation after accusation is coming out. The tall, decidedly more bloated, shock star is being painted as an abuser of women and men. Television shows are dropping him. His manager and label have kicked him to the curb. It is all quite shocking in much the same way Manson was, which is to say not at all.

The allegations have been around for a quarter of a century. Some were mere hints. Others claims were more outright. In the era of #MeToo, though, it's harder to dismiss these claims, which Manson himself calls "horrible distortions of reality." This from a man who made it his job to horribly distort reality. It is as ironic as it is tragic.  

I'm not taking pleasure in Manson's downfall. He never mattered that much to me. His music was background and not a soundtrack to my life. I have plenty of friends who thought he was a genius . . . and maybe he is. A genius can still abuse women. If Einstein was putting cigarettes out on a girl's nipple, though, that would be surprising. The shit Manson has been accused of? Not surprising at all.

I will be the first to admit that Manson may be correct to say it is a horrible distortion of reality. That these accusations are baseless. After all, he is about the easiest target for these accusations. It's easy to paint him guilty without a trial and nobody would really care all that much. But . . . there's enough smoke to indicate fire. There are enough claims to take the accusations seriously. Was it a consensual relationship that now seems abusive, but was not at the time? Was it always abuse? Are the claims baseless? I don't know. 

Guilty or not, his career is done. The Manson people love and admire can be no more. Guilty or not, he is now on a defensive that he probably can't defend. At this point, the outs seem to be fade into obscurity or suicide. Hard to say which way he'll go. But I do know one thing. I won't care either way.