"We are what you made us"

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme


Nancy Laura Pitman


Nancy Laura Pitman & Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme

I'm not sure when and why this video was made. Here Manson family members Nancy Laura Pitman speaks with Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme sitting next to her.

Here Pitman says "we are what you made us". She blames violence on TV for her criminal acts. While I agree that violence in the media has an impact on people today, I am not buying her excuse.

Pitman goes on to say, "What's the big deal? Five or six people get killed and uh..you all freak out and put it on us and uh..we're just reflecting you back on yourselves."

If this woman has enough insight to know that violence in the media can potentially have a negative and influential impact on others...doesn't it seem odd that she would continue to rely on that fact as the reasoning behind murder?

It seems that her articulation explains that she is insightful enough to know the difference between good and bad, right and wrong. "The TV made me do it", is a ridiculous excuse. "The devil made me do it", "my mom made me do it", "the pope made me do it". It's a cop out.

In their twisted thinking perhaps Manson followers felt that they were teaching others a lesson by putting the same violence onto others that they felt was forced on them. However, if that truly is the case, their acts of violence are forced "karma" and contradicts their point that violence is a bad thing. It's the simple "two wrongs don't make a right" adage.

These women and the other Manson followers all had the power and ability to make choices. They chose hurt others. Due to the fact that their criminal acts were influenced by Charles Manson, it makes sense that this little defense speech in the video is also rhetoric that they assume Manson would want them to spew. It seems to me that these people were longing for independence and a place to belong as well. They found a leader in Manson and as a result it seems that they were not independent at all but rather content to give up their individualistic thoughts, behavior, and desires for ones that would please Manson.

I think that "We are what you made us" is a common and shallow and scewed piece of logic. It would be easy to use this line for anything and everything. Where does responsibility come into play?