Just because I don't look like the stereotypical Manson fan doesn't mean I can't appreciate his music. It just means that my peers think I'm a little nuts. No, I don't plaster my face in white clown makeup, pierce my body indiscriminately or wear black from head to toe. But the simple mention of Manson's name elicits reactions of shock, horror or nervous tittering. When I told a friend I was going to a Marilyn Manson concert, she recoiled in horror: "Ewwww! What if he bites a hamster's head off?" This is a typical response. Rumors spin around Manson and his band like bats around Dracula's castle, but most of them are unfounded, according to Manson. Reports that he surgically removed a rib in order to perform oral sex on himself, engages in bizarre sex acts onstage and tortures animals send "concerned parents" and conservative family values advocates into a tizzy.

Marilyn Manson in his own words: Click here to buy his autobiography, "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell," at BARNES & NOBLE

Right-wing Christian groups have picked up on the swirl of neo-existentialist, pop-satanic philosophy surrounding Manson and are using it to rail against him. They contend that he actually is the antichrist or even Satan himself. This theory is explained on the Christian Family Network Web page called The Truth About Marilyn Manson, where one can enter "against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." OK, let's look at this logically: Wouldn't the antichrist be a bit more subtle if he were out to warp our youth and poison our society? The malicious allegations on the American Family Association Web site have prompted Manson to sue the organization. Despite this and other protestations, the damage to Manson's image has been done. He even canceled the remaining dates on his U.S. tour earlier this month.

Manson has been a target since the release of his infamous "Antichrist Superstar" CD in 1996. In the wake of the shootings in Littleton, Colo., and Conyers, Ga., his image and his music are under even more scrutiny. In the May 31 Time, Manson is cited as one of the "cultural markers we've come to expect from our kid killers."

Examining what may be wrong with our educational system, family structure or teenagers is difficult. Blaming the rebellious verses in a song written by a ghoulish, somewhat androgynous and outlandish performer is easy. Marilyn Manson's deathly white face and provocative lyrics have him associated with any media-swarmed act of teen violence. The fact that he's an ordained reverend of the satanic movement only adds fuel to the fire. In his autobiography, "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell," Manson talks about his involvement with the movement:

It makes a lot more sense to follow the "Satanic Bible," written with 20th century humanity in mind, than a book that was written as a companion to a culture long since defunct. Who's to say that a hundred years from now, some idiot isn't going to find a Marilyn Manson T-shirt, nail it to a wall and decide to pray to it.

But Manson's brand of "Satanism" is really more a movement against sheep-herd mentality than a call for violence or self-destruction. He advocates a questioning of force-fed values and an embracing of a Nietzschean sense of inner God and individuality. He uses the word Satan freely to suggest our dark side, which as the polarity of his name suggests, he believes is part and parcel of our light side.

The balance between good and evil and the choices we make between them, are probably the single most important aspects shaping our personalities and humanity ... Marilyn Monroe had a dark side just as Charles Manson has a good, intelligent side.

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