NYROCK: For some right wingers you are a favorite whipping post and just as there are fanatic Manson fans, there are also fanatic Manson haters. It must be really confusing to be a most loved and most hated person at the same time....
MANSON:
I think different people perceive me in different ways. I get all sorts of reactions. Some like me; some hate me; some just want to be entertained; others try to interpret my art and some others are just looking for somebody they can hate and despise. I think it would be selfish and pretty arrogant to expect that everybody reacts the same way, or sees your art as you want it to be seen or perceive it yourself. I was always one that claimed that being an individual is the most important thing. How could I expect that people give up their individuality and see me the very same way? It wouldn't make any
sense.
You know, I take myself far less serious than most people believe.
NYROCK:
According to some, especially on the Net, you are sick, evil, twisted, a danger to society – well you get the idea. What really surprises me is that some claim you advocate murder, but when asked where or when, they draw a blank....
MANSON:
I'm not surprised at all. Funny enough, the wildest stories about me come from people without a clue, people who claim they don't need to hear my albums or talk to me to know what I'm all about. Do they fancy themselves mind-readers? There are so many horror stories around about what I do. It's truly amazing and to be honest, most of the stuff is too sick for me to think it up. Go figure. There are people accusing me that I'm sick, that I'm a danger to morals, western civilization and basically everything under the sun. And they've got these wild stories about me, completely off the wall, completely untrue. They thought them up and it makes you wonder what goes on in their brain, but of course, they don't consider themselves sick. They think they're normal because they don't dress like I do.
NYROCK:
Does it bother you that people criticize you so offhandedly, without even trying to listen or understand?
MANSON:
Everybody can criticize me. I'm in the public eye. I have to live with it, but it doesn't mean that I have to pay attention or even change anything about the way I live or what I do. I ask people for advice who know me, and I usually value their opinion or I wouldn't bother to ask them for advice.
If I ask anybody for advice, then I'll listen, but I don't listen to people walking up to me and offering me advice or trying to force their advice down my throat. Most of the time they don't even know me. To put it short and sweet, I don't accept unsolicited advice.
NYROCK:
You and Rose McGowan broke off your engagement a while back and it was all over the press and the gossip columns. I imagine it must be painful to see your private life discussed in public.
MANSON:
I have to live with it. It's simply not relevant if I like it or not, or if it is painful or not because it won't change anything. That's the price I have to pay. I made the decision to be who I am and now I have to bear the consequences and live with it. Once you are in the public eye, once you become a public person – a person known to the general public – there is a price to pay and you have to pay. If you're not prepared to pay up, don't do it.
NYROCK:
There is a lot of talk about George W. Bush and his ultra conservative politics. You're far from conservative, but when he was elected, you said something along the lines that it would suit you, since art develops better in a conservative and repressed environment. Now that he has been in office for a while, do you still agree? Is it worth the price?
MANSON:
From the perspective I have now, I can only say that it is quite a sacrifice. I see it as a sacrifice for the future. What happens now in America is some sort of groundwork. We do make experiences and learn to deal with repression, and hopefully we can pass our experiences on to the following generation and help them to avoid making the same mistakes. Maybe through being suppressed, people will unite and think about ways to stop the suppression. It might sound cruel, but without pressure a lot of things wouldn't have happened. Maybe – hopefully – it is a wakeup call. I always said that we have become too comfortable. Maybe that's the price we pay. I mentioned before that I think people forgot how to think for themselves. Maybe now they realize that they have to learn how to think again, accept responsibility and not simply believe everything the media or politicians tell them.
I'm not a politician, though my take on politics is simple: They'll tell you what they think you want to hear just to get elected. I always ignored American politics because I simply don't believe in what politicians say. I don't believe in their promises. I think they lie. All they want is to get elected. Think about why they do what they do. And think about why somebody wants to be president. It's the power, not the people they care for. Even in the music business or the film industry, there are far less lies than there are in politics.
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NYROCK:
Some critics claim you only have shock value. Do you like the shock value or does it just make it harder for you to top yourself?
MANSON:
It wouldn't be all bad if people would stop being shocked, if they'd stop running away once they see me and fear me, or break out in hysterics. I think if they could simply get used to the fact that I do look different, they might be able to take a look at what I really do and try to understand what I'm trying to say.
But I think it changed a bit for the better. If you look back at
Antichrist Superstar, during that time I was completely on my own, alone with the way I was, how I looked, what I had to say. Now, people seem to be more open about it. They seem to be prepared to listen and try to understand. I sometimes get the feeling that now they are more willing to get into controversial subjects, that they are more open about heavy, dark music and controversial, unsettling opinions and views.
I'm a very introspective person. Whenever I get a minute of peace and quiet, I sit and think about certain things that occupy my brain. When I write, I am very obsessive and I guess selfish. I only write for myself. If the audience or the public at large doesn't understand what I'm saying, it doesn't matter. I write it for myself. Maybe they'll understand it tomorrow or the day after. Maybe they'll never understand what I'm trying to say, but for me it's necessary to do it, to write it, to get it out.
I don't do things for shock value. I do things because I want to do them, sometimes because I think it's funny. A lot of people don't get my sense of humor, maybe because it is often a bit dark and cynical.
Sorry.
I daresay it almost has kitsch value now, since most parents have probably witnessed their Mansonite youngsters grow into primarily stable young adults...
He seems to have a good outlook in life even with negative attacks on him. 
(I'm still not a fan of his music) 
