"Jeanny" obsesses me as the immediate power of the statement against violence upon women is savagely beautiful and the genius of that creation was courageous and inspired. He was assailed and banned all over Europe.
The story of Jack Unterweger, the serial killer upon whom the song is ostensibly based, takes the power of the symbol to another level.
Unterweger murdered a girl when he was young and went to prison in Austria for fifteen years. There he grew from an uneducated murderer to a polished and accomplished writer. He had published from prison to substantial acclaim and eventually emerged from prison into celebrity society, living large with the rich and famous. He also emerged from prison a determined psychopath and every part of what he had done thus far was part of his plan. He murdered again within four months and killed about fifteen before he was caught.
The charismatic power to beguile is the extended view as this guy was a known murderer yet he appeared on television and the public loved him. He was very bright, charming, and just one happening conversationalist. Everyone wanted to know Jack Unterweger.
That charismatic power can be used on a state level we've seen most dramatically from Hitler but there's a Pollyanna view that he was rare. That there is so much violence in the world makes no sense when I've never met anyone anywhere who looked forward to violence unless it was sexually-deprived young men looking for fights on a Friday night. Maybe on a lower level there's the enjoyment in watching a boxing match but that also comes with the self-hatred because you enjoyed it.
Eliciting behavior such as getting to your feet to punch someone you don't know in the face will be difficult (unless provoked by a drunken asshat) as it is not something anyone really wants to do ... without substantial charismatic influence. How do you know the charisma is not coming from someone equally psychopathic with Unterweger.
Assuming any leader has the same goodness in his heart as you is more than a little naive.
The story of Jack Unterweger, the serial killer upon whom the song is ostensibly based, takes the power of the symbol to another level.
Unterweger murdered a girl when he was young and went to prison in Austria for fifteen years. There he grew from an uneducated murderer to a polished and accomplished writer. He had published from prison to substantial acclaim and eventually emerged from prison into celebrity society, living large with the rich and famous. He also emerged from prison a determined psychopath and every part of what he had done thus far was part of his plan. He murdered again within four months and killed about fifteen before he was caught.
The charismatic power to beguile is the extended view as this guy was a known murderer yet he appeared on television and the public loved him. He was very bright, charming, and just one happening conversationalist. Everyone wanted to know Jack Unterweger.
That charismatic power can be used on a state level we've seen most dramatically from Hitler but there's a Pollyanna view that he was rare. That there is so much violence in the world makes no sense when I've never met anyone anywhere who looked forward to violence unless it was sexually-deprived young men looking for fights on a Friday night. Maybe on a lower level there's the enjoyment in watching a boxing match but that also comes with the self-hatred because you enjoyed it.
Eliciting behavior such as getting to your feet to punch someone you don't know in the face will be difficult (unless provoked by a drunken asshat) as it is not something anyone really wants to do ... without substantial charismatic influence. How do you know the charisma is not coming from someone equally psychopathic with Unterweger.
Assuming any leader has the same goodness in his heart as you is more than a little naive.
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