The community also indirectly was responsible for the assassination of President James Garfield. A former member of the Oneida community, Charles Guiteau, left the community, one suspects because, while the community may have been polyamorous, they weren’t necessarily interested in being amorous with him. Guiteau later shot Garfield because he believed he was owed the ambassadorship of France.
Came looking for this, leaving satisfied.
That’s an interesting anecdote that manages to blame a murder on the people who didn’t want to fuck the murderer.
Also more or less the premise of Stranger in a Strange Land.
Well, true, it might be a bit unfair. Although it does kind of point out a problem with free-love idealism – not everybody is equally attractive. Although it was clear that Guiteau was mentally ill besides not being physically attractive.
According to Sarah Vowell’s account from Assassination Vacation one of the factors that led to the downfall of this social experiment is, to put it bluntly, the old folks were bogarting all the nubile young hotties. This was rationalized as a birth control measure since more “experienced” men had enough self-control to practice the withdrawal method and post-menopausal women wouldn’t have to worry about getting pregnant from one of their boy toys.
Huh. No idea about this… I am not sure I can not feel dirty putting one of their utensils in my mouth from now on.
I totally grokked that comment.
the sex was a byproduct of personal liberation that came from learning martian language. All the power came from learning the language, which the reader is meant to infer changes the human mind somehow.
Heinlein’s premise regarding sex is that everyone is already horny, but fear keeps them from expressing this. Becoming superpowered through Martian language allows people to lose the fear and thus they are open to all kinds of freaky sex.
Yeah yeah, I know how sex cults work. Just point the way to the orgasmatorium.
no, it only points out your misunderstanding of a free-love idealism. Very few free love advocates disregard all the things that make one normally an attractive sexual partner.
You’re confusing the argument of “You shouldn’t feel bad about sex” for “We will fuck anyone.”
Pretty sure the reason why people join free-love communities is that they think they’ll get some, though.
People attempting to do something because they misunderstand the premise is the responsibility of the cult?
I know I smoke a lot of weed, but are you on bath salts or are you fucking with me with this line of argument?
Pretty sure it blames the murder on the murderer, who at one point happened to think he was entitled to sex and was cheesed off that others disagreed.
I’m still not clear where the manufacturing flatware came in to all of this sex cult stuff.
All that spooning had to eventually lead to a fork.
People kill people because they’re fucked up, not because they don’t get fucked enough. I don’t get fucked enough, and I don’t go around killing people.
…it was clear that Guiteau was mentally ill…
A white murderer then?
So, basically the history department scooped the sociology department on the whole fair chores/more sex angle…
