What Mark David Chapman Took From Me
Published October 10, 2002
Mark David Chapman, murderer of John Lennon, was again denied parole, this time on what would have been Lennon's 62nd birthday. (See Eric Olsen's article on the subject.)
When an event happens that shapes your life, or plays a significant role in it, you tend to remember every little detail of the moment it happens. Twenty-one years ago last night. December 8, 1980. I was in my bedroom, lying on the bed with the headphones on, listening to WNEW. It was Jim Morrison's birthday, and the station was running a two hour special devoted to him. I was obsessed with Morrison at that time, and was taping the special I was listening. I know I was wearing an old Led Zeppelin t-shirt and sweat pants and I was writing a poem as I listened to the radio.
My room faced the front of the house, and the Christmas lights that hung from the roof glowed red and green and white over my bedroom window. There was a decoration hanging on the window; a big white star made out of plastic pieces melded together. The colors of the bulbs outside made the star look psychedelic. I had smoked enough pot that night to stare at the star for a length of time, imagining the colors blending into one another. My concentration would be broken every now and then by headlights beaming down the street, and I would run to the window and peer out. We were waiting for my cousin Michael, my favorite cousin, to arrive by car from Florida. I was anxious to see him and disappointed that each subsequent headlight did not belong to his car.
All the while, Jim Morrison's life story played out in the background, and I stopped looking down the street for my cousin at some point and started paying attention to the radio. I remember it was late, probably close to 11pm. I may have drifted off at some point and I was jolted fully awake by a shaky voice announcing that someone tentatively identified as John Lennon had been shot outside the Dakota apartment building in New York City. I waited, nearly numb, hoping for more news. Soon after, it was confirmed. I went inside to tell my parents, but they already knew. I think they announced it on Monday Night Football.
I was never much of a Beatles fan. But sometime in high school I went through a hippie phase and took a liking to John Lennon and his ideas. The fact that he spoke out for peace and died so violently was one of the first things that struck me when I heard the news.
- What Mark David Chapman Took From Me
- Published: October 10, 2002
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: News
- Writer: Michele Catalano
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i think we should kill the man it doesnt make sense to keep nuts like him alive
I hope and pray that Chapman dies a slow and painfull death-which he deserves and the sooner the better!
chapman is the scuzz of the earth and we should allow cruel and unusual punishment just for him...
that man should die a cruel death
"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together", but this time not -- let Chapman rot.
You all mean well, no doubt, but Chapman is still a human being. Like it or not, I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. C'est la vie. Goo goo g'joob. I suspect Lennon would say the same.
I'm glad parole was denied. I'll never forget that fateful night in 1980 either or the pain it caused and causes still. And though George was my fave Beatle, John was a close second.
I still remember the night Lennon died and it still hurts knowing that the person who did it is just a sick nut case that was jealous of him. Read the book "Let me take you down" and you might get a better understanding of how messed up this guy is and I hope he rots in hell for what he did!!!!!!!!!
Just the other night I watched american justice on AE about the murder of John Lennon. It made me sick to my stomach. Mark Chapman got 20 yrs to life for the murder. I really don't know how much more of a premedatative murder you can get! He told his wife he was going to kill John Lennon and I guess she just ignored the fact that he was being serious. I guess it's wrong for me to say, but Chapmans wife is a dumb bitch. Anyway John Lennon to me was more than just a rock star he was a roll model. God Bless John Lennon. You know Mark David Chapman was a nobody untill he killed the biggest somebody on earth. He will meet his maker soon enough!!!!!!!
Oo wee, Jason, I don't think you particularly want to hold John Lennon up as a "role model." I don't think he would have even wanted to be regarded as a role model. He was a pretty messed up dude. He was one of the greatest dozen or so singers and songwriters in the whole rock music tradition, but a lot of times he didn't act like he had sense to pound sand down a frickin' rat hole.
Which is not to say that he was not a fine fellow, but he didn't have half enough sense about him to take care even of himself half the time. Don't confuse musical ability with wisdom.
Al, I would modify that with the fact that he seemed to change quite a bit, mature and gain some perspective the last five years of his life when he was Mr. Mom. I think he was a different person when he came out on the other end of that, and that is part of the cosmic irony of his ridiculous, untimely death.
I'll give you that point, Eric. In the years after his death, I've taken comfort from thinking- largely on the basis of repeated listenings to Double Fantasy- that he went a long way toward straightening out his personal dysfunctions after Sean was born.
exactly, part of the cause of the outpouring of grief when it happened - the timing couldn't have been worse
It's not clear that John Lennon's personal dysfunctions weren't largely a byproduct of his success. No doubt he had issues before he ever formed the Beatles, but a lot of his excesses were only possible because of the unusual circumstances of his success. Suppose Lennon had ended up a working stiff in Liverpool. Would he have drank a lot and beaten his wife? Good chance. Would he have gone on three-day LSD binges and gotten hooked on heroin? Unlikely. He would have had to develop enough sense to take care of himself. For all that he went through, Lennon comes across as a surviver. Well, except for that one crazed fan.
The fact that the Nixon administration (or J. Edgar Hoover) saw Lennon's ability to inspire the anti-war movement as such a threat that they tried to deport him says a lot about some of his other personal characteristics, over and above his musical ability. I'd say there was something worth aspiring to there. Nobody's perfect; in some respects John Lennon was far above average.
In some aspects, Lennon was certainly FAR above average. In others, he was clearly seriously messed up. There's certainly much to learn, but you definitely need to be careful in picking his example apart to know which parts to emulate and what parts to avoid like the frickin' plague.
John Lennon changed my life. i have a strong identification with his music and his personality like many people around the world.
The man that killed him should be completely fogotten, no interviews, no pictures, etc, etc.
What should constantly be remembered is Lennon´s great talent for making timeless songs.
One of the things that always bothered Lennon after the initial rush of Beatle success, was the fawning idolation that led to the remark that people treat the Beatles as if they were bigger than Christ. He always said he was frustrated by people believing the Beatles had some kind of inspired knowledge and enlightenment. He'd seen what a farce spiritual gurus were after the Maharishi trying to jump Mia Farrow at the Indian retreat in '68. Read the lyrics to Revolution and you'll see he was talking about using your common sense. One of the things he loved about NYC is that he could move around freely without the large retinue most muscians and actors seem to require. Sadly, one of life's losers came his way.
Its too easy to get drawn into the myth of John and Yoko that was a direct manipulation of the public ,through the media, for their own personal gain. All orchestrated by Yoko Ono. There was no Mr. Mom. Lennon continued drinking and drugging and was dying by his own hand. I would reccommend Goldbergs biography "The Lives Of John Lennon"
Hi I'm doing a project on John Lennon and I need to get an interview with someone about it. I was wondering if you'd be interested in doing one through email?
Because of bush and iraq, I have had many memories coming back to me. John Lennon was an instrument of peace. He was a human being; compassionate, energizing and dynamic. Right now we need more people with his vision of world peace. I do not think there is any punishment the world could do to mark david chapman that is servere enough for his crimes against us. Let the memory of John live by being an instrument of peace.
if he gets out , lets hang him
where did the comments go?
It was 40 years ago John was tragically murdered and still affects many people in their daily lives. For the younger generations, all the magazines relating to John's death can be found at http://www.beatlecollectors.com
John Lennon was murdered 40 years ago???
That's very interesting...
No, that was Paul McCartney.
Except, I thought it was a car accident.
Ya doof...John was assassinated 25 YEARS ago...in 1980...Paul was dead when he made crap albums but now he is alive since his new cd came out.It is brilliant and I think his producer should get a Grammy for best producer!
Come On Guys, Don't Hate Chapman, he was just the trigger who was brainwashed, do you want to find the real assasin minds behind Lennon's murder? How about these: * richard nixon, ronald reagan, j. edgar hoover et. al. tha cia was in charge of convincing chapman to pull the trigger.
THE CIA KILLED JOHN WINSTOPN LENNON.
research the web men, that's why it was made for.
oh, and one more thing, just cuz we all live in america, it doesn't mean that we must fear the goverment or its institutions.
mark Chapmam should die like John did.
die Chapman die u bugger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It all goes back to the Maharishi. The yogi was riding high on the fame of being attached to the Beatles, probably the most influential cultural icons of the 20th Century! They had a fallout over there in India and whatever happened led to Lennons press statement announcing that the Yogi was "human". Basically one word from Lennon and the Maharshi's ride was over! Apparently on Lennon's departure from the gathering in India the Yogi through him the old "I'll kill you" look! An ironic connection... Mark David Chapman was also a student of the Yogi and spent a short time studying in India in the mid 70's. A connection, or coincidence?
Ian
Oh puleeeeez! Lennon was a pot head, millionare rock star. Nothing more.
The sad reality is that Yoko was behind it all the time. Desparate to start her own singing career and annoyed at Lennon's hesitation in promoting her, she arranged for the murder. If they were so much in love how come she hurridly walked several steps ahead of him that day? How come she pointed ignored Chapman depsite him greeting her moments before?
Of course everyone would incoproate their murdered loved one's bloody eye glasses into their art work, like Yoko did. Wouldn't you?
Within months, people could could not get enough Yoko and her crappy music propelled to the forefront.
Let's not be so naive, people.
"If dis is love, in Paradise..."
mark david chapman the most hated man ever
i will always hate him!
i hope he dies a slow and painful death
He should of grabbed john & yoko tied up yoko and made love to john singing imagine what the fuck is lennon a god?no! you freak fucking hippy weirdos so what get over it
I agree that Yoko was totally behind it. Despite their alleged support for "free love" she was pissed at his constant screwing around. They had actually argued that night because he told her she simply had no musical talent. That's they walked separately from the limo before Chapman shot him. Yoko marched ahead, pissed. Lennon was walking slowly behind, and all he could think of was getting into the Dakota Building, lighting a joint, taking a few hits and spending the rest of the night stoned. But Yoko signalled Chapman by walking ahead first and the rest is history.
Had all concerned agreed that 'The Beatles' is an album theme, then probably no one would have had a hair harmed on any of their heads.
I first met John Lennon when we worked together at an anti war rally helping to end the Vietnam war. Obviously he would not have supported the current war, occupation in Iraq or George Bush's failed policies. At that time Lennon privately told me "John, someday this country will see the light and will elect a man like you as president."
Sadly he was murdered before he could see that day arrive. As president I promise that I will never, ever pardon Mark David Chapman for his terrorist act.
Keep the John Lennon's dream alive and visit my site to see how we can make it happen. Together, we can honor his memory in a way he would have wanted.
STOP ALITO! As a man who pesonally met John Lennon, I can personally and confidently say he would not have supported Samuel Alito being on the Supreme Court. I do not need to repeat the stories about racism, misogyny, illegal strip searches of innocent children, the murder of innocent black youths by police, the list goes on and on. Last week, I left an important economic conference, trying to turn around the republican economic disaster, and I proposed and am leading a filibuster of this nomination. Join me and my colleagues in the senate in stopping this latest Bush insult to America. John Lennon would have wanted it that way. Sincerely, John Kerry.
die mark i want you to die soon
Your story is very sad, Michele; I hope you will recover some of that hope and optimism that Chapman killed in you.
Lennon was a decent songwriter. No more. No less.
Surely nothing even close to Jesus. Think what you want about Christ. No one in their right mind confuses Lennon with the Son of God :^). He was mortal as they get, warts and all. Jesus had no cameras.
Lennon had too many.
I never understood Beatles Worship. Never have. Never will.
I don't believe in Beatles. I just believe in me.
And Chapman is one sick moe foe. However, I hope he finds some peace in prison and dies there.
He'll never be released.
He makes Manson seem normal.
im a yr 12 student conducting a research project into Chapman. This topic involves whether he should have plead sanity and if he deserves parole. if there are any comments, or advice please let me know.
im absoulty discussed by the way that john lennon died mark chapman just thought do it do it in his head well i hope he gets killed the day he gets out of prison better yet in prison.. john lennon is my role model his beliefs are so strong it makes me sick that he is no longer here .. its times like these that we need him..
peace, love and understanding
and why is mark only getting 20 years he killed the most famous fucking beatle / person in the world electric chair ? that would be my choice
r.i.p john lennon dec. 8,1980
Bollocks. Chapman's innocent. Brainwashed I tell ye!
WHY would Mark David Chapman even be considered for parole? I totally do NOT understand.
Dani, what could possibly make you say , " Chapman's innocent." ? Surely you jest.
It becomes more and more obvious as time goes on that Ronald Reagan ordered the CIA and FBI to assassinate John Lennon. It is truly sad that these two organizations could not work together, or deliberately decided not to, to prevent 9/11. But they worked so well to murder an unarmed man of peace in front of his wife.
you bastard chapman you need to die please let me pull the switch .............you bastard chapman may all your family die a very painful death you bastard
Is David Chapman still alive? Also, did they let him out of jail for murder that was intentional and planned?
Where is he now?
Jai
Has anyone read the biography "The lives of John Lennon"? Hypnosis features prominently in the story. There is one section where May Pang is certain that after Yoko Ono asked John Lennon to come over to her place for a cure to stop smoking, he returned to May Pang in an extremely confused and disoriented mental state. At the time May Pang suspected that John Lennon had been fed drugs and brainwashed in order that he leave her and return to Yoko. Later Lennon was to report to May Pang "They'd wake me up and then they'd do it to me all over again..!"
Yoko Ono was very much into the occult at that time. There was one Japanese fellow (I forget his name, but he's mentioned many times in the book) who believed that if a person circumnavigated the world in a westerly direction, it would assist that person in accomplishing any future projects.
Yoko Ono's family had many contacts, particularly in Hawaii. Her father was once a lawyer there and had helped many Japanese living in Hawaii.
In 1978, Mark David Chapman suddenly left his job to travel around the world (in a westerly direction). He later spent a period in Japan. Chapman's wife was Japanese and, interestingly, also heavily into the occult (as was Yoko Ono).As I'm sure you're ware, Chapman lived in Hawaii.
When Chapman was arrested he was in possession of a large amount of money that was beyond what he could have possibly earnt as a low paid security guard. There was also some suggestion that he had contacts in New York at the time of the murder, a city he later claimed to have known no-one. He also was under the influence of cocaine, the drug both John and Yoko were using at the time of Lennon's death.
Just before Lennon died, it was common knowledge that the relationship between John and Yoko was on the rocks, and a divorce was imminent. Shortly before his death, a friend and colleague had heard Yoko rage against John Lennon, saying angrily "she would fix him".
Yoko Ono was also heavily into superstitions regarding numbers, times, and dates. John Lennon was shot on the same day as the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbour. It is conceivable that someone harbouring such superstitions would consider that date would might be one signifying a "Japanese victory".
Incidentally, this notion of Lennon being the symbol of world peace is nonsense. John Lennon was an extremely violent man and very, very unstable and psychologically imbalanced (and whose violence was often directed at women).
Therefore, there is a very strong connection between Yoko Ono and: Hawaii (particularly Japanese living in Hawaii); hynosis; the occult; "blatant greed" (Yoko Ono could be described as a 'New age Imelda Marcos). In fact, this is a woman who had a very strong motive in eliminating John Lennon. She was also known to employ hynosis to manipulate others.
Just days after John Lennon was assassinated, Yoko was in the recording studio laying down tracks of lennon's voice on the B-side of her own record, significantly entitled "Walking on Thin Ice". Out of everyone in the studio at that time, apparently Yoko Ono appeared the only person unaffected by Lennon's recent death.
Shortly before Lennon was mudered, Yoko Ono was having a protracted affair with a colleague, Sam Greene. The two of them at one stage had a lawyer formally investigate just how much money she would receive if John Lennon and she underwent a divorce.
Perhaps it wasn't enough?
He should stay in jail forever, even after death. Killing lennon was like killing god. No punishment would ever fit this crime.
i do not wish death upon anyone but i do believe that the punishment should fit the crime!!!!!!
How about Chapman stays in jail indefinitely but surrounded by images of John Lennon and having John Lennon songs like Instant Karma and Beautiful boy and every other Lennon tune played at a loud enough to be irritating to him but not to others rate 24 hrs/day 7 days/ week for the duration of his waste of a life??
I want Chapman out.
That way, he ain't protected anymore...
I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT IM A FORGIVING PERSON BUT HOW DO YOU FORGIVE A PERSON THAT HAS TAKEN SOMETHING AWAY FROM SO MANY. IM A CANADIAN AND GOD FORGIVES WE DONT.CHAPMAN KNEW WHAT HE WAS ABOUT TO DO HOW THEY GET SECOND DEGREE OUT OF THIS GOD WILL ONLY KNOW.HE SHOULD HAVE GOT DEATH NOT LIFE.NOW YOUR COUNTRY HAS TO FEED AND CLOTH HIM FOR HOW LONG.A ROPE IS SOW MUCH CHEAPER.A SAD BROTHER TO THE NORTH.....
Brother,
Chapman was a tool used by dark forces within the U.S. government to end what they saw as a potential threat to their plans to murder hundreds of thousands of Central Americans. The evidence is compelling. Chapman himself was a victim of the CIA's "MKULTRA" program to produce programmed assassins. He didn't - and still doesn't - have a clue about any of this because the programming was successful. We should all be turning our righteous anger at Uncle Sam's forces of darkness. Feel free to visit my blog.
john lennon did not deserve to die. he wasnt able to finish the projects he started. that mdc isnt even half the person john was and never will be. the fact that people support mdc is just sickening. thats supporting a killer. its doesnt even matter if u dont like johns music, what matters is that he was a PERSON like you or your mom or anyone else in the world, and he died. he died horribly. and its great to know that mdc will forever burn in hell for what he did.
John Lennon was one of the people who performed theme 'The Beatles'. To some populations, he was busy practicing the album-theme material to perform it on stage -- not trampling indigenous people. True enough, he should not have been killed, but it was a first shot about entertainment industry 'truth-in-advertising' ('tia'). Stage performers routinely DO NOT yet give 'tia', decades after the 'tia' laws were articulated -- compliance would mean that various accurate key words would appear in all album/stage show ads/notices, such as 'rendition', 'lip-synch/pantomime' or original artist(s). All performers should be accorded the advantage of polygraph tests that give sound spectrograph evidence that any performed music is theirs or not.
look you guys say how it was yoko or the cia. But chapman was the one pulled the trigger. I was born many years after johns death and i was still affected by it... Until i was 8 90% of the music i listened to was the beatles in the past years i have developed my own taste in music but know whenever i listen to the beatles late at night I cry knowing how 2 of then are gone... you may not like john but at least give him some respect, please. Remember peace not love
p.s. when you say " peace" NEVER say it as a joke, it's not right.
Yes, FUCK YOU MARK DAVID CHAPMAN! YOU BASTARD! DIE MUTHAFUCKER DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well.......I'll bet you're glad you got that off your chest; aren't you?
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Very important Michele, thanks. I'm certain that aspects of what you relate were part of why I took it so hard as well. I was ahuge Beatles fan but not that big a Lennon fan until then.