Underground Knowledge — A discussion group discussion

On February 9, 1981, The New York Times ran an article stating Mark David Chapman was preparing to plead insanity at the upcoming trial in which he was accused of murdering John Lennon. The article mentions Chapman had developed an unhealthy “obsession” with The Catcher in the Rye and “in a handwritten statement delivered to The New York Times last week, Mr. Chapman” had “urged everyone to read the novel, a copy of which was in his possession when he was arrested”.

Chapman had apparently told the NY Times that reading the book would “help many to understand what has happened”.

The newspaper also reported that the accused’s statement ended with: “My wish is for all of you to someday read ‘The Catcher in the Rye.’ All of my efforts will now be devoted toward this goal, for this extraordinary book holds many answers. My true hope is that in wanting to find these answers you will read ‘The Catcher in the Rye.’ Thank you.”

The accused’s statement was signed “Mark David Chapman – The Catcher in the Rye.”

During the trial that followed, Chapman continued to promote the book. At times he would open up a copy and begin reading intently for all to see the book’s cover. On other occasions he would stand up excitedly and shout to everyone in the court, imploring them to read the novel.

It also came out during the court case that shortly before the assassination Chapman would sit in his room chanting the mantra, “THE PHONY MUST DIE SAYS THE CATCHER IN THE RYE!” as well as “JOHN LENNON MUST DIE SAYS THE CATCHER IN THE RYE!”

These phrases are eerily similar to Sirhan Sirhan’s documented diary entries in which he repeatedly wrote “RFK MUST DIE!”

Another parallel is that the word phony in the aforementioned mantra was borrowed from The Catcher in the Rye, once again indicating that Chapman’s murder of Lennon was somehow inspired by the book.

There is also an urban legend which says John Lennon himself was in the middle of reading the novel the week he was killed. There’s no solid evidence to confirm this, and if Yoko Ono knows, she isn’t saying.



What can be confirmed is Mark David Chapman’s ties with World Vision. As mentioned in chapter 23 of The Orphan Conspiracies: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy, it’s a little known fact that Chapman was a former World Vision employee and children’s counsellor who worked in refugee camps all over the world. Contrary to media reports, he was by all accounts formerly a good citizen who exhibited no signs of mental illness.

As some researchers have speculated, Chapman may have been drugged by CIA agents and forced into their MK-Ultra program while doing aid work for World Vision in Beirut. Some conspiracy theories claim this MK-Ultra program included setting up mind control triggers by repeating certain sentences from The Catcher for long, sustained periods.



But that’s not where the World Vision link to J.D. Salinger’s novel, or its deadly aftermath, ends...

More on Mark David Chapman's World Vision career: "After graduating from Columbia High School, Chapman moved for a time to Chicago and played guitar in churches and Christian nightspots while his friend did impersonations. He worked successfully for World Vision with Vietnamese refugees at a resettlement camp at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas, after a brief visit to Lebanon for the same work. He was named an area coordinator and a key aide to the program director, David Moore, who later said that Chapman cared deeply for the children and worked hard. Chapman accompanied Moore to meetings with government officials, and President Gerald Ford shook his hand."

Sterling wrote: "More on Mark David Chapman's World Vision career: "After graduating from Columbia High School, Chapman moved for a time to Chicago and played guitar in churches and Christian nightspots while his f..."

This made me want to check out wiki
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_D...

An excerpt from The Catcher in the Rye Enigma: J.D. Salinger's Mind Control Triggering Device or a Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals?:

Most people old enough remember exactly where they were when they heard the news that John Lennon was shot dead in New York City on December 8, 1980. The murderer was Mark David Chapman – yet another lone gunman who stood glassy-eyed at the crime scene waiting for the police to arrive. A witness to the shooting asked him if he was aware what he’d just done. “I just shot John Lennon,” Chapman calmly replied.

In the court case that followed, Chapman’s defence team included psychiatrist Dr. Bernard Diamond. Recognize that name? That’s right, he’s the very same psychiatrist who assessed Sirhan Sirhan’s mental state and, as per his assessment of RFK’s assassin, Dr. Diamond stated Chapman was completely insane. Little mention was made of the fact that Chapman was a former World Vision employee who worked as a children’s counsellor in refugee camps in Asia and the Middle East.

Author Fenton Bresler put forward the theory in his book Who Killed John Lennon? that while Chapman was working in Beirut he fell into the orbit of CIA agents who drugged and brainwashed him as part of the ongoing MK-Ultra program.

What is known is shortly after beginning his charity work in Beirut, Chapman began to exhibit mental illness and was hospitalized as a result. Who he associated with from that point on is not known.

Assuming Chapman was yet another Manchurian Candidate and Lennon wasn’t killed randomly, then who on earth would have wanted to kill the peace-loving singer?

Most conspiracy theorists and many researchers point the finger at the US Government for singer-songwriter Lennon was a known threat to the political order of that time. This threat was primarily due to two reasons: his fearless opinions that he gave freely to the press and the sheer size of his following, which was almost unprecedented.

FBI records and other Government files on Lennon indicate the Establishment viewed him as a very dangerous activist. For example, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover personally wrote on Lennon’s file: “ALL EXTREMISTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED DANGEROUS.”

Another such file said the ex-Beatle, who by then was a US resident, was able to “draw one million anti-war protestors in any given city in 24 hours”. That is some serious influence, and judging by the declassified files it’s obvious the Military Industrial Complex viewed Lennon as a potential stumbling block to their plans for future wars.

Sean Lennon, the son of John and Yoko Ono, told the New Yorker in April 1998 that his father “was dangerous to the government” and “If he had said ‘Bomb the White House tomorrow,’ there would have been 10,000 people who would have done it. These pacifist revolutionaries are historically killed by the government”.

The only thing counting against this whole premise is that Lennon was killed in 1980 – long after the likes of JFK, RFK, MLK and others were killed and long after the civil unrest of the 1960’s and early 1970’s had faded. It was a different political and social climate by then with less foreign wars and less volatility within America. Some have even argued that Lennon’s star power was waning, at least slightly, by 1980.

Of course, it’s not known what Lennon was planning at the time of his death, and for all anyone knows the authorities may have gotten wind of some radical peace movement he was hatching.

To add yet another curiosity to the mix, while Chapman patiently waited for the police to arrive and arrest him, he stood at the scene of the crime reading a copy of The Catcher in the Rye. Many conspiracy theorists believe that finding this particular book in the hands of an assassin is no mere coincidence. Regardless, it must have been a macabre sight to see Lennon lying dead on the ground with his murderer standing over him happily reading J.D. Salinger’s classic novel.

He walked past me and then I heard in my head, "Do it, do it, do it, like that," I don't remember aiming. I must have done, but I don't remember drawing a bead or whatever you call it [...] I had no emotion, no anger [...] dead silence in the brain.
-- Mark David Chapman

The first policemen at the scene were Officers Steve Spire and Peter Cullen, who were in their patrol car at 72nd Street and Broadway when they heard a report of shots fired at the Dakota. The officers found the assassin standing “very calmly” where he had been. The police said the assassin had dropped the revolver after firing it, and said he had a paperback book, J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.”
-- Mark Elsis

Some of America's highest profile assassins -- including the likes of John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman [...] claimed they were CIA-programmed killers hypnotized by MK-ULTRA. The media portrayed them as crazed lone gunmen, so naturally the public paid little attention to their claims. Kentbridge, however, knew it was possible some of these men were mind controlled soldiers, or Manchurian Candidates, carrying out assassination orders their conscious minds were not even aware of.
-- The Catcher in the Rye Enigma: J.D. Salinger's Mind Control Triggering Device or a Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals?

Jerry is eventually tracked down because of his need to have and buy copies of J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.” Earlier, Sutton had found numerous copies in his flat and asked why he had so many copies of a single book. Does he like it? “Not really.” He does not know why, but he has a “drive” to buy copies of this book and it is clear that this is indeed a “driver,” part of the programming by MK-ULTRA. Even though he is on the run, he soon has an irrational urge to buy a copy of the book and as soon as it is scanned for payment, that information is relayed to Jonas’ crew, suggesting that they are somehow able to monitor every book sale that occurs in America – which if that were the case, would be one of the biggest conspiracy theories around.
-- Philip Coppens

He was a countercultural revolutionary […] He was dangerous to the government […] anybody who thinks that Mark Chapman was just some crazy guy who killed my dad for his personal interests is insane, I think, or very naïve, or hasn’t thought about it clearly. It was in the best interests of the United States to have my dad killed, definitely. And, you know, that worked against them, to be honest, because once he died his powers grew. So, I mean, fuck them. They didn’t get what they wanted.
-- Sean Lennon

If anything happens to Yoko and me, it was not an accident.
-- John Lennon

Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon



Mark David Chapman



The Search for the Manchurian Candidate: The CIA & Mind Control