The Case of the Manacled Mormon

[_Blixa]

Thanks Jack, you addressed what I've been thinking about since I saw Tabloid a few months ago and was reminded of by this thread: the plight of Elder Anderson.

I really like Errol Morris's work, and Tabloid is no exception: he does a good job of giving an eccentric narcissist a kind of mirror podium on which to both perform and be examined. And yet, the film doesn't inquire into Kirk Anderson's experience, which could've been done with or without his participation.

Since it's release, Ms. McKinney has followed Morris around the country, attending premiers of the documentary and theatrically denouncing it. So its not hard for me to believe that the comments on your blog could be from McKinney herself; the style would argue that.

gramps's memories suggest that perhaps Elder Anderson came through the incident with some good humor and grace. I certainly hope that is so.

[_DrW]

Ms. Jack,

Thanks for the excerpts from the comments to your blog.
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Anybody know how McKinney came up with the money to fund the adventure in the UK and the cloning of "Booger"?

Neither could have been cheap. This is not the kind of thing that most 26 year old single females can afford.

[_MsJack]

Anybody know how McKinney came up with the money to fund the adventure in the UK and the cloning of "Booger"?

Neither could have been cheap. This is not the kind of thing that most 26 year old single females can afford.

I can't find the article right now, but I remember reading a review somewhere that mentioned that it's believed she's been living off an inheritance from her parents all her life. Locals who know her in the towns where she's lived have never known her to have held a job.

Cloning her puppy cost $25,000. Not cheap, but not beyond what a frugal person could afford if they'd invested their savings well, especially someone with no family and no children. Reportedly the home she lives in in California is small, cluttered and cramped.

I'm sorry I don't have a source for this right now though. There's so much stuff about her on the Internet and I can't recall where I read that at.

[_MsJack]

Blixa ~ There is and always has been so much rotten about the case where Kirk Anderson's side is concerned. All of the "lulz, I wish she would tie me down" comments, all of the guffawing at his claims because he was so big and she was so little. I guess that in the movie, McKinney expressed her belief that you can't rape a man because "that's like putting a marshmallow in a parking meter." That's just . . . /facepalm. Erection ≠ consent! This case reveals a lot about current attitudes towards gender, sex, and the limits of consent.

I'm more open to the possibility now than I was four years ago that there may have been gray area for Anderson wherein at least part of the ordeal was consensual. He probably did have conflicted feelings for her. Still, absent a trial and in the light of her later creepy, stalking activities, my inclination is to give him the benefit of the doubt. He broke off their relationship and escaped halfway around the world from her, and has stayed away from her (and the limelight) ever since. That's a pretty good testament to me that he didn't want to have (more?) sex with her.

Despite the tragic consequences for Anderson, there's still a big part of me that thinks the story would make for a really good black comedy. I just hope that film isn't made until after Ms. Crazypants has exited this life, because I really can't stand the idea of that woman's life story getting any more attention than it already has. She obviously lives for it.

by the way, is anyone else morbidly curious whether or not McKinney is still on the rolls of the LDS church? 14 million members worldwide . . . :)

[Guest]

Anybody know how McKinney came up with the money to fund the adventure in the UK and the cloning of "Booger"?

Neither could have been cheap. This is not the kind of thing that most 26 year old single females can afford.

From the Daily Mail article: "No one seems to know quite how McKinney supports herself, given that there is no evidence she has ever had a job since the 1977 scandal. The handful of people who know her believe she survives off money that her elderly father gives her from his savings."

[_MsJack]

From the Daily Mail article: "No one seems to know quite how McKinney supports herself, given that there is no evidence she has ever had a job since the 1977 scandal. The handful of people who know her believe she survives off money that her elderly father gives her from his savings."

Thanks, Morley.

[_Corpsegrinder]

by the way, is anyone else morbidly curious whether or not McKinney is still on the rolls of the LDS church? 14 million members worldwide . . . :)

In Tabloid, McKinney describes herself in terms that make her seem anything but Mormon. Also, the film Intersperses her descriptions of Mormon beliefs with short cuts from the animated portion of The Godmakers, which I thought was actually pretty hilarious. In any case, I don’t think she is or ever has been LDS.

And yes, I think her story would make for an excellent black comedy, maybe something along the lines of a Cohen brothers' movie.

[_Blixa]

I'm more open to the possibility now than I was four years ago that there may have been gray area for Anderson wherein at least part of the ordeal was consensual. He probably did have conflicted feelings for her. Still, absent a trial and in the light of her later creepy, stalking activities, my inclination is to give him the benefit of the doubt. He broke off their relationship and escaped halfway around the world from her, and has stayed away from her (and the limelight) ever since. That's a pretty good testament to me that he didn't want to have (more?) sex with her.

This is much like my own take on it.

[_MsJack]

In Tabloid, McKinney describes herself in terms that make her seem anything but Mormon. Also, the film Intersperses her descriptions of Mormon beliefs with short cuts from the animated portion of The Godmakers, which I thought was actually pretty hilarious. In any case, I don’t think she is or ever has been LDS.

And yes, I think her story would make for an excellent black comedy, maybe something along the lines of a Cohen brothers' movie.

Like I said, I haven't seen Tabloid (it'll be the next DVD on its way to me after I finish the one I have at home now). However, the crazy commentator on my blog---who was probably McKinney herself and claimed to be a personal friend of McKinney's either way---said:

[Kirk's] Mormon Mammy was against their engagement from the beginning because Miss McKinney chose to leave Mornonism and went back to Christianity.

So I figured there was a good chance she was baptized LDS at some point.

Most people who leave Mormonism don't write letters asking to have their names removed from the records, they just stop going and stop identifying as "Mormon," but the church still counts them and reports them.

[_MsJack]

I finally caught up with Tabloid. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

My review of it here. Alas, McKinney has not yet returned to my blog for comment.