Update December, 2009: Oliver Shanti convicted and sentenced to nearly 7 years in prison in 76 cases of child sexual abuse.
Update August, 2009: There will be a trial starting August 26, 2009 in Munich, Germany.
I will never, ever blog directly about work, but since this story got started there, I have to mention it.
I get a ton of phone calls in my job, one of which a couple of weeks ago led to my first Wikipedia edit. Some guy in Spain on the blower asking if we had any idea where he could get some pictures on a musician who was born in Hamburg, lived for a time in Spain and Portugal, but has been travelling around the world most of his life. He disappeared about five years ago apparently, and it seems the Munich police have been wanting to talk to him.
The caller left a lot of details, gave me his name and I said I’d see what I could do and get back to him. Curious to get more information, I googled his name and up came a link to Wikipedia.
I read the entry.
Then I read it again.
I couldn’t believe it.
Wikipedia might be the greatest, most open and multi-faceted multi-lingual source of information ever invented, but unless you get the whole story, you might as well forget it.
Because I find many visitors don’t bother to click on links, here’s what I first read on Wikipedia:
Oliver Shanti, born 16 November 1948 in Hamburg, later known as Oliver Serano-Alve, is a New Age musician. His group “Oliver Shanti and Friends” has recorded several CDs, including “Circles of Life” – the best of Oliver Shanti (1997) “Tai Chi” “Seven Times Seven” “Alhambra” “Listening to the Heart” “Medicine Power” and “Rainbow Way.” Two tracks by Oliver Shanti and Friends were featured in the Buddha Bar compilation…
His music is also available on eBay, in case New Age music is your thing. Actually, I think everyone should have a CD or two of New Age music on hand for emergencies in case Syrup of Ipecac isn’t available.
So as I was clicking through the Wikipedia entry searching in vain for anything which mentions the rest of the story, I started thinking: how can this be? How can this simply sit there as is?
So when I got home I registered with Wikipedia and typed in the rest of the story.
The edit has since been chopped down and re-edited, but it still gets the point across, with a link to the meat of the matter.
I know, this blog isn’t exactly fark.com getting millions of hits per day, so it’s rather unlikely this post will amount to anything. But who knows? Read the link in the Wikipedia entry which takes you to the Munich Police arrest warrant – it’s in English, don’t worry. Know anyone in Spain or Portugal? There’s a television programme in Spain going to air about it soon. Tell everyone you know, sing it high and low. For you, it could be worth 3000 euros.
All for now,
Ian
© 2007 lettershometoyou
The banner photograph shows the town of Britannia Beach, BC, Canada, where I grew up. It's home. But I don't live there anymore.
Whoa. You edited Wikipedia. Pretty cool and congrats!
Well if he has abused children, then he needs to be stopped and helped. New Age or not.
heza,
actually it is quite easy. you don’t even have to register to do it, just go in and start writing.
Update: I see that in re-writing the entry, someone has shoved this important information to a short, single line at the bottom of the entry. The German entry for Oliver Shanti, however, highlights these facts under a separate heading and goes into far more detail.
I was euphoric about Wikipedia when I first saw it, but it’s important I think to take a critical view of it. That view is summarized rather nicely at wikitruth.info.
this is pretty juicy stuff. it’s even dragged me away from Former Frontier Editor’s revelations.
I always thought New Age music was for wankers
nurse,
i’m not sure which would work faster, the music or the syrup of ipecac
A great public service you have done in highlighting this individual, Ian. Well done.
I bet he’s a smoker, too!
THJnr
Mr Hamburger,
I hope at least it leads somewhere, but I kinda doubt it. The result of all this is now, whenever I see a fat guy with long stringy hair, I think it’s him.
i think you, mr. letters, just envied. You are nothing but with a great pride of yourself, and Oliver is a Genius, a man of Great Spirit. In Russia we call a man like you STUKACH – it means a coward jelous man who tells police about his neighbours to get them to the prison. Honest people dispise STUKACHey.You say such dirty words about NEW AGE – a music of Great Spirit. It shows that you just don’t have any spirituality, you are primitive mind and no-soul, brutal agnostic, materialist, believe only in himself…
Hi “alex”
Russia? Isn’t that the country where people who speak the truth have been put in prison? Long tradition that continues today.
Do you have children? I have no idea whether this man is innocent or guilty, but would you tolerate the idea that some people are out there sexually abusing children, knowing there is a chance that your child could be next? If you’re OK with letting sexual abusers get away with murdering the souls of children – because that’s what they do as they turn them into damaged adults – then that’s fine with me. Enjoy the music and your so-called spirituality in the meantime.
Is that really true? I don’t know the musician, his work, or the controversy or alleged crime at all. I am pretty much as neutral as it gets, other than that I enjoyed meeting you in Bremen.
But I think you have at least an idea that the man is guilty.
Otherwise, why would you mind his music getting recognition?
Hi Cliff,
I’ve searched a few times over the past few weeks for updates on this story, but there’s nothing. I’ve thought of phoning up the Munich prosecutor’s office to see if there’s been any progress, but it’s not a top priority. I thought I’d just wait for the wheels of justice to turn.
At the time of writing I was thinking that guilty or innocent, it is pretty awful to have a musician with that stench surrounding him having his music played on the airwaves. Then again, maybe the guy should actually get as much air-time as possible, so the case gets more attention?
The stench is bad — no doubt about that. And for the record, having only read about this story through content and links provided here, I think that something terrible has happened in connection with him, and it’s most likely that he is culpable. You just don’t get hundreds of counts of molestation against you by chance or conspiracy.
But should he stop getting airplay because of his music’s ipecac effect? In my opinion, yes — your YouTube embed convinced me. Yuck.
Should he stop getting airplay because of the allegations against him? Perhaps if I were a broadcaster, I’d make that call to protect my own ass — I wouldn’t want to hype him on Monday if he gets convicted for heinous crimes on Tuesday. On the other hand, the sheeple tend to forget to remember not to forgive.
But I’m not a broadcaster (do you know anyone who is by chance? *wink*). Nor am I a journalist of any sort. I guess the core questions your posts have raised for me are:
At what point can we require, from an ethical perspective, a music video station to change its lineup as part of a public responsibility (whether that means yanking Señor Creepy or hyping him)?
How slippery is the slope? If we expect entertainment broadcasters to fulfill this sort of obligation, would that mean that Culture Club videos are no longer kosher, given Boy George’s conviction for falsely imprisoning his Norwegian whore? What about Rick James and his crackpipe antics? He’s dead now, so is it OK again?
I realize, especially for parents, that crimes by adults against adults don’t rank at all when compared to crimes by adults against children. But that’s the essential issue with a slippery slope. Who defines just how much horribleness is acceptable? I don’t think I’d trust the likes of MTV to make that call in such a way that I’d be satisfied. Whose call is it? Whose call should it be?
Me either. Have you seen “Date My Mom?”
Hi Sarah,
Not seen it… Is it really bad? I watch almost no TV beyond the news and documentaries.
Wow…what a story..I just tapped the album name into the search box as I used to have a cassette of this music (it’s not as bad as some new age stuff), I was just idly searching around on youTube then the search told me his name and a further search revealed this story….really gross..I was young and into New Age stuff at that time..so glad I didn’t go wandering off to Bavaria or wherever his commune was…it was nostalgic to hear the music while I was searching but suddenly…NO…that information has put me right off it…yuk