DRINKING THE FLAVOR-AID

This is the anniversary of the second worst mass civilian casualty event due to a deliberate act  in American History.  Here are some interesting facts.

1. Jim Jones created the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis in 1956. Jones, a civil rights activist, envisioned his organization to be an integrated congregation that worked to help people in need. Although it attracted needy people, it mainly consisted of adults who held jobs and their families.  More than half the congregation was African-Americans.  Over 60% of the people were female.  The integrated nature of the church was appealing to many whites.  The beliefs Jones preached combined socialism and fundamentalism.  The Peoples Temple had friends in high places and had a good reputation for community service.
2. The church moved to San Francisco, but in 1973, facing increasing media investigation, Jones relocated to Guyana. The agricultural commune was named Jonestown.  It covered 4,000 acres and was isolated from society.  Some members were reluctant to leave their lives in America, but Jones persuaded most to come.  He argued that American society was evil and they needed to escape the sinfulness.
3. Jones was a father figure to his community. Literally, because he was the biological or adopted father to many.  However, power seems to have corrupted him, or revealed his true nature.  As a child, he was described as a weird loner.  He was fascinated with death and liked to perform funerals for pets.  He studied the persuasive tactics of Hitler and Stalin.  
4. Jonestown was envisioned as a communist utopia. After working all day in the fields, the congregation gathered to listen to Jones harangue about communism or rant about some current event.  He often showed Soviet propaganda films or political thrillers like “The Parallax View” and “The Day of the Jackal”.
5. Some commune members were unhappy at Jonestown. They had to work in the fields for up to 12 hours a day with little water.  Some of them and their relatives in the U.S. contacted elected officials to complain.  Congressman Leo Ryan of California took up the cause.  This fit his personality as he had a reputation for investigating injustices.  He once got himself put in Folsom Prison to witness mistreatment of prisoners.  He went to Canada to investigate seal hunting.   
6. Ryan visited Jonestown with reporters. Although Jones put on a show that indicated they were just one big happy family, some members approached Ryan and wanted to leave.   He took the defectors with him when he left the next day.  Ryan had indicated that he was going to file a generally positive report, so it may have been the defections that set off Jones.  At the airport, gunmen sent by Jones opened fire and killed Ryan (who was shot more than 20 times), several journalists, and one defector.  Jones knew the subsequent uproar would be very bad for his reign.  He may have also been influenced by his deteriorating physical and mental health.  He was said to be abusing drugs.
7. The commune had been prepared for mass suicide. On evenings called “white nights”, the members would congregate in the center and practice drinking from barrels of a liquid.  On Nov. 18, 1978, the gathering was the real deal.  Jones described what they were going to do as “revolutionary suicide”.  Although some members argued against it (there are gruesome tapes of the incident), most willing drank.  Those who refused were threatened by men armed with guns or cross bows.  The children went first, the idea being their deaths would give the adults nothing left to live for.  Over 300 kids died.  It took about five minutes for the poison to work on the kids, 20-30 minutes for adults.  About 600 adults succumbed, some of them being shot or forcibly injected with poison.  Jones died from a self-inflicted gunshot, although he may have been shot by his trusted nurse.
8. Although the mass suicide (some call it mass murder) gave rise to the phrase “drink the Kool-Aid”, the beverage laced with cyanide was actually the knock-off Flavor-Aid.
9. Some members survived, including eleven who claimed to be going off on a picnic when they read the writing on the wall and walked 35 miles to safety. One elderly woman lived because she slept through it!
10. One of the victims was Jones’ pet monkey Mr. Muggs. The chimp was the cult’s mascot.  He was shot.

https://historycollection.com/25-unpleasant-facts-about-the-jonestown-massacre/25/

https://vocal.media/criminal/10-facts-about-jonestown-you-didn-t-know

https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/jonestown-13-things-you-should-know-about-cult-massacre-121974/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown#Mass_murder-and-suicide