Jim Jones created a sect. It was far outside normal traditions. It was a cult. Jim Jones was powerful. He was attractive and charismatic, so people were hooked quickly. People will listen to what you have to say based on what you are wearing, age, attractiveness, and your social skills. Whether that is right or wrong, it is our society does. The people who followed Jim Johns called him "Father" and quickly started to believe his preaching on this new profound faith. He was accused of sexually assaulting, physically assaulting, and manipulating his followers. He began preaching in California but when he started to become darker, he moved to Guyana in South America. It was a jungle, and they began to build their little town named Jonestown. Jim Jones manipulated people well enough that they would give him custody of their children, their money, their land, and so forth. People surrounded their worship area with weaponry. People tried to escape but it was impossible. Since people were hearing about the extreme amounts of abuse, congressmen eventually made their way down to Jonestown. Congressmen were shocked at what they saw. There was nothing there - no phones, no television, and so forth. I was surprised to hear that they had a basketball team, which is the only way that you could leave Jonestown for a short period. In Georgetown, there was a halfway house for the citizens of Jonestown. After being told something over and over again, you begin to believe it and that is exactly what Jim Jones did. Scaring people is also a good way to get someone to follow you and believe what you say. When the plane flew over the jungle, it was clear to the people riding on the plane that how difficult it is to enter and exit Jonestown and just how isolated it truly was. In the film, a man said that Jim Jones knew that he was a bad man and manipulate and that he did not want anyone to know. I am not sure if I truly believe that he knew how horrible of a person he was. He clearly struggled with mental illnesses, because no sane person would do such things. Depending on what mental illnesses he had, he may not have known what he was doing and why. One twenty-one year old girl was told that she would have to kill herself, and all she said was "Okay." She was extremely calm and did not seem phased. Some situations that people are put through, such as intense abuse and manipulation, can cause them to go legitimately crazy. Honestly, it was difficult to watch the entire video. It was so horrific and disturbing to watch. There were over nine hundred bodies in Jonestown the last day. I appreciate how the narrator said it was a mass murder rather than a mass suicide because that is true. They did not have a choice to drink it, because if they did not, they would be injected. They killed themselves because of manipulation. Jim Jones murdered over nine-hundred people. "What would someone have to do in order for you to do something you never thought you were capable of?" That is an intriguing question to think about. -softball_savvy123
I find it very crazy that we react to people just on the way they look. It is a really scary thought that our society as a whole can be manipulated by someone solely based on what they wear and what their face looks like. I agree with your point about him not truly knowing that he was a bad person. I think he was struggling mentally and truly thought that what he was doing at first was in their best interest. When you have that many people looking up to you and worshiping basically your every move it can go to your head. You change as a person because you see what all those people will do just simply as the fact that you tell them to. Litv123
I found it interesting that in the midst of this eerie community, people would still casually play basketball. I think it’s ironic that Jones’ son was on the basketball team and he let the team travel for a tournament when the people were coming to visit. I wonder if he would have trusted anyone else if his son was not involved. Although, he did end up communicating to his son that they all had to come back immediately and the son didn’t listen well. I think that Jones knew what he was doing, I just think he was so messes up mentally that he enjoyed it. I think he had to have been so unhappy with himself that he found joy in controlling other people’s lives. I also thought it was shocking that the 21 year old girl agreed to die so quickly. Even after she just met with her father who she hadn’t seen in so long. Any sane person would have to feel some kind of remorse for lying to their father and not saying a real goodbye. -Kiwi123
This entire documentary was particularly very hard to watch for numerous reasons. It involves a mass murder of innocent lives all because they were following one evil man. They all wanted to believe in a higher power they were all very vulnerable and this man came along and promised them something they all needed. He knew that they were weak and not strong people. He knew they needed someone to believe in and to help them find their way in life and he took advantage of that from the very moment he met them. We view religion as something holy and sacred in our society. Everyone needs something to believe in to get them through the day to make them feel safe in life. He took hundreds of people and created a sense of community and built up around that hope. Clearly he was never a wholesome man from the beginning of their civilization he had problems. Sexual abuse and drug abuse are something that should never be associated in religion or anywhere for that matter. As soon as his high power began to get questioned he knew he was going to loose power. While watching the video you can see the fear coming from his body. He knows exactly what is going to happen. He will be exposed and everybody will see the wrong and unjust things he has been doing to hundreds of people for a good amount of time. To take hundreds of people and gain their trust like that is morally wrong. He got so many weak people together and brainwashed them all into believing that he was their light at the end. That without him they would really have nothing. That fact that he was able to get that many people to kill themselves for him is really sad. Some did it willingly and some not so willingly either way it is an awful event that took place. The children lives that were lost is the worst part to me. You create children and they are innocent and know no better than to do what you tell them and you have no problem killing them like that. That truly takes a monster to commit such an awful crime. He took religion and turned it into something disgusting. He took a vulnerable aspect in peoples lives and took advantage of each and every person in that town. One problem that I have is that many of these different mass murders or suicides that you have had us watch over the past week I have never been aware of. I have been in school from kindergarten and am going on my third year and college and these events have never been brought to my attention. You hear about the holocaust all throughout your different years of schooling and world wars where many different lives were lost. It is really interesting to me to not hear about many of the other mass murders. Overall this was very hard to watch, but at the same time I appreciate it being brought to our attention. It really makes you think and have a different outlook on so many different issues. Litv123
That's a good point. Believing in a higher power allows people to feel cared about and secure. Knowing what happens when you die, calms people from what I have noticed. When Jim Jones came along with his new faith, people quickly got hooked. The people that committed suicide willingly was more disturbing to me than the people who did it unwillingly. It is scary to believe that people can be manipulated that much. I never learned about this event in high school, but I learned about it in my freshman year of the fall semester in college. I was surprised that I never learned about it either. I enjoy when new things our brought to my attention too. I enjoy being able to look at situations with a variety of different outlooks as well. -softball_savvy123
This entire situation is extremely sad. Jim Jones had the type of personality that has the power engage a population of people to follow him to a different country in South America. He considered himself to be a messiah of the People’s Temple religious cult and promised his followers heaven on earth if they followed him. Once they moved to South America, some people soon realized that it was no longer an act of religion but one of a prison camp where guard with guns were keeping them in. His own son knew what he was as a person: crazy, not right in the head, and drugged out of his mind. But for some reason he had a way of speaking to a crowd to where the audience would soak it up like a sponge. He planted in everyone’s mind that it would be better to die so they could get off this god forsaken earth and finally be in peace. When the U.S Congressman got there to check on the camp and make sure nothing was going on, he found out that several people wanted to go back to America with him so the Congressman let them. This completely infuriated Jones and led him to order that everyone die including the congressman, who was followed and shot at the airport on his way out, and the reports that came with him. The people at the camp drank cyanide, a poison, and others who refused to drink it were injected with it. It was a mass murder. Only a hand full of people survived, one of which was Jones son. There was no act of religion, there was no belief in a personal God. Jones considered himself to be god, or at least the people who truly believed everything he said did. sunflower123
I agree with you that it is in South America where most people grasp the reality of the situation. The guards with guns were not facing outward to keep the members safe from danger but were facing inward to keep the members from being deviant. The observation of conditions like this are what made most people slowly become aware of their awful situation. Another thing to consider is that they did not feel comfortable letting each other know that they suspected Jones to be deceiving them due to the risk of the other person giving them away to the guards. -Chameleon123
I do like how you pointed out the simple fact that Jim Jones was so mad in his endeavors to complete a total group suicide that he ended up ordering and carrying out mass murders as well. From the start Jones made it clear that there would ultimately be a group commencement in death but he never made it clear that he would become a merciless killer. This just goes to show that there was more than just one thing wrong inside Jones’ head and he needed a serious mental evaluation.-MrG123
The Evangelical preacher Jim Jones forced and manipulated 914 people into death. He was the leader of a cult called People’s Temple that supposedly began with good intentions. They believed the world was inhumane and needed to be changed for the better. However like one man said in the documentary, the line they were working towards kept being moved slightly until one day the members of the cult find themselves giving up their property, lives, and children to Jones and moving to South America. From the point of view of someone not in the cult it seems irrational and idiotic for these people to give up everything they are to dedicate themselves to this cult. Karl Marx says that religion is the opium of the masses, meaning it can pacify a group. Jones was using this to his benefit by telling the people that God wants them to do these things. However, Jones power of manipulation was not enough to get all of these people to commit suicide. Most of the people still in the cult were there because they were scared of the torture and abuse that would result from an attempted escape. Jones was on some serious drugs and the members of his cult knew that there was no limit to what he would do. The members of the cult did not join the cult with the plan of committing suicide. Jones told them that they must because “death is a million times preferable to ten more days of this life.” Jones treated this mass killing as an act of service to his members telling them, “we didn’t commit suicide we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world.” I am curious as to whether Jones actually believed what he said to be true, whether he actually thought he was doing what was best for his members or whether he did it as an act of hate. -Chameleon123
I feel like there was a part of him that thought what he was doing was good, but his son even mentioned that his dad was putting on an act and didn't believe what he we preaching. I don't think he did it to punish anyone, he just didn't want to lose his power and the only way that wouldn't happen is if everyone died. I also thought that it was really pathetic of him to have someone else kill him instead of dying the way everyone else did. That moment of the documentary really gave us the full extent of his character. sunflower123
This video made me feel very uneasy. I had heard of the Jonesboro Massacre but I wasn’t familiar with all the details. It was almost unbelievable. Jim Jones was an anomaly in the society at the time. He was a huge influence on the people who became part of his culture. The entire culture of nearly 1,000 people just happened to be led by a mentally ill person. I say this because Jones was clearly not in touch with reality. He had imagined his own ideal life and future and he thought of himself as the best a person could be. The cult that they had formed had become so engulfed in their culture and way of life. There must have become social norms within the culture that told them to do whatever Jones said. I think that when the Congressman, relatives, and journalists all came to visit, the people living in Jonestown experienced their own culture shock. The believed in their way of life to the extent of doing anything to prevent harm to the community and especially it seems, to Jones. The fact that Jones simply had to suggest to the people in one day that suicide was the answer means they were wired to believe Jones was godlike. It was sickening to think that no one except one woman stood up for the children’s lives, not even the parents of the children. This shows how growing into a culture and becoming so confident in the practices causes reassurance that whatever one must do in that culture is beneficial to them. Even if that means taking your own life or your child’s life. When the people came in to investigate they were quickly marginalized by the Jonestown community. They saw them as unimportant to their daily lives, but also as a threat. I think that when Jones called “white knight” or “night” meetings he was showing fear and everyone became defensive, except those who still had a will to live for themselves. The Congressman did not take the uneasy feeling in the community as seriously as he should have. I personally think he should have realistically considered where he was going and the context of the situation and then brought extra help along with everyone, like policemen or even armed forces. A thousand people that are moving to a different country to start an entire culture based around one man is sketchy enough for me. I would not have gone without a sort of back up. -Kiwi123
Right off the back, I’m gonna say that I’ve already heard of this, and seen this clip actually. I find it very interesting, sad of course because of all of the killings that happened, but people like Jim Jones fascinate me. He fled the United States and had his cult follow him. Of course it was not originally a cult, it was actually a church, but people started devoting their lives to the priest known as Jim Jones. Anyone who wanted out would’ve been killed. Not at the beginning of course, people could just leave, but towards the end of it’s prime, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Jones got people to believe that he was the best thing next to God himself. He eventually convinced everyone in the cult to drink poisoned kool-aid in a mass suicide. Even children were told to drink it. It’s just awful and sickening to watch. As a child, Jim Jones, used to kill animals just so he could hold a funeral service for them, that's already red flag number one. Many serial killers start off by killing animals, but anyway. He would make people feel lower than him just so that they looked up to him even more. He would sexually abuse the people of the church and even use mind control on them. They all eventually moved to the middle of the jungle and made a town just for the church and named it Jonestown. The people there didn’t see anything wrong and just thought it was a paradise for their religion. But the fear was still there, the sexual harassment, the punishment of children, the fake healings of members, it was just insane that it went on for as long as it did, but powerful people have that effect on people. rosethorns123
Rosethorns123 I agree with you. I think people like this are extremely fascinating. The ability to make people think and do anything and everything you want is such an amazing and scary skill to have. The fact that the human race can be so submissive and forget about all morality they had ever been taught because of the bias teachings of one man is insane to me. This ability given to the right people can lead to heroes in our society and when given to the worst, result in the worst of all criminals. People had to look past so many bad things to see what they thought was good and right in Jim Jones. When in reality they were just being brainwashed. It is very sad. Scuba123
The Jim Jones massacre was a scary and ridiculous phenomenon. Jim Jones took advantage of these people at just the right time. The time period was experiencing scary times and the sect of Jim Jones gave people a sense of meaning and protection. Jim Jones was an outstanding speaker and told the people what they wanted to hear. He made them feel important. These are very similar characteristics to Hitler. They were both able to brain wash their followers into pretty much doing anything they wanted, no matter how morally wrong it may be. The fact that he even built his own town named after him and convinced thousands of people to move to South America to follow him. The norms of the Jonestown society is so far out the norms of the overall society. These people were living in their own little world. Jim had people giving him all their property and even custody of their children in some cases. The people of Jonestown were prohibited to leave the property. The property was completely surrounded by men with guns. These were all norms that were brainwashed into the minds of Jim Jones followers. It is amazing that people can completely cut themselves from the outside world and be content with just religion. There were no ways of communication between Jonestown and the outside world. The people of Jonestown were at the point of commitment that they would give their own lives for one man, Jim Jones. Hundreds of people drank poison and committed suicide for this one crazy man. The power of deception and community is very strong. Religion unites people in a way no other thing can unite people. It takes a lot for a person to take their own life and he had these people to the point of total devotion. This is very powerful and scary when put in the hands of the wrong people. Scuba123
I didn't think to look at Jim Jones from the perspective of being like Hitler. It was very sad how Jim Jones brain washed these people to believing anything that he said. Jim Jones was a form of God to them. The people did feel as if they were protected until they were punished and abused. It was many people who wanted to get out of the cult, but that was impossible. Jonestown was in the middle of nowhere land. The video stated how Jim Jones had good intentions and then things turned around. I feel that Jim Jones knew exactly what he was going to do. Jim Jones believed in killing yourself instead of letting someone else kill you. The people were forced to take their own lives. Rendezvous123
I like the way you put that scuba. I thought about comparing Jim Jones to Hitler myself. As I had stated I can not understand how anybody can have such control over another person. There are people that are very smooth when they talk I guess. There’s a lot someone can accomplish if they know what to say and how to say it. I also agree that going to Jamestown wasn’t an accident. Moving to the middle of nowhere, when there is no way of communication to anybody anywhere. It is actually scary to think that this really did happen. Diver123
Like Rendezvous, I did not think of comparing Jones to Hitler. It's intriguing in both cases to me that one individual person can control so a large group of people into doing inhumane things. Unlike Hitler though, Jones was charming. It's interesting how both leaders came into power in such different ways. They both used their followers weaknesses and social conformity to gain numbers but Jones was a charming man that could say exactly what you wanted to hear while Hitler was not. Jones and Hitler were both scary examples of how we never know what people are capable of. SAS123
While watching this video it was unbelievable to hear how these people honored Jim Jones. Jim Jones had his people move from the United States to South America in the middle of no-where land. He wanted his people to be able to live the way they wanted to live. They went into this town called the People’s temple with good intentions. Jim Jones was a very sick man who believed that if they can’t live in peace, then let them die in peace. Rumors was spreading around that people were being mentally, physically and emotional abused. There was violence going on in Jonestown. The people were turning over their children to Jim Jones. The people of People’s Temple called Jim Jones father. From my perspective, Jim Jones was a God that they served. When Jim Jones had assemblies, there were people standing around with guns facing towards the people of the town. People were punished if they tried to escape. In November of 1978 Congressman Ryan and a crew went to Jonestown to invest the rumors of abuse and violence. Of course, Jim Jones denied that there was such a thing going on in Jonestown. Jim Jones owned a half-way house located in Georgetown. When there was an emergency or Jim felt to need to instill fear into his followers they would call out “white night”. Jim was on drugs and knew that he was mentally ill, but just didn’t want anybody else to find out. Once the Congressman came in to invest, recused some people that stated they wanted to leave Jonestown all hell broke loose. Jim Jones had some of his people shoot the pilot in the head and kill the Congressman along with his crew members. Jim Johns was so afraid of what was going in Jonestown that he made the entire town commit suicide. Jim Jones stated before he was shot in head by someone else, “We didn’t commit suicide, we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhuman world.” He tragically bought his people to the promise land by poising them. There was more than 900 people that were killed with some people surviving from hiding. It was a massive murder and suicide. I can’t believe that people of the United States was brain washed like this to follow a cult of such nature like this. I found it very sad that the children were the first to die. This was such a tragic cult suicide. Rendezvous123
It was very hard to watch this movie. I was alive when this happened. I was a young child back then. I did not know all the details of what happened. I was told of Jamestown being a cult and the followers of the cult committed mass suicide drinking kool aid that was laced in arsenic or some kind of poison. I never knew about the congressman, the film crew, or the family members of some of the followers that came down to help loved ones. I did not know about the halfway house either. I also didn’t know there were over one thousand followers. I can’t imagine the torture or punishments the people went through while there. Nor do I want to. It is amazing how someone could take over so much control of another person.I could never figure that out. There have been multiple cases of cults or sects where the leader has total control both mentally and physically over the followers. Like in Waco, Texas there was the Branch Davidians that followed David Koresh. They fought the FBI to their death for their beliefs. When I lived in Tennessee I had a friend that started to follow a group called the brotherhood. Fortunately my friend had a strong group of friends that helped him before he got in too deep. I know in class we talked about how cult leaders use people's weaknesses and their financial situation to their advantage. The thing that gets me most. This man Jim Jones controlled all these people and had them commit suicide yet he didn’t have the guts to do it himself. He had to have someone shoot him in the head. If he was such a leader and wanted all these people to take their lives why couldn’t he do the same? Diver123
Driver123, I remember my mom mentioning the peoples temple. She was a teenager when this happened. Though I heard her talk about people drinking kool aid with poison, I did not really know exactly what happened. I just thought a lot of mentally ill people all did this to themselves. Like you, I never really understood the power that one person can have over so many people. You’re exactly right when you say that these cult leaders target their followers’ weaknesses to manipulate them. You also mention the fact that Jim Jones did not have the guts himself to commit suicide like the rest of his followers. I listed a specific quote that Jim Jones said:
“What you need to believe in is what you can see... If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend. If you see me as your father, I'll be your father, for those of you that don't have a father... If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God.”
-I think that this quote demonstrates how Jim Jones also saw himself. I think that he saw himself to be above all of his followers. Because he saw himself differently, I think that is why he did not commit suicide and had someone else kill him. -Check123
What struck me the most about your post was when you mentioned Jones not being able to commit suicide alongside the others. He had to be shot by another person. Practicing what you preach did not apply to him, I guess, and that really attests to what kind of a leader he was. That is what is so fascinating about him. He was an extremely charismatic leader, and he got his followers to commit acts not only they would not normally do but Jones, himself, would not even do. He was a bad person, but from an analytical perspective, he was a great leader. He made his followers believe in something bigger than themselves, and he could essentially program them to do anything he wanted. They all went to Guyana and died voluntarily. Doesn't his ability to control and inspire a group much more of an achievement? aardvark123
It's interesting that you mention that he was a great leader. Indeed, he knew how to lead, but he also knew how to manipulate just as well. In my opinion, a leader is someone that inspires and is able to command a group. Jim Jones did exactly do that. He inspired his followers and knew how to command them. I do have to disagree a tad when you say that all of his followers died voluntarily. There were people that tried to object. Those that did were injected with poison by the other hardcore followers. -check123
This documentary was very shocking to watch. We often think to ourselves how people can do such horrendous acts to themselves and other people. Big examples of mass suicide not only include Jim Jones, but Hitler and his nazis and Joseph Stalin. Jim Jones was on a far smaller scale than Hitler and Stalin, however, he used similar tactics to manipulate and control people. Jim Jones particularly used religion to brainwash people into following him. A cult is a religious organization that is largely outside a society's cultural traditions. Jim Jones formed his cult called “the people’s temple,” which was specifically an extreme christian socialism group. Jim Jones was very charismatic and used that to coerce his followers and manipulate them. He was very controlling over his members. By the time he sent him and his followers to go out to Guyana, he had already forced them to turn over their property, and is some cases, forced over custody of children. Jim Jones even threatened his people with death if they even thought about leaving. This reminds me to the stanford experiments that we learned about last week. We saw the power of authority used to control regular good people. Jim Jones used his authority as his power. His way with words were able to control others. When watching this video, I wondered how so many people could follow one man and let him manipulate them. No one wants to join a cult that will hurt them. Jim Jones emerged in the middle of the chaos during the 1960s. His followers were people that joined because they wanted to be a part of a religion that accepted them. Most of his followers were minorities that were not being supported by the government. Jim Jones was there for these people and welcomed everyone of any race and background. These people looked up to him and he used that to brainwash and manipulate them. Jim Jones was a control freak and he moved his people to Guyana to avoid media backlash against him and take away his followers. His paranoia only caused more chaos to occur. When congressman Leo J. Ryan flew to Guyana to investigate Jim Jones and his followers, he saw that as a serious threat. He was afraid of losing his people in Jonestown to the government. Therefore, Jim Jones used his power of authority and made nearly all of his members commit suicide or murder their enemies. Check123
I agree with you 100%! Jones used his charisma to manipulate his followers into doing what he wanted. It is unbelievably crazy how this man could do this to humans. He is not God, he did not have the right to take the lives of women, men, and children because of his fear of them being taken away. From the beginning the people were willing to come. They stayed with him in California and followed him to South America. He was basically keeping them hostage because like you said, he threatned his people with death if they ever decided to leave. This was not a "mass suicide" like he said. He made them take this poison, those who didn't want it were forced, and if they aren't willing to die, that is the opposite of suicide. I agree when you said he used religion to brainwash them into doing what he wanted. panda123
There is a certain lesson to be learned from the psychological monster that is Jim Jones. Jones used his power to form one of the most despicable cults known to man that served no other purpose than to kill and mercilessly end the lives of as many innocent men, women, and children as possible. There was obviously something quite wrong in the head of Mr. Jones that he was never clinically diagnosed with. A diagnosis that likely would have resulted in some sort of possible prevention of the countless lives lost through the many slaughters and suicides of the Jonestown Massacre. Perhaps the most shocking part to me and to anyone else who knows any speck of information regarding the Jonestown cult massacres is the forced suicided of many children as well as infants. The forced actions upon children within various religious sects have always astounded me as children aren’t really old enough at their age to decide what is best for themselves from a religious standpoint. They have not yet undergone the schooling or received to make capable a single coherent thought regarding their views towards world religions. Hell, it took me until I was basically sixteen to figure out that the Lutheran church wasn’t really for me anymore. So you can’t tell me there’s any way in hell these children and infants knew they were being forced to commit suicide. It’s just not right and it never will be right. On a side note, Jim jones was a massive coward who clearly ended up quickly in the hands of death himself as he could not face the wrath he had unleash upon so many innocent people and their families back home. Cults are crazy but there is a lot you can learn from them. If you’re interested in learning more about cults watch the Paul Thomas Anderson film “The Master” or look up the Heaven’s Gate cult. Both very interesting stories.-MrG123
I have never heard of this event in my life. There is a possibility that it was taught in school but I have no recollection of it. It is so infuriating to watch these people willingly take the poison. I know they showed some women, and some children fight against it, but the majority stood in that line and got there shot of poison. Power is so dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. When the Peoples temple began in California, he was easier to listen too because according to people he was very charismatic and told you what you wanted to hear. He hid his true self at the beginning of his cult. believe that the followers were tricked into joining. In the video it was said that Jones was accused of being physically and sexually abusive. Even with those horrid things, his followers went with him to another continent. The people were so wrapped up in what he was preaching, that they failed to take his actions into consideration. When they made it to Guyana and built their socialist paradise, they had guards armed with rifles. One of the survivors named Vernon sad it had, "a sense of encampment." I believe that even if they wanted to escape, they couldn't because of the fear that they could get shot to death. This man led these people down a false, abusive, and fearful way of living. Jim Jones was a coward and a murderer. He sent men to kill those who were escaping back to America, and during the "suicide mission" he got shot with a gunshot to the head instead of the way his followers were put to death. People need to be very careful in who to put their faith and trust in. What Jim Jones did was inhumane, barbaric, and cold. panda123
This event does not commonly come up in high school education. They tend to stick to the books a bit more. I know what you mean by feeling infuriated watching these people give in to the norms established by Jones. It was almost like a dictatorship, but he tried to play it off as a democracy. Jones made the people feel like they were participating in this great, almost utopian society. It was interesting for me to learn about it in school because many of the people really did not want to leave. They believed that what they were doing was this incredible thing to be a part of. You are totally right about people needing to be careful about who they put their faith and trust in. I just hope after each of these events, we can learn from them and better from them. -M&M123
Jim Jones’s cult is an interesting culture to study. Jones took advantage of the marginalized and brainwashed them into believing him. The alienated are a very easily manipulated group when treated well. As outcasts, they are used to a lack of attention and care from other, and when someone notices them and shows actual interest in them, they seek more of that acceptance that they crave. Humans need interaction, and isolation can actually drive people to death in some cases. Jim Jones filled that void in their lives, and his charismatic leadership lead people to follow him through any circumstances. His following gained so much attention because of his ability to lead and manipulate the marginalized, and his cult grew to have such an unorthodox way of life eventually that the group felt that life would be better for them in South America. Isolated in the jungle, the rules of the cult became more strict. The laws of humane treatment in America did not apply to them anymore, and Jones could create his own laws and culture, one much more twisted than previous forms in the United States. The isolation of the new compound allowed Jones’s ideologies to drive deeper into the values of the cult. The power of the leadership of the cult began to increase so much, and the members started to fear for their lives. Social stratification was beginning to rise within the compound, and the elite group, consisting of Jim Jones, his associates, and his militia, became more powerful and dangerous. Once word started to get out about the injustice happening in South America, Jones saw his kingdom starting to crumble and knew the end was near. If he were to be caught, he would face imprisonment and possible death from either governments. His final act of evil was a mass killing of all the members of the cult. It was voluntary, too! The members were killing themselves just because of what Jones preached. The Jonestown Suicides is just another example of how easily malleable and fragile the human psyche can be. aardvark123
I had heard of this incident before today, but I did not fully understand the severity of it until watching this clip. Jim Jones was a charming man that told you whatever you wanted to hear. When he figured out how to use this to control people, he created a cult in the United States. He made himself to be similar to the “god” in his cult as his followers called him “father”. After a while of running the sect, there were allegations from members that had left that Jones had been abusing and threatening the followers of his cult. This caused him to move the cult to South America. While he was far away from the United States, the allegations continued and he was visited by a congressman, reporters, and concerned family members. Jones seemed to be on a downward spiral throughout the whole clip. He constantly was getting more negative and violent. Eventually, Jonestown’s entire population either committed suicide or were killed under the direction of Jones. Only a few escaped from Jonestown. This entire massacre is heartbreaking because of its avoidability. There was no reason that these people should have died. They were brainwashed into killing themselves and the people that wouldn’t kill themselves were then killed by the others. It also is sad that they used kool-aid because kool-aid is so good and now it’s not the same to me. The saddest part is that the children were the first to die. Children are the most innocent and pure people on Earth and yet they were the first to go. It’s also sad because parents had to watch their children die. I’m not a parent but I have heard from parents that the worst loss is the loss of a child. I found it interesting that people will conform to the point that they will kill themselves just because they are told to. That thought is scary because we know that these patterns can be applied to anyone as we all are socialized in similar ways. The entire time I watched this video I was like “I would never fall into that.” But in reality, I cannot say what I would or wouldn’t do because like these people I could fall prey into a manipulative person that tricks me into thinking something dumb to make himself feel powerful. That’s a scary and sobering thought and I hope that nothing like that happens again. SAS123
I totally agree with your main point about how it is sad that they used kool-aid because of how good kool-aid is. This opens up a myriad of other questions as well. How did the Jim Jones Mass Suicide affect sales of kool-aid back in the United States? Did kool-aid executives have to make an official statement saying that they did NOT sponsor the event? What negative connotations still exist today because of the phrase "Don't drink the kool-aid"? These are just a few of the many questions that arose in my brain. -ThreeTwo123
While I have heard of the Jonestown Cult and done research on it for a psychology paper I wrote last year, I had never seen this documentary before. Watching this documentary makes everything seem so much more real. Jim Jones, although on the outside appearing to be an extremely charismatic leader, was almost certainly suffering from some type of psychopathy or sociopathy; he was definitely a deviant. After receiving criticism in America for some of his more questionable practices, Jim Jones decided to move his whole “church” to an isolated position in South America. Even though they were now far away from the United States, the media still followed. Jones set himself up as the head of the church and his members even called him “father.” This is a common trend among most cults: the leader is the highest authority, not a sacred text or an ancient religious figure. Jim Jones’ cult was extremely destructive in that it revolved around a highly manipulative group that exploited and sometimes physically and psychologically abused its members and recruits. Because Jones was so incredibly charismatic, he was able to convince thousands of people that what he said was true and that he was the ultimate authority, almost like a “god.” This is why it was so incredibly easy to convince such a large group of people to kill themselves; if Jones was viewed as their god, why shouldn’t they follow his orders? I cannot even imagine the complete and utter evilness that encompasses such an atrocious leader. How could someone ever convince themselves that it is morally sound to perform a mass suicide which included killing young children. It absolutely breaks my heart to think about how many lost their lives that day, truly believing that what they were doing was right. It is also terrible to think that Jones would order the murder of the visitors mostly reporters. This directly violates the laws written in the Geneva Convention. -ThreeTwo123
This is another gruesome and fascinating story I had not heard about prior to this class. Jim Jones began a sect outside of the traditional churches at the time, and called it the People’s Temple. Supposedly, it began with good intentions that stemmed from the belief that the world was inhumane. To me, I find this hard to believe because of the extremely horrific cult it turned into. Jim Jones easily manipulated members of the community into joining his sect because he had sex appeal and charisma. Those who followed him referred to him as “Father”, much like churches nowadays refer to their priests and ministers as such. However, in Jones’s religion, they did not worship a god, he was the God. His practice began in California, but soon his practices started turning darker, and he manipulated hundreds of people to move to Guyana, South America. Together, they created the community of “Jonestown”. His followers gave him money, property, custody of their children, and anything else he asked of them. This is a really good example of the culture theory, because by bringing together his followers in a tight night community, he had the power to create his own social norms. It made his followers feel comfortable and gave them a sense of protection, so it made them more willing to practice his faith. Some people did try to escape, as Jones was accused of drug abuse, sexual abuse, and physical abuse. By word of mouth and the media, Jonestown caught the attention of US congressmen. When they visited, they noticed they had no connection to the outside world. The followers had no phones or televisions. Of course, some of the members of this society wanted to leave with the congressmen because they feared for their lives. Jones ordered a hit on the congressmen by his closest followers, and they were shot at the airport as they tried to leave South America. It all ended when Jones forced hundreds of people to commit suicide by drinking poison. Many willingly killed themselves because of how strongly they worshiped Jones, but those who refused were poisoned anyways. Over 900 bodies were found in Jonestown, and very few survived. The mass murder by Jim Jones is one that should not be forgotten. As horrendous as it was, it has taught society a valuable sociological lesson on culture and religion. Daisy123
The first time I heard about Jonestown I thought, “how could so many people be so cruel and foolish?” After learning about it more this last year at school, I realized that it only takes on cruel fool like Jones to persuade this kind of mentality that was present in Jonestown. There were many things that occurred there that totally defined not only norms, but mores. These people took on significant deviance, and it was not positive deviance. There is an entire class that allows students to really understand how it came to be, and it totally gives you an understanding how genocide can be understood. None of this behavior is acceptable, however it is almost as if these people are brainwashed. They are so obedient to whomever is telling what to do, how to think, where to go, who to talk to, etc. that they don’t even realize what they are doing. The power of authority is often underlooked until people begin to examine events like this. Adolf Hitler almost convinced people to completely wipe out jews. He made them think that it was acceptable though. I know that many of us watch this and think that we could never do anything like that, but look at how our country started. We killed off anyone in our way of getting our country and we justified it by saying it was the only way for us to gain freedom. Sure there were people who fought against Jonestown, but there were many more within who were so engulfed in it that the ones who didn’t support it were cast aside as an outgroup. The deviance of these people sped up the process of Jones enforcing this mass suicide. Jones used his power, authority, and power of deception to convince thousands of people to kill themselves. When I first heard that I was shocked and could not believe it. Now that I have a better understanding, my heart is broken because I can see how real it is. -M&M123
Yes it is terrible how one person can have complete reign over all of those peoples minds and how they are brainwashed into thinking that this mans word is supreme. It’s terrible how many of the children were tat lost their lives for something that they thought was for the betterment of man kind. The individuals in this cult did not show deviance to me only because like you previously stated they were so brain washed that all they knew was whatever words he spoke to them, and some of them were just kids born into that environment and has been embedded into their minds over that extended period of time. Benoodles123
This was a gut wrenching clip to watch. It is scary to think that a person can have an overwhelmingly large amount of control over a persons thoughts. Jim Jones’ organization started out as a sect and it seems he was off, to becoming a well known/ well revered leader who also displayed charisma of the sect although sects have ability to completely strip you from society. We can tell that he operated off of a sect instead of a church because of all the followers that he had willingly to leave their country that they’ve grown up in and go make a new living somewhere. As soon as he convinced all of his followers to go with him to another country is when I believe it turned into a cult. Many cults demand that members not only accept their doctrine but also adopt a radically new lifestyle. And that is exactly what happened people turned from what they knew and followed Jim Jones every word. Towards the end he felt that he could no longer run the cult because too many people were trying to escape or wanted another way of life. That is why he tried his hardest to make an example out of anyone who tried to leave the cult. He feared not having power over people anymore. He knew that if one person was able to get out of the cult then any one can devise an escape plan. So instead of letting innocent individuals leave he chose to have them all killed. He felt that if he could remain in power until the very end that that was more accepting and more honorable than to have died in by the hands of his enemies or people trying to make a change happen for other members of the cult. Benoodles123
Jim Jones created a sect. It was far outside normal traditions. It was a cult. Jim Jones was powerful. He was attractive and charismatic, so people were hooked quickly. People will listen to what you have to say based on what you are wearing, age, attractiveness, and your social skills. Whether that is right or wrong, it is our society does. The people who followed Jim Johns called him "Father" and quickly started to believe his preaching on this new profound faith. He was accused of sexually assaulting, physically assaulting, and manipulating his followers. He began preaching in California but when he started to become darker, he moved to Guyana in South America. It was a jungle, and they began to build their little town named Jonestown. Jim Jones manipulated people well enough that they would give him custody of their children, their money, their land, and so forth. People surrounded their worship area with weaponry. People tried to escape but it was impossible. Since people were hearing about the extreme amounts of abuse, congressmen eventually made their way down to Jonestown. Congressmen were shocked at what they saw. There was nothing there - no phones, no television, and so forth. I was surprised to hear that they had a basketball team, which is the only way that you could leave Jonestown for a short period. In Georgetown, there was a halfway house for the citizens of Jonestown. After being told something over and over again, you begin to believe it and that is exactly what Jim Jones did. Scaring people is also a good way to get someone to follow you and believe what you say. When the plane flew over the jungle, it was clear to the people riding on the plane that how difficult it is to enter and exit Jonestown and just how isolated it truly was. In the film, a man said that Jim Jones knew that he was a bad man and manipulate and that he did not want anyone to know. I am not sure if I truly believe that he knew how horrible of a person he was. He clearly struggled with mental illnesses, because no sane person would do such things. Depending on what mental illnesses he had, he may not have known what he was doing and why. One twenty-one year old girl was told that she would have to kill herself, and all she said was "Okay." She was extremely calm and did not seem phased. Some situations that people are put through, such as intense abuse and manipulation, can cause them to go legitimately crazy. Honestly, it was difficult to watch the entire video. It was so horrific and disturbing to watch. There were over nine hundred bodies in Jonestown the last day. I appreciate how the narrator said it was a mass murder rather than a mass suicide because that is true. They did not have a choice to drink it, because if they did not, they would be injected. They killed themselves because of manipulation. Jim Jones murdered over nine-hundred people. "What would someone have to do in order for you to do something you never thought you were capable of?" That is an intriguing question to think about. -softball_savvy123
ReplyDeleteI find it very crazy that we react to people just on the way they look. It is a really scary thought that our society as a whole can be manipulated by someone solely based on what they wear and what their face looks like. I agree with your point about him not truly knowing that he was a bad person. I think he was struggling mentally and truly thought that what he was doing at first was in their best interest. When you have that many people looking up to you and worshiping basically your every move it can go to your head. You change as a person because you see what all those people will do just simply as the fact that you tell them to. Litv123
DeleteI found it interesting that in the midst of this eerie community, people would still casually play basketball. I think it’s ironic that Jones’ son was on the basketball team and he let the team travel for a tournament when the people were coming to visit. I wonder if he would have trusted anyone else if his son was not involved. Although, he did end up communicating to his son that they all had to come back immediately and the son didn’t listen well. I think that Jones knew what he was doing, I just think he was so messes up mentally that he enjoyed it. I think he had to have been so unhappy with himself that he found joy in controlling other people’s lives. I also thought it was shocking that the 21 year old girl agreed to die so quickly. Even after she just met with her father who she hadn’t seen in so long. Any sane person would have to feel some kind of remorse for lying to their father and not saying a real goodbye. -Kiwi123
DeleteThis entire documentary was particularly very hard to watch for numerous reasons. It involves a mass murder of innocent lives all because they were following one evil man. They all wanted to believe in a higher power they were all very vulnerable and this man came along and promised them something they all needed. He knew that they were weak and not strong people. He knew they needed someone to believe in and to help them find their way in life and he took advantage of that from the very moment he met them. We view religion as something holy and sacred in our society. Everyone needs something to believe in to get them through the day to make them feel safe in life. He took hundreds of people and created a sense of community and built up around that hope. Clearly he was never a wholesome man from the beginning of their civilization he had problems. Sexual abuse and drug abuse are something that should never be associated in religion or anywhere for that matter. As soon as his high power began to get questioned he knew he was going to loose power. While watching the video you can see the fear coming from his body. He knows exactly what is going to happen. He will be exposed and everybody will see the wrong and unjust things he has been doing to hundreds of people for a good amount of time. To take hundreds of people and gain their trust like that is morally wrong. He got so many weak people together and brainwashed them all into believing that he was their light at the end. That without him they would really have nothing. That fact that he was able to get that many people to kill themselves for him is really sad. Some did it willingly and some not so willingly either way it is an awful event that took place. The children lives that were lost is the worst part to me. You create children and they are innocent and know no better than to do what you tell them and you have no problem killing them like that. That truly takes a monster to commit such an awful crime. He took religion and turned it into something disgusting. He took a vulnerable aspect in peoples lives and took advantage of each and every person in that town. One problem that I have is that many of these different mass murders or suicides that you have had us watch over the past week I have never been aware of. I have been in school from kindergarten and am going on my third year and college and these events have never been brought to my attention. You hear about the holocaust all throughout your different years of schooling and world wars where many different lives were lost. It is really interesting to me to not hear about many of the other mass murders. Overall this was very hard to watch, but at the same time I appreciate it being brought to our attention. It really makes you think and have a different outlook on so many different issues. Litv123
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. Believing in a higher power allows people to feel cared about and secure. Knowing what happens when you die, calms people from what I have noticed. When Jim Jones came along with his new faith, people quickly got hooked. The people that committed suicide willingly was more disturbing to me than the people who did it unwillingly. It is scary to believe that people can be manipulated that much. I never learned about this event in high school, but I learned about it in my freshman year of the fall semester in college. I was surprised that I never learned about it either. I enjoy when new things our brought to my attention too. I enjoy being able to look at situations with a variety of different outlooks as well.
Delete-softball_savvy123
This entire situation is extremely sad. Jim Jones had the type of personality that has the power engage a population of people to follow him to a different country in South America. He considered himself to be a messiah of the People’s Temple religious cult and promised his followers heaven on earth if they followed him. Once they moved to South America, some people soon realized that it was no longer an act of religion but one of a prison camp where guard with guns were keeping them in. His own son knew what he was as a person: crazy, not right in the head, and drugged out of his mind. But for some reason he had a way of speaking to a crowd to where the audience would soak it up like a sponge. He planted in everyone’s mind that it would be better to die so they could get off this god forsaken earth and finally be in peace. When the U.S Congressman got there to check on the camp and make sure nothing was going on, he found out that several people wanted to go back to America with him so the Congressman let them. This completely infuriated Jones and led him to order that everyone die including the congressman, who was followed and shot at the airport on his way out, and the reports that came with him. The people at the camp drank cyanide, a poison, and others who refused to drink it were injected with it. It was a mass murder. Only a hand full of people survived, one of which was Jones son. There was no act of religion, there was no belief in a personal God. Jones considered himself to be god, or at least the people who truly believed everything he said did.
ReplyDeletesunflower123
I agree with you that it is in South America where most people grasp the reality of the situation. The guards with guns were not facing outward to keep the members safe from danger but were facing inward to keep the members from being deviant. The observation of conditions like this are what made most people slowly become aware of their awful situation. Another thing to consider is that they did not feel comfortable letting each other know that they suspected Jones to be deceiving them due to the risk of the other person giving them away to the guards. -Chameleon123
DeleteI do like how you pointed out the simple fact that Jim Jones was so mad in his endeavors to complete a total group suicide that he ended up ordering and carrying out mass murders as well. From the start Jones made it clear that there would ultimately be a group commencement in death but he never made it clear that he would become a merciless killer. This just goes to show that there was more than just one thing wrong inside Jones’ head and he needed a serious mental evaluation.-MrG123
DeleteThe Evangelical preacher Jim Jones forced and manipulated 914 people into death. He was the leader of a cult called People’s Temple that supposedly began with good intentions. They believed the world was inhumane and needed to be changed for the better. However like one man said in the documentary, the line they were working towards kept being moved slightly until one day the members of the cult find themselves giving up their property, lives, and children to Jones and moving to South America. From the point of view of someone not in the cult it seems irrational and idiotic for these people to give up everything they are to dedicate themselves to this cult. Karl Marx says that religion is the opium of the masses, meaning it can pacify a group. Jones was using this to his benefit by telling the people that God wants them to do these things. However, Jones power of manipulation was not enough to get all of these people to commit suicide. Most of the people still in the cult were there because they were scared of the torture and abuse that would result from an attempted escape. Jones was on some serious drugs and the members of his cult knew that there was no limit to what he would do. The members of the cult did not join the cult with the plan of committing suicide. Jones told them that they must because “death is a million times preferable to ten more days of this life.” Jones treated this mass killing as an act of service to his members telling them, “we didn’t commit suicide we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world.” I am curious as to whether Jones actually believed what he said to be true, whether he actually thought he was doing what was best for his members or whether he did it as an act of hate. -Chameleon123
ReplyDeleteI feel like there was a part of him that thought what he was doing was good, but his son even mentioned that his dad was putting on an act and didn't believe what he we preaching. I don't think he did it to punish anyone, he just didn't want to lose his power and the only way that wouldn't happen is if everyone died. I also thought that it was really pathetic of him to have someone else kill him instead of dying the way everyone else did. That moment of the documentary really gave us the full extent of his character.
Deletesunflower123
This video made me feel very uneasy. I had heard of the Jonesboro Massacre but I wasn’t familiar with all the details. It was almost unbelievable. Jim Jones was an anomaly in the society at the time. He was a huge influence on the people who became part of his culture. The entire culture of nearly 1,000 people just happened to be led by a mentally ill person. I say this because Jones was clearly not in touch with reality. He had imagined his own ideal life and future and he thought of himself as the best a person could be. The cult that they had formed had become so engulfed in their culture and way of life. There must have become social norms within the culture that told them to do whatever Jones said. I think that when the Congressman, relatives, and journalists all came to visit, the people living in Jonestown experienced their own culture shock. The believed in their way of life to the extent of doing anything to prevent harm to the community and especially it seems, to Jones. The fact that Jones simply had to suggest to the people in one day that suicide was the answer means they were wired to believe Jones was godlike. It was sickening to think that no one except one woman stood up for the children’s lives, not even the parents of the children. This shows how growing into a culture and becoming so confident in the practices causes reassurance that whatever one must do in that culture is beneficial to them. Even if that means taking your own life or your child’s life. When the people came in to investigate they were quickly marginalized by the Jonestown community. They saw them as unimportant to their daily lives, but also as a threat. I think that when Jones called “white knight” or “night” meetings he was showing fear and everyone became defensive, except those who still had a will to live for themselves. The Congressman did not take the uneasy feeling in the community as seriously as he should have. I personally think he should have realistically considered where he was going and the context of the situation and then brought extra help along with everyone, like policemen or even armed forces. A thousand people that are moving to a different country to start an entire culture based around one man is sketchy enough for me. I would not have gone without a sort of back up. -Kiwi123
ReplyDeleteRight off the back, I’m gonna say that I’ve already heard of this, and seen this clip actually. I find it very interesting, sad of course because of all of the killings that happened, but people like Jim Jones fascinate me. He fled the United States and had his cult follow him. Of course it was not originally a cult, it was actually a church, but people started devoting their lives to the priest known as Jim Jones. Anyone who wanted out would’ve been killed. Not at the beginning of course, people could just leave, but towards the end of it’s prime, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Jones got people to believe that he was the best thing next to God himself. He eventually convinced everyone in the cult to drink poisoned kool-aid in a mass suicide. Even children were told to drink it. It’s just awful and sickening to watch. As a child, Jim Jones, used to kill animals just so he could hold a funeral service for them, that's already red flag number one. Many serial killers start off by killing animals, but anyway. He would make people feel lower than him just so that they looked up to him even more. He would sexually abuse the people of the church and even use mind control on them. They all eventually moved to the middle of the jungle and made a town just for the church and named it Jonestown. The people there didn’t see anything wrong and just thought it was a paradise for their religion. But the fear was still there, the sexual harassment, the punishment of children, the fake healings of members, it was just insane that it went on for as long as it did, but powerful people have that effect on people. rosethorns123
ReplyDeleteRosethorns123 I agree with you. I think people like this are extremely fascinating. The ability to make people think and do anything and everything you want is such an amazing and scary skill to have. The fact that the human race can be so submissive and forget about all morality they had ever been taught because of the bias teachings of one man is insane to me. This ability given to the right people can lead to heroes in our society and when given to the worst, result in the worst of all criminals. People had to look past so many bad things to see what they thought was good and right in Jim Jones. When in reality they were just being brainwashed. It is very sad. Scuba123
DeleteThe Jim Jones massacre was a scary and ridiculous phenomenon. Jim Jones took advantage of these people at just the right time. The time period was experiencing scary times and the sect of Jim Jones gave people a sense of meaning and protection. Jim Jones was an outstanding speaker and told the people what they wanted to hear. He made them feel important. These are very similar characteristics to Hitler. They were both able to brain wash their followers into pretty much doing anything they wanted, no matter how morally wrong it may be. The fact that he even built his own town named after him and convinced thousands of people to move to South America to follow him. The norms of the Jonestown society is so far out the norms of the overall society. These people were living in their own little world. Jim had people giving him all their property and even custody of their children in some cases. The people of Jonestown were prohibited to leave the property. The property was completely surrounded by men with guns. These were all norms that were brainwashed into the minds of Jim Jones followers. It is amazing that people can completely cut themselves from the outside world and be content with just religion. There were no ways of communication between Jonestown and the outside world. The people of Jonestown were at the point of commitment that they would give their own lives for one man, Jim Jones. Hundreds of people drank poison and committed suicide for this one crazy man. The power of deception and community is very strong. Religion unites people in a way no other thing can unite people. It takes a lot for a person to take their own life and he had these people to the point of total devotion. This is very powerful and scary when put in the hands of the wrong people. Scuba123
ReplyDeleteI didn't think to look at Jim Jones from the perspective of being like Hitler. It was very sad how Jim Jones brain washed these people to believing anything that he said. Jim Jones was a form of God to them. The people did feel as if they were protected until they were punished and abused. It was many people who wanted to get out of the cult, but that was impossible. Jonestown was in the middle of nowhere land. The video stated how Jim Jones had good intentions and then things turned around. I feel that Jim Jones knew exactly what he was going to do. Jim Jones believed in killing yourself instead of letting someone else kill you. The people were forced to take their own lives. Rendezvous123
DeleteI like the way you put that scuba. I thought about comparing Jim Jones to Hitler myself. As I had stated I can not understand how anybody can have such control over another person. There are people that are very smooth when they talk I guess. There’s a lot someone can accomplish if they know what to say and how to say it. I also agree that going to Jamestown wasn’t an accident. Moving to the middle of nowhere, when there is no way of communication to anybody anywhere. It is actually scary to think that this really did happen. Diver123
DeleteLike Rendezvous, I did not think of comparing Jones to Hitler. It's intriguing in both cases to me that one individual person can control so a large group of people into doing inhumane things. Unlike Hitler though, Jones was charming. It's interesting how both leaders came into power in such different ways. They both used their followers weaknesses and social conformity to gain numbers but Jones was a charming man that could say exactly what you wanted to hear while Hitler was not. Jones and Hitler were both scary examples of how we never know what people are capable of. SAS123
DeleteWhile watching this video it was unbelievable to hear how these people honored Jim Jones. Jim Jones had his people move from the United States to South America in the middle of no-where land. He wanted his people to be able to live the way they wanted to live. They went into this town called the People’s temple with good intentions. Jim Jones was a very sick man who believed that if they can’t live in peace, then let them die in peace. Rumors was spreading around that people were being mentally, physically and emotional abused. There was violence going on in Jonestown. The people were turning over their children to Jim Jones. The people of People’s Temple called Jim Jones father. From my perspective, Jim Jones was a God that they served. When Jim Jones had assemblies, there were people standing around with guns facing towards the people of the town. People were punished if they tried to escape. In November of 1978 Congressman Ryan and a crew went to Jonestown to invest the rumors of abuse and violence. Of course, Jim Jones denied that there was such a thing going on in Jonestown. Jim Jones owned a half-way house located in Georgetown. When there was an emergency or Jim felt to need to instill fear into his followers they would call out “white night”. Jim was on drugs and knew that he was mentally ill, but just didn’t want anybody else to find out. Once the Congressman came in to invest, recused some people that stated they wanted to leave Jonestown all hell broke loose. Jim Jones had some of his people shoot the pilot in the head and kill the Congressman along with his crew members. Jim Johns was so afraid of what was going in Jonestown that he made the entire town commit suicide. Jim Jones stated before he was shot in head by someone else, “We didn’t commit suicide, we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhuman world.” He tragically bought his people to the promise land by poising them. There was more than 900 people that were killed with some people surviving from hiding. It was a massive murder and suicide. I can’t believe that people of the United States was brain washed like this to follow a cult of such nature like this. I found it very sad that the children were the first to die. This was such a tragic cult suicide. Rendezvous123
ReplyDeleteIt was very hard to watch this movie. I was alive when this happened. I was a young child back then. I did not know all the details of what happened. I was told of Jamestown being a cult and the followers of the cult committed mass suicide drinking kool aid that was laced in arsenic or some kind of poison. I never knew about the congressman, the film crew, or the family members of some of the followers that came down to help loved ones. I did not know about the halfway house either. I also didn’t know there were over one thousand followers. I can’t imagine the torture or punishments the people went through while there. Nor do I want to. It is amazing how someone could take over so much control of another person.I could never figure that out. There have been multiple cases of cults or sects where the leader has total control both mentally and physically over the followers. Like in Waco, Texas there was the Branch Davidians that followed David Koresh. They fought the FBI to their death for their beliefs. When I lived in Tennessee I had a friend that started to follow a group called the brotherhood. Fortunately my friend had a strong group of friends that helped him before he got in too deep. I know in class we talked about how cult leaders use people's weaknesses and their financial situation to their advantage. The thing that gets me most. This man Jim Jones controlled all these people and had them commit suicide yet he didn’t have the guts to do it himself. He had to have someone shoot him in the head. If he was such a leader and wanted all these people to take their lives why couldn’t he do the same? Diver123
ReplyDeleteDriver123, I remember my mom mentioning the peoples temple. She was a teenager when this happened. Though I heard her talk about people drinking kool aid with poison, I did not really know exactly what happened. I just thought a lot of mentally ill people all did this to themselves. Like you, I never really understood the power that one person can have over so many people. You’re exactly right when you say that these cult leaders target their followers’ weaknesses to manipulate them. You also mention the fact that Jim Jones did not have the guts himself to commit suicide like the rest of his followers. I listed a specific quote that Jim Jones said:
Delete“What you need to believe in is what you can see... If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend. If you see me as your father, I'll be your father, for those of you that don't have a father... If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God.”
-I think that this quote demonstrates how Jim Jones also saw himself. I think that he saw himself to be above all of his followers. Because he saw himself differently, I think that is why he did not commit suicide and had someone else kill him.
-Check123
What struck me the most about your post was when you mentioned Jones not being able to commit suicide alongside the others. He had to be shot by another person. Practicing what you preach did not apply to him, I guess, and that really attests to what kind of a leader he was. That is what is so fascinating about him. He was an extremely charismatic leader, and he got his followers to commit acts not only they would not normally do but Jones, himself, would not even do. He was a bad person, but from an analytical perspective, he was a great leader. He made his followers believe in something bigger than themselves, and he could essentially program them to do anything he wanted. They all went to Guyana and died voluntarily. Doesn't his ability to control and inspire a group much more of an achievement? aardvark123
DeleteIt's interesting that you mention that he was a great leader. Indeed, he knew how to lead, but he also knew how to manipulate just as well. In my opinion, a leader is someone that inspires and is able to command a group. Jim Jones did exactly do that. He inspired his followers and knew how to command them. I do have to disagree a tad when you say that all of his followers died voluntarily. There were people that tried to object. Those that did were injected with poison by the other hardcore followers.
Delete-check123
This documentary was very shocking to watch. We often think to ourselves how people can do such horrendous acts to themselves and other people. Big examples of mass suicide not only include Jim Jones, but Hitler and his nazis and Joseph Stalin. Jim Jones was on a far smaller scale than Hitler and Stalin, however, he used similar tactics to manipulate and control people. Jim Jones particularly used religion to brainwash people into following him. A cult is a religious organization that is largely outside a society's cultural traditions. Jim Jones formed his cult called “the people’s temple,” which was specifically an extreme christian socialism group. Jim Jones was very charismatic and used that to coerce his followers and manipulate them. He was very controlling over his members. By the time he sent him and his followers to go out to Guyana, he had already forced them to turn over their property, and is some cases, forced over custody of children. Jim Jones even threatened his people with death if they even thought about leaving. This reminds me to the stanford experiments that we learned about last week. We saw the power of authority used to control regular good people. Jim Jones used his authority as his power. His way with words were able to control others.
ReplyDeleteWhen watching this video, I wondered how so many people could follow one man and let him manipulate them. No one wants to join a cult that will hurt them. Jim Jones emerged in the middle of the chaos during the 1960s. His followers were people that joined because they wanted to be a part of a religion that accepted them. Most of his followers were minorities that were not being supported by the government. Jim Jones was there for these people and welcomed everyone of any race and background. These people looked up to him and he used that to brainwash and manipulate them.
Jim Jones was a control freak and he moved his people to Guyana to avoid media backlash against him and take away his followers. His paranoia only caused more chaos to occur. When congressman Leo J. Ryan flew to Guyana to investigate Jim Jones and his followers, he saw that as a serious threat. He was afraid of losing his people in Jonestown to the government. Therefore, Jim Jones used his power of authority and made nearly all of his members commit suicide or murder their enemies. Check123
I agree with you 100%! Jones used his charisma to manipulate his followers into doing what he wanted. It is unbelievably crazy how this man could do this to humans. He is not God, he did not have the right to take the lives of women, men, and children because of his fear of them being taken away. From the beginning the people were willing to come. They stayed with him in California and followed him to South America. He was basically keeping them hostage because like you said, he threatned his people with death if they ever decided to leave. This was not a "mass suicide" like he said. He made them take this poison, those who didn't want it were forced, and if they aren't willing to die, that is the opposite of suicide. I agree when you said he used religion to brainwash them into doing what he wanted.
Deletepanda123
There is a certain lesson to be learned from the psychological monster that is Jim Jones. Jones used his power to form one of the most despicable cults known to man that served no other purpose than to kill and mercilessly end the lives of as many innocent men, women, and children as possible. There was obviously something quite wrong in the head of Mr. Jones that he was never clinically diagnosed with. A diagnosis that likely would have resulted in some sort of possible prevention of the countless lives lost through the many slaughters and suicides of the Jonestown Massacre. Perhaps the most shocking part to me and to anyone else who knows any speck of information regarding the Jonestown cult massacres is the forced suicided of many children as well as infants. The forced actions upon children within various religious sects have always astounded me as children aren’t really old enough at their age to decide what is best for themselves from a religious standpoint. They have not yet undergone the schooling or received to make capable a single coherent thought regarding their views towards world religions. Hell, it took me until I was basically sixteen to figure out that the Lutheran church wasn’t really for me anymore. So you can’t tell me there’s any way in hell these children and infants knew they were being forced to commit suicide. It’s just not right and it never will be right. On a side note, Jim jones was a massive coward who clearly ended up quickly in the hands of death himself as he could not face the wrath he had unleash upon so many innocent people and their families back home. Cults are crazy but there is a lot you can learn from them. If you’re interested in learning more about cults watch the Paul Thomas Anderson film “The Master” or look up the Heaven’s Gate cult. Both very interesting stories.-MrG123
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this event in my life. There is a possibility that it was taught in school but I have no recollection of it. It is so infuriating to watch these people willingly take the poison. I know they showed some women, and some children fight against it, but the majority stood in that line and got there shot of poison. Power is so dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. When the Peoples temple began in California, he was easier to listen too because according to people he was very charismatic and told you what you wanted to hear. He hid his true self at the beginning of his cult. believe that the followers were tricked into joining. In the video it was said that Jones was accused of being physically and sexually abusive. Even with those horrid things, his followers went with him to another continent. The people were so wrapped up in what he was preaching, that they failed to take his actions into consideration. When they made it to Guyana and built their socialist paradise, they had guards armed with rifles. One of the survivors named Vernon sad it had, "a sense of encampment." I believe that even if they wanted to escape, they couldn't because of the fear that they could get shot to death. This man led these people down a false, abusive, and fearful way of living. Jim Jones was a coward and a murderer. He sent men to kill those who were escaping back to America, and during the "suicide mission" he got shot with a gunshot to the head instead of the way his followers were put to death. People need to be very careful in who to put their faith and trust in. What Jim Jones did was inhumane, barbaric, and cold.
ReplyDeletepanda123
This event does not commonly come up in high school education. They tend to stick to the books a bit more. I know what you mean by feeling infuriated watching these people give in to the norms established by Jones. It was almost like a dictatorship, but he tried to play it off as a democracy. Jones made the people feel like they were participating in this great, almost utopian society. It was interesting for me to learn about it in school because many of the people really did not want to leave. They believed that what they were doing was this incredible thing to be a part of. You are totally right about people needing to be careful about who they put their faith and trust in. I just hope after each of these events, we can learn from them and better from them. -M&M123
DeleteJim Jones’s cult is an interesting culture to study. Jones took advantage of the marginalized and brainwashed them into believing him. The alienated are a very easily manipulated group when treated well. As outcasts, they are used to a lack of attention and care from other, and when someone notices them and shows actual interest in them, they seek more of that acceptance that they crave. Humans need interaction, and isolation can actually drive people to death in some cases. Jim Jones filled that void in their lives, and his charismatic leadership lead people to follow him through any circumstances. His following gained so much attention because of his ability to lead and manipulate the marginalized, and his cult grew to have such an unorthodox way of life eventually that the group felt that life would be better for them in South America. Isolated in the jungle, the rules of the cult became more strict. The laws of humane treatment in America did not apply to them anymore, and Jones could create his own laws and culture, one much more twisted than previous forms in the United States. The isolation of the new compound allowed Jones’s ideologies to drive deeper into the values of the cult. The power of the leadership of the cult began to increase so much, and the members started to fear for their lives. Social stratification was beginning to rise within the compound, and the elite group, consisting of Jim Jones, his associates, and his militia, became more powerful and dangerous. Once word started to get out about the injustice happening in South America, Jones saw his kingdom starting to crumble and knew the end was near. If he were to be caught, he would face imprisonment and possible death from either governments. His final act of evil was a mass killing of all the members of the cult. It was voluntary, too! The members were killing themselves just because of what Jones preached. The Jonestown Suicides is just another example of how easily malleable and fragile the human psyche can be. aardvark123
ReplyDeleteI had heard of this incident before today, but I did not fully understand the severity of it until watching this clip. Jim Jones was a charming man that told you whatever you wanted to hear. When he figured out how to use this to control people, he created a cult in the United States. He made himself to be similar to the “god” in his cult as his followers called him “father”. After a while of running the sect, there were allegations from members that had left that Jones had been abusing and threatening the followers of his cult. This caused him to move the cult to South America. While he was far away from the United States, the allegations continued and he was visited by a congressman, reporters, and concerned family members. Jones seemed to be on a downward spiral throughout the whole clip. He constantly was getting more negative and violent. Eventually, Jonestown’s entire population either committed suicide or were killed under the direction of Jones. Only a few escaped from Jonestown. This entire massacre is heartbreaking because of its avoidability. There was no reason that these people should have died. They were brainwashed into killing themselves and the people that wouldn’t kill themselves were then killed by the others. It also is sad that they used kool-aid because kool-aid is so good and now it’s not the same to me. The saddest part is that the children were the first to die. Children are the most innocent and pure people on Earth and yet they were the first to go. It’s also sad because parents had to watch their children die. I’m not a parent but I have heard from parents that the worst loss is the loss of a child. I found it interesting that people will conform to the point that they will kill themselves just because they are told to. That thought is scary because we know that these patterns can be applied to anyone as we all are socialized in similar ways. The entire time I watched this video I was like “I would never fall into that.” But in reality, I cannot say what I would or wouldn’t do because like these people I could fall prey into a manipulative person that tricks me into thinking something dumb to make himself feel powerful. That’s a scary and sobering thought and I hope that nothing like that happens again. SAS123
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your main point about how it is sad that they used kool-aid because of how good kool-aid is. This opens up a myriad of other questions as well. How did the Jim Jones Mass Suicide affect sales of kool-aid back in the United States? Did kool-aid executives have to make an official statement saying that they did NOT sponsor the event? What negative connotations still exist today because of the phrase "Don't drink the kool-aid"? These are just a few of the many questions that arose in my brain.
Delete-ThreeTwo123
While I have heard of the Jonestown Cult and done research on it for a psychology paper I wrote last year, I had never seen this documentary before. Watching this documentary makes everything seem so much more real. Jim Jones, although on the outside appearing to be an extremely charismatic leader, was almost certainly suffering from some type of psychopathy or sociopathy; he was definitely a deviant. After receiving criticism in America for some of his more questionable practices, Jim Jones decided to move his whole “church” to an isolated position in South America. Even though they were now far away from the United States, the media still followed. Jones set himself up as the head of the church and his members even called him “father.” This is a common trend among most cults: the leader is the highest authority, not a sacred text or an ancient religious figure. Jim Jones’ cult was extremely destructive in that it revolved around a highly manipulative group that exploited and sometimes physically and psychologically abused its members and recruits. Because Jones was so incredibly charismatic, he was able to convince thousands of people that what he said was true and that he was the ultimate authority, almost like a “god.” This is why it was so incredibly easy to convince such a large group of people to kill themselves; if Jones was viewed as their god, why shouldn’t they follow his orders?
ReplyDeleteI cannot even imagine the complete and utter evilness that encompasses such an atrocious leader. How could someone ever convince themselves that it is morally sound to perform a mass suicide which included killing young children. It absolutely breaks my heart to think about how many lost their lives that day, truly believing that what they were doing was right. It is also terrible to think that Jones would order the murder of the visitors mostly reporters. This directly violates the laws written in the Geneva Convention.
-ThreeTwo123
This is another gruesome and fascinating story I had not heard about prior to this class. Jim Jones began a sect outside of the traditional churches at the time, and called it the People’s Temple. Supposedly, it began with good intentions that stemmed from the belief that the world was inhumane. To me, I find this hard to believe because of the extremely horrific cult it turned into. Jim Jones easily manipulated members of the community into joining his sect because he had sex appeal and charisma. Those who followed him referred to him as “Father”, much like churches nowadays refer to their priests and ministers as such. However, in Jones’s religion, they did not worship a god, he was the God. His practice began in California, but soon his practices started turning darker, and he manipulated hundreds of people to move to Guyana, South America. Together, they created the community of “Jonestown”. His followers gave him money, property, custody of their children, and anything else he asked of them. This is a really good example of the culture theory, because by bringing together his followers in a tight night community, he had the power to create his own social norms. It made his followers feel comfortable and gave them a sense of protection, so it made them more willing to practice his faith. Some people did try to escape, as Jones was accused of drug abuse, sexual abuse, and physical abuse. By word of mouth and the media, Jonestown caught the attention of US congressmen. When they visited, they noticed they had no connection to the outside world. The followers had no phones or televisions. Of course, some of the members of this society wanted to leave with the congressmen because they feared for their lives. Jones ordered a hit on the congressmen by his closest followers, and they were shot at the airport as they tried to leave South America. It all ended when Jones forced hundreds of people to commit suicide by drinking poison. Many willingly killed themselves because of how strongly they worshiped Jones, but those who refused were poisoned anyways. Over 900 bodies were found in Jonestown, and very few survived. The mass murder by Jim Jones is one that should not be forgotten. As horrendous as it was, it has taught society a valuable sociological lesson on culture and religion. Daisy123
ReplyDeleteThe first time I heard about Jonestown I thought, “how could so many people be so cruel and foolish?” After learning about it more this last year at school, I realized that it only takes on cruel fool like Jones to persuade this kind of mentality that was present in Jonestown. There were many things that occurred there that totally defined not only norms, but mores. These people took on significant deviance, and it was not positive deviance. There is an entire class that allows students to really understand how it came to be, and it totally gives you an understanding how genocide can be understood. None of this behavior is acceptable, however it is almost as if these people are brainwashed. They are so obedient to whomever is telling what to do, how to think, where to go, who to talk to, etc. that they don’t even realize what they are doing. The power of authority is often underlooked until people begin to examine events like this. Adolf Hitler almost convinced people to completely wipe out jews. He made them think that it was acceptable though. I know that many of us watch this and think that we could never do anything like that, but look at how our country started. We killed off anyone in our way of getting our country and we justified it by saying it was the only way for us to gain freedom. Sure there were people who fought against Jonestown, but there were many more within who were so engulfed in it that the ones who didn’t support it were cast aside as an outgroup. The deviance of these people sped up the process of Jones enforcing this mass suicide. Jones used his power, authority, and power of deception to convince thousands of people to kill themselves. When I first heard that I was shocked and could not believe it. Now that I have a better understanding, my heart is broken because I can see how real it is. -M&M123
ReplyDeleteYes it is terrible how one person can have complete reign over all of those peoples minds and how they are brainwashed into thinking that this mans word is supreme. It’s terrible how many of the children were tat lost their lives for something that they thought was for the betterment of man kind. The individuals in this cult did not show deviance to me only because like you previously stated they were so brain washed that all they knew was whatever words he spoke to them, and some of them were just kids born into that environment and has been embedded into their minds over that extended period of time. Benoodles123
DeleteThis was a gut wrenching clip to watch. It is scary to think that a person can have an overwhelmingly large amount of control over a persons thoughts. Jim Jones’ organization started out as a sect and it seems he was off, to becoming a well known/ well revered leader who also displayed charisma of the sect although sects have ability to completely strip you from society. We can tell that he operated off of a sect instead of a church because of all the followers that he had willingly to leave their country that they’ve grown up in and go make a new living somewhere. As soon as he convinced all of his followers to go with him to another country is when I believe it turned into a cult. Many cults demand that members not only accept their doctrine but also adopt a radically new lifestyle. And that is exactly what happened people turned from what they knew and followed Jim Jones every word. Towards the end he felt that he could no longer run the cult because too many people were trying to escape or wanted another way of life. That is why he tried his hardest to make an example out of anyone who tried to leave the cult. He feared not having power over people anymore. He knew that if one person was able to get out of the cult then any one can devise an escape plan. So instead of letting innocent individuals leave he chose to have them all killed. He felt that if he could remain in power until the very end that that was more accepting and more honorable than to have died in by the hands of his enemies or people trying to make a change happen for other members of the cult. Benoodles123
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