Jim Jones Shooting

“Don’t drink the Kool-Aid”; you’ve heard it,but do you know what it means? This saying originated from the large scale massacre that occurred in Guyana in November of 1979. The tragedy was conducted in Jonestown at a religious compound headed by James Warren Jones, or as he is more commonly known, Jim Jones. The occurrences at the compound are very intriguing, and many people contribute their thoughts about the disaster. The loss of life in Guyana could have been the result of mass murder or mass suicide. The massacre at Jonestown has caused confusion in regards to how the inhabits died. Regardless over 1000 people perished due to Jim Jones’ increasingly radical beliefs. Early in his life, Jones joined the Pentecostal ministry, and he studied…show more content…
George Russell states that the disaster is called “the largest mass suicide of Americans in history”, supporting the claim that the participants in the Peoples Temple intentionally killed themselves (38+). Russell also explains that Jones was very intent on his ‘revolutionary suicide’ and that he kept bringing it up, and during his final speech he claimed that it was the only way out (38+). Richard Cavendish claims that many of the churches believers “willingly killed their children and themselves” (13). Evidently, numerous people in Jones’ following actually believed his words and trusted him enough to put their lives in his hands. In fact, Thomas Streissguth points out that Jones was a believer of socialism, and that he was so aggressively persuasive about his standing that members of his congregation were compelled to donate all of their belongings and funds to the church (105). Moreover, many church-goers might have followed Jones based only on his actions outside his church. Surprisingly, Jones made large community contributions, such as founding foster homes, homes for the elderly, a home for mentally handicapped boys, and a day-care center (Streissguth 104). These operations made Jones seem like a remarkable leader in society outwardly, and that may have been enough for those hundreds of devotees to hold full confidence and faith in…show more content…
What went on inside the church shows that Jones was was thoroughly corrupt. From beatings to blackmail, his adherents experienced Jones’ worst. Throughout the 1970s the media seemed to be very concerned about reports of abuse and financial fraud. Following these rumors and due to Jones’ own faltering mental state, the Peoples Temple moved to Guyana with nearly 1000 members; in Guyana, believers were subject to working long hours without rest as the abuse claims continued (History.com). Richard Cavendish, a British occult historian, writes that “members who wanted to leave were being kept at the settlement against their will” (13). One successful defector, Leon Broussard, calls the church a slave colony (Russell 38+). In addition nearly a third of the deceased were children (Cavendish 13). According to the laws in most places, abetment of and assisted suicide- especially of a minor- is punishable, and in some cases could lead to long-term imprisonment. George Russell adds that, out of the dead, “many of them were infants killed with squirts of cyanide solution into their wailing mouths” (38+). Infants are undeniably incapable of suicide, and Jones is therefore, at a minimum, responsible for their passing. Jones threatened the members until their very last day, where he “told them that they must either destroy themselves or be destroyed” (Cavendish 13). Jones followed through on this, and