Jim Jones - The Jonestown Massacre

[Ono]

Jim Jones - The Jonestown Massacre:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial4/jonestown/

[diamondgypsy]

Ono, Jim Jones was the first cult leader that caught my attention - besides Jack the Ripper and The Boston Strangler - although they are seriel killers. I even watched the movie but I know 'the real Jim Jones' was not depicted in it. Although I consider him brilliant (are not most brilliant minds psychotic or near psychotic?) and one of the greatest masterminds - he was demented and had no respect for God or for human life - only for himself. I sometimes wonder why scientists do not let those of evil live - so that their minds can be studied to see what comprises - An Evil Mind. Like McVeigh, Ted Bundy, and others - I hold a weird respect for them and feel sorry that they were executed. I know that sounds strange but - what a waste of brilliance in the way of the mind. Who knows what evil lurks in many minds of great smartness - we'll never know because we keep tossing them off this earth to a place where they reign in evil forever.

thanks for the link!

[vperry999]

Actually, his ideas on humanity projects and on ending racism, ageism, sexism, etc. were really good. He also was a spiritual man with many spiritual gifts.

And no, I'm not defending him, but facts are facts. He really did help many folks. He helped the seniors out by opening up two senior citizen homes in Redwood Valley, which won awards. His wife Marceline was an RN and specialized in geriatrics.

He also had "the ranch" which took in mentally challenged young boys. The state sent many of the boys to the ranch. That too was in Redwood Valley.

The man also helped people of many races in the court system, being charged with various things and placed in prisons, some given the death sentence, when it was apparent they were innocent. People's Temple and Jim Jones raised money doing whatever they could, to send the money in for lawyers or whatever was needed.

At the end, Jones was sick and dying. He became addicted to pain killers, speed, morpheine, etc. He was "loopy" to say the least. His refrigerator was filled with more drugs than the local drugstore.

He was truly a dysfunctional person too, always needing a crisis, always wanting people to like him. If you didn't like him, he was angry. He became paranoid at the end too, as is usually the case when on that many drugs. I guess at the end he figured if he was dying, he was taking everyone out with him.

He was an extremely intelligent man too. But, like you said, most are.

[vperry999]

The Jonestown Institute http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/

Primary source documents: (FBI tapes, FCC tapes, transcriptions of tapes) released by court system through Fielding Mc Gehee III of the Jonestown Institute. Personal articles by survivors, their family members and many others.

Since it's such a controversial subject, it's great as it's got many different opinions.

[vperry999]

http://geocities.com/vperry997/jonestownlight

Jonestown: The Town And The People That Built It.
Gives primary source information about the town of Jonestown, and talks about the people that built it. They each had a story to tell and deserved better.

Photo's from FBI FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) files released by the FBI through the court system. New site still under construction, but will have the transcriptions of the FBI tapes, photographs from the FBI files and educational information about the town and inner workings in daily life.

[Ono]

Thanks for the additions!

[kidcanuck]

The phrase "don't drink the kool-aid" comes from this event.

[vperry999]

Originally Posted by kidcanuck

The phrase "don't drink the kool-aid" comes from this event.

Actually, most people say "you drank the Kool-Aid on that one". Really a stupid phrase, as first of all, it was Fla-Vor-Aid, secondly, it's very cold and unfeeling, uncaring.

Thirdly, it's a phrase used to describe someone that follows someone else...which folks do using this phrase...they follow each other, saying the phrase whether they know what it means or not. So, in a sense, saying "you drank the Kool-Aid" means YOU drank the Kool-Aid. Really stupid to use the phrase, if you think about it. You're following someone else saying the phrase because you thought it funny when you heard it, or you are following the "idea" behind it when used.

[vperry999]

The crime library has a good "report" on Ryan's visit to JT, but is off on quite a few things in the deaths of the community of Jonestown.

Jones did call for a meeting in the pavilion, threatened everyone with "you're all going to be surrounded by GDF and FBI, CIA soon, who will take the babies and torture them". He told them that they will die with dignity in a revolutionary suicide. There was a woman that fought for her life and fought for the children's lives by arguing the point with Jones, recommending they go to Russia. Jones and a SMALL GROUP argued back. There were armed guards all around the pavilion. You had two choices...drink the poison, or get shot.

Although the "report" says there were a few people shot. There were only two shot. Maria Katsaris (one of his "inner circle") and Jones himself (taken from FBI reports and Tim Carter, survivor, and eye witness). Carter saw the bodies in Jonestown, with injection marks on various parts of their bodies, along with Jones and Katsaris who were shot.

Those that did not die willingly were held down and injected. The bodies were put into a "group hug" formation with all of them looking as though they died together, with arms around each other and in a group, with a few exceptions.

My point is that even though something says it's the "story", please take into consideration that NOBODY knows all the "truths" of Jonestown, why it happened, how it happened or exactly in what order things took place. We can only go by documentation, eye witness accounts and photographs. There is so much controversy about the whole story. It's easy to find information on the subject, but difficult to find actual "facts". Just remember to take into consideration most everything out there is either written by people that weren't there that day but have done "research" or others that want to make money off of the story, or others that hear it one way and that's the way they tend to go in their beliefs.

[Ono]

I remember when it happened and watched the news footage of the event, including the shooting of of Senator Ryan.

Terrible.