Jonestown Section I: The Event One of the more disturbing incidents in American History is the Jonestown Massacre that occurred on November 18th, 1978 in Georgetown, Guyana. It was the largest loss of civilian life in a non-natural tragedy until the attacks of September 11th, 2001. 909 lives were lost under the hand of Jim Jones who had cultivated a following of people over twenty-plus years. Jim Jones started his first church, named The Peoples Temple, in the mid-1950’s in Indianapolis, Indiana (I). From the beginning, he preached a message of socialism and communism. Upon scrutiny of his tactics and teachings, he moved The Peoples Temple to Redwood Valley, California in 1965 and shortly after headquarters were set up in San Francisco. The Peoples Templecame into the public eye when eight defectors and negative media spoke out against the church. Jim Jones decided at this point to move his church to Georgetown, Guyana where the chilling events of November 18th would eventually unfold. To better understand how such a tragedy could occur it is important to understand the background of Jim Jones. Jones was born in Indianaand from an early age expressed interest in socialism and communism, studying the works and lives of Stalin, Marx, Gandhi, and Hitler among others. As he grew older, he became more and more politically involved in the communism movement, joining the Communist Party USA in 1951 (II). Jones was surprised with the reaction he received from Americans when he shared his beliefs and at that time decided that the best way to spread his Marxism was through the church. He became involved as a student pastor at Sommerset Southside Methodist Churchin 1952 and grew his career in the church from that point. Interestingly enough, by the time the Jonestown colony was thriving Jones was an admitted atheist (III). Jones and his wife, Marceline, adopted many children during this time, most being of a mixed race. He and his wife were the first couple in Indianato adopt a baby of African-American descent and were consequently alienated from their community as this was taboo at the time. Jones was also believed to abuse drugs including LSD, marijuana, valium, etc. An extremely high dose of Phenobarbitalwas found in Jones’s system upon autopsy. All these factors involved, Jones became increasingly paranoid and delusional over the years. By the time The Peoples Temple had been moved to Jonestown, Jim Jones was convinced he was God and displayed the typical traits and behaviors of cult leaders. Members were discouraged from defecting through use of drugs, physical force, and imprisonment. Even children were not immune. While Jones continued to preach his communist/socialist message, his behavior became more hostile, distrusting, and violent as time went on. He would often have his members participate in what was called “White Night” where Jones would rant on about the settlement being taken over by the CIA or another government agency and give his members the choice to relocate the church, stay and fight, flee to the jungle, or commit what he called “revolutionary suicide.” If the vote was for revolutionary suicide, members would line up to drink a red liquid they were told was poison (IV). Although there was not poison in the drink, he would tell members that eventually there would be a time when they would have to die by their own hands. His paranoia continued to elevate until a visit from Congressman Leo Ryan culminated in mass suicide. Congressman Ryan flew to Jonestown on the 14thof November, 1978 to investigate the state of Jonestown and its members after hearing the complaints from a group of defectors called the Concerned Relatives who voiced that families were not being allowed to leave Jonestown under their own free will. Upon arrival to Jonestown by Ryan there were no indications of hostility on Ryan’s part however Jim Jones took all day to allow Ryan’s entire party entrance. While Ryan was there, roughly 20 people asked to be escorted back to the United Statesby Ryan’s party. Even with this number of people Ryan had told Jones that he was going to write a positive report about the state of Jonestown. He assured him that no negative consequences would occur due to these families leaving and that Ryan believed it was more of a peer pressure issue by friends and neighbors than anything else more sinister. A vehicle was sent to pick up these families and transport them to an airstrip to fly back to the US. A short time before pick-up a Temple loyalist demanded to join the group and would later attempt to murder those aboard one of the planes back to the USA. The other plane would be attacked by members of the Red Brigade, the Temple’s make-shift police unit. All in all, five people were killed and eleven were injured out of this group. Congressman Ryan was among the dead, making him the only Congressman ever killed in the line of duty (V). Even before these deaths, Jim Jones was convinced that the people who left would destroy Jonestown and was preaching to his remaining members that this indeed was the end of their settlement. Upon hearing that Congressman Ryan had been killed, he instructed his 909 members to drink a cyanide-laced Flavor-Aid drink and “end it all.” The FBI would later recover a 45 minute tape documenting the final moments of Jonestown that would shock an already stunned America. Members voiced their desire to move the settlement to Russiawhile Jones insisted that they take their lives. Children can be heard screaming in the background and as people become increasingly afraid, Jones yells that they “die with some dignity.” Although the exact events at Jonestown took years to piece together, it remains one of the most haunting events in America's past. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jonestown http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jimjones http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,919897,00.html http://jonestown.sdsu.edu http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/aboutjonestown/primarysources/statement_november13.htmlSection II: The Early Years The first anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre was very much like the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Media coverage focused on unveiling Jim Jones’s troubled psyche as well as remembering the victims in a positive light (I). This anniversary hit hard in the American people’s heart due to the fact that nothing like this had ever happened in American history. The news replayed footage of Jonestown throughout the day while many people stayed home to honor the victims of Jonestown. Emotional interviews with survivors and family members were played throughout the day. The first and only loss of a Congressman also hit hard in the hearts of Americans. Footage of his visit to Jonestown, interviews with reporters, and coverage of his life and accomplishments were featured on many news stations (II). Also heavily covered on the first anniversary of Jonestown was the trial of Larry Layton, who was the shooter aboard the first plane that tried to take Jonestown members back to the United States. At the time of the first anniversary, the Layton trial was still being conducted and wildly popular among the public. Mr. Layton had just been extradited to the US after a Guyana jury ruled that he was not guilty of murder. Although the first trial in the US ended in a hung jury, he would eventually be convicted and serve 20 years in prison (III). Jonestown also caused a flurry of scientific research on cults and religion. Upon the first anniversary,research on the People’s Temple and Jim Jones was presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Many research teams focused on dissecting characteristics of members, organizational structure and operation, social control techniques, re-socialization techniques, theology, general orientation toward the world, and ritual behaviors of the group. Jonestown gave researchers unprecedented information regarding religious cults and mass suicide (IV). In addition to media coverage and scientific research, a Jonestown Memorial group was founded on the first anniversary. Founded by Dr. Jynona Norwood in 1979, this foundation strives to preserve the memory of the victims, raise public awareness, and specifically address the issue of the innocent children that were lost at Jonestown. Dr. Norwood is in charge of not only the Jonestown Memorial but also has set up a Guyana Tribute Foundation and Cherishing the Children Healing Memorial Service, all of which pertain to Jonestown. Although it took thirty years, this foundation has collected the funds needed to build a memorial wall and continues to unveil larger sections of the wall as the anniversaries come and go over the years (V). References: http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=57137 http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=261141 http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/Jonestownreport/Volume4/3.htm http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/articles/print_richardson.htm http://www.jones-town.org Section III: Current Status As the Jonestown Memorial wall in Oakland, California continues to grow as the years go by, public memory of the event weakens. Jonestown happened 31 years ago meaning there are grown adults who were not exposed to the initial shock and investigation into the tragedy. While groups such as Dr. Norwood’s strive to maintain public awareness, the event is inevitably slipping into the distant past as all historical events do. Countless books and movies have been dedicated to educating the public on Jonestown. Some of these include the 2006 movie, “_The Life and Death of Peoples Temple,_”which focuses on showcasing the story of Jonestown in a documentary style and shows never-before-seen footage (I). While this movie is described as being a little too sensational, it still serves to get the point across; Jonestown was a tragedy. In addition to movies, there are books like “_Raven: The Untold Story of Reverend Jim Jones and His People_,” which is described as being an excellent resource for understanding the power that one person can have over a group of people and an excellent depiction of everyday life for those in Jonestown (II). It is evident by the recent movies and books that have come out that there is still a strong interest in understanding the events that make up the Jonestown Massacre. In fact, there is still new footage and information that is being released. There are still living survivors of Jonestown that meet in private every year to remember that day 31 years ago. Story after heartbreaking story is available to the public through the internet in which family members, defectors, and Jonestown survivors recount their experiences and losses (III). Still, as life continues to move forward, memories fade and other events unfold. This is true regarding Jonestown as well. Even the actual location of the settlement is almost unrecognizable. The jungle has enveloped the camp and only a few reminders of Jim Jones and his People’s Temple remain. There is an old pick-up truck still parked at the site, rumored to have belonged to the group. A few of the old metal tubs used to serve food and drink have been turned over and engulfed by dirt, grass, and vines. The site actually served as a refuge camp some years back but as of now the buildings have all been dismantled and carried away by native Indians (IV). Jonestown should never be forgotten. It allows us as a society to examine how something this horrible could happen and prevent it from occurring again. Countless signs were ignored or missed in this situation that could have led to the prevention of the death of almost 1000 people and although it is impossible to feel the same intensity as when this tragedy first happened, it is still prevalent in the minds of those who where there, whether they were directly involved or watching the media coverage from their homes. It still causes those who weren’t even alive at the time to stop and think about what went wrong and how such a horrible thing could have ever happened in the first place. References: http://www.imdb.com/title/h0762111 http://www.factnet.org/cults/jonestown/recommended_books_on_jonestown.htm http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933 http://www.cnn.com/2008/us/11/jonestown.factsheet/index.html