30 years ago today the term "drinking the Kool-Aid" entered our lexicon

[cobalt1999]

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27743208/

'I felt evil itself'
That freakish storm and the mood seemed ominous — and not just to me. "I felt evil itself blow into Jonestown when that storm hit," recalls Tim Carter, one of the few settlers to survive that day.

Within hours, Carter would see his wife and son die of cyanide poisoning, two of the more than 900 people Jones led in a murder and suicide ritual of epic proportions.

And I would be wounded when a team of temple assassins unleashed a fusillade that killed Ryan — the first congressman slain in the line of duty — and four others, including three newsmen.



It's sad that some people are either desperate for something to believe in, easily manipulated, or just unable to smell bullshit that something like this could happen.

As an atheist and skeptic, I can not fathom the idea of following anyone, so this type of behavior will always be a mystery to me.

[MountainLaurel]

1. Something interesting I hadn't realized

That was mentioned in the MSNBC documentary: Government officials at the city and state levels had been ignoring complaints about Jones and his group because of the "charitable works" the church had been doing. The perception of Jones as a hero and do-gooder who helped the disenfranchised was a reason why editors refused to print one early expose.

[cobalt1999]

3. I'm surprised that the compliants were enough to get a US congressman there

However, why didn't the US government just put some pressure on the local government to do something?

Of course, I doubt anyone could imagine what was really going on.

[MountainLaurel]

4. Families of the cultists had been asking for help

And trying to draw attention Jones and his plans, but there were a few high-profile cases of escapees who went to the media and were honest about what was happening in Guyana, including talk of mass suicide. They included one woman who went to court to try to get her young child returned to her (she had left without him).

[Shardik]

2. It's been that long?

What a tragedy. Another reason I dislike religion.

[cobalt1999]

7. I'm still trying to find ONE reason to like religion.

I haven't found it yet. Lots of reasons to dislike religion though.

[noonwitch]

5. I remember seeing it on the news, when I was a teen

The helicopter-view footage of the scene, with all the bodies laying around. It was so awful and heartbreaking. They weren't all suicides, either, a good number of the dead were murdered, including the children.


There was one elderly lady who survived by hiding under her bed until it was all over. There were a few who had left the compound with Ryan and ran into the jungle when the shooting started, and they survived. Jones' teenage son was away from the compound on a basketball trip and he survived, although he was staying at one of the Temple's properties in Georgetown, Guyana, and the other residents committed murder/suicide. I saw him interviewed-what a haunted man he was. I felt such sympathy for him.

[cobalt1999]

6. I still remember these pictures

I know not all of them were suicides, but if 900 people ran at the same time the guards would only have been able to get a few dozen of them. That so many went willingly is mind boggling.