I didn't completely believe the tiny specks of color were people. Later, because of news radio and my parents' "full disclosure" policy, I heard how parents killed their children, how those those terrified or courageous enough to run were gunned down. I was both fascinated and horrified, a combination I still feel when thinking about Jonestown.
Of course, The Peoples Temple, the formal name of Jim Jones' religious group, didn't start out as a nutty suicide cult. Most of the people who joined the Peoples Temple were attracted to Jones' religo-political message of peace and equality. Eventually as his ego expanded with congregation, Jim Jones completely infantilized his followers, stripping them of all agency, addressing them as "my children." The most striking record of that day is the recording (transcript here) of Jones ordering his members to "lay down." In his drugged-out monotone he sounds like tired father putting kids to bed. Those little dots of color were, by and large, incredibly idealistic people caught up in a whirlwind of charisma and religious fervor.
It is easy to treat Jonestown as nothing more than one of history's little freak shows, until you read this Sunday's Post article about Virginia's Calvary Temple, or listen to a piece of one of Calvary Pastor Scott's Sermons:
Jonestown is a completely human story, about how in our modern world, people can feel so alienated that they will take unthinkable measures in order to feel a sense of being wanted or belonging. Stanley Nelson's Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple does a superior job of telling that version of this horrific story. If you are, like me, sickly entranced by this sad anniversary, I can recommend no better:
No comments:
Post a Comment