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Agree this could happen again. There are too many alienated, disenfranchised folks ready to blindly follow hope. A little bit of charisma in the wrong place can cause a lot of problems.
I remember when Jonestown happened. There are so many "lost souls" out there looking for something to believe in. My in-laws are JWs. My husband got out of it. They never could get me even when I was a teen, TG!!!! I wasn't desperate or down trodden enough to believe their "stuff". Did you know the JWs do not believe in Christ? I know orthodox Jews do not either but I do not consider them "cults". I know many people whose spouses became a JW and when that person would not accept the JWs and give then their house and property, the JWs convinced the member to divorce the spouse! I know this should be in the "religious" threads but I'm just saying that psychological manipulation of desperate people still thrives. That is what all cults prey on....desperate people.
A 36-ft memorial is gonna be put up to remember the 900 people that died.
I didn't get to watch it yet. That was a terrible story, its so sad that those people were influenced by that man, and lost their lives.
There is an excellent book written by one of the Jonestown survivors. It's called Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton. I don't know if it's still in print.
most of these people were hippy types looking for the perfect life. but when they got to Jonestown that guy had some very good ways of making sure no one could leave. like how he would announce that someone is going to come to you and try to leave. and if they do you are supposed to turn them in because it is a test. that stuff worked well on the weak minded people and made it near impossible for the people that got a clue to leave. that stuff was crazy.
I'm surprised to see so many posts calling the victims weak-minded or idiots. They were taken in! They didn't want to die. These leaders (Manson, Koresh, Jones, Heaven's Gate leader Applewhite, etc.) all manipulated their followers and twisted their good intentions into something dark and dangerous.
Patricia Hearst was a student at UC Berkeley. She wasn't stupid or suicidal. She was kidnapped, sure, but the process of brainwashing was the same, no? People don't join cults knowing what they're getting into. It's a masterful dance that lures them in and gradually transforms their thinking. We may not want to believe it could happen to us, but it might if we were to take that first step by mistake.
There are idiots in every group, I imagine. No doubt there were a few in each of these groups too. But to blame these victims seems unnecessarily cruel, given their fate. The blame lies with the leaders.
Did any one see this documentary on CNN? It was my first time hearing about this.I think all those fools that follow him to Guyana are freaking idiots.If I go to a church and the pastor tells me to call him "Father", I am outta there ASAP!!He also spanked them in front of the congregation.WTF!!
I am sick of Phony ass Pastors killing in Gods name!!
I hope that fool BURN IN HELL!!
If you read, I can recommend a very interesting book for you. It's called "Seductive Poison" (A Jonestown survivor's story of life and death in the People's Temple) by Deborah Layton.
I was in the Air Force at the base they brought the bodies back to for processing. They asked for volunteers to help out but I just couldn't do it. Seeing the mortuary technicians in the chow hall and hearing the stories in the dorm rooms was bad enough.
Human beings don't change that much from decade to decade. Some people might say I've gotten more cynical as I've gotten older. I think I've actually gotten more understanding. Understanding that all persons have foibles, some are weak, some have needs that are too strong, out of balance.
That we need to be protected from ourselves by laws. But you can't protect everybody without making the laws too stringent for most - so the balance is hard.
Victims and victimizers, they always seem to come together somehow. Laws minimize it I think. How we save the other percent? Wish I knew.
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