(8/12)

[32. wiki: Jonestown]:

The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement established by the Peoples Temple, an American cult under the leadership of reverend Jim Jones, in north Guyana. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, a total of 918[1][2] people died in the settlement, at the nearby airstrip in Port Kaituma, and at a Temple-run building in Georgetown, Guyana's capital city. The name of the settlement became synonymous with the incidents at those locations.

909 individuals died in Jonestown,[1] all but two from apparent cyanide poisoning, in an event termed "revolutionary suicide" by Jones and some members on an audio tape of the event and in prior discussions. The poisonings in Jonestown followed the murder of five others by Temple members at Port Kaituma, including United States Congressman Leo Ryan, an act that Jones ordered. Four other Temple members committed murder-suicide in Georgetown at Jones' command.

While some refer to the events in Jonestown as mass suicide, many others, including Jonestown survivors, regard them as mass murder.[3][4] All who drank poison did so under duress, and a third of the victims (304) were minors.[5][6] It was the largest such event in modern history and resulted in the largest single loss of American civilian life in a deliberate act until September 11, 2001.[7]

Origin

Main articles: Peoples Temple, Jim Jones, and Peoples Temple in San Francisco

The Peoples Temple was formed in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1955.[8] Its roots and teachings shared with biblical church and Christian revival movements, it purported to practice what it called "apostolic socialism".[9][10] In doing so, the Temple preached that "those who remained drugged with the opiate of religion had to be brought to enlightenment — socialism."[11][12] In the early 1960s, Jones visited Guyana – then still a British colony – while on his way to establishing a short-lived Temple mission in Brazil.[13]

After Jones received considerable criticism in Indiana for his integrationist views, the Temple moved to Redwood Valley, California in 1965.[14] In the early 1970s, the Temple opened other branches in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and would eventually move its headquarters to San Francisco.[15]

With the move to San Francisco came increasing political involvement by the Temple. After the group's participation proved instrumental in the mayoral election victory of George Moscone in 1975, Moscone appointed Jones as the Chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission.[16] Unlike many other figures who are considered cult leaders, Jones enjoyed public support and contact with some of the highest level politicians in the United States. Jones personally met with vice presidential candidate Walter Mondale and First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Guests at a large 1976 testimonial dinner for Jones included Governor Jerry Brown, Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally, and Assemblyman Willie Brown, among others.[17]

[33. wiki: Jim Jones]

[34. wiki: Peoples Temple]

[35. wiki: Peoples Temple in San Francisco]

Y'know what? I'm just gonna power through this Jonestown thing in short-hand for now, I'll come back to it later...

"Apocalypse compounding"

A term I feel is fitting for a running theme between Waco, Jonestown & others, the Waco example speaks for itself I think, when looking at what Jonestown ultimately became. I'll skip the morbid details for now, suffice to say that even the popular short understanding of it being merely a suicide cult, is a slight, possibly even vast understatement.

[34]:

In California

Move to California

~Jones preached of an imminent nuclear holocaust, after which the surviving elect would create a new socialist Eden on earth.[3] In 1965, he predicted this would occur on July 15, 1967.[3] Accordingly, Jones preached that the Temple must move to Redwood Valley, California.[3] In July 1965 Jones led approximately 140 members, half of whom were Black, to Redwood Valley, and officially opened his church there.[7][21] The addition of deputy district attorney Timothy Stoen greatly increased the Temple's credibility in the area, quickly increasing membership.[21]

Interesting about Jonestown, though, is a particular sub-element of the overarching religious/cult element.

First, though:

Geography of the "Jonestown Massacre"

(A map with pin-overlays for Jonestown and Gerogetown in Guyana can be seen at [32])

For a better look with more of the picture available

1. California (A): North; Los Angeles, San Francisco("Bay Area"). (B): South; Baja/Gulf - proximity to central America.
2. Region of corruption and suspicious events(see preface) including black magick and clandestine involvement with regards to Waco and Jonestown(Georgetown).
3. Jonestown/Georgetown, Guyana.

Communism/Russia subelements

[34]:

In California

Move to California

Jones returned to Indiana in 1963.[3] While he had always spoken of the social gospel's virtues, Jones did not reveal that his gospel was actually communism until the late 1960s.[3] By then, he was openly revealing in Temple sermons his "apostolic Socialism" concept.[3][20] The concept often loosely mixed tenets of socialism.[note 1] During this period, Jones preached to new members that the Holy Spirit was within them, but that Jones's healing power demonstrated that he was a special manifestation of "Christ the Revolution."[3] He also preached that the United States was the Antichrist and capitalism "the Antichrist system."[3]~

[32]:

Jonestown established

~

Jonestown before mass migration

~Jonestown was held up as a benevolent communist community, with Jones stating: "I believe we're the purest communists there are."[29] Jones' wife, Marceline, described Jonestown as "dedicated to live for socialism, total economic and racial and social equality. We are here living communally."[29] Jones wanted to construct a model community and claimed that Burnham "couldn't rave enough about us, the wonderful things we do, the project, the model of socialism."[30] Jones did not permit members to leave Jonestown without his express prior permission.[31]~

[32]:

Jonestown established

~

Jonestown life after mass migration

Many members of the Temple believed that Guyana would be, as Jones promised, a paradise or utopia.[41] After Jones arrived, however, Jonestown life significantly changed.[40] Entertaining movies from Georgetown that the settlers had watched were mostly canceled in favor of Soviet propaganda shorts and documentaries on American social problems.[40] Bureaucratic requirements after Jones' arrival sapped labor resources for other needs.[40] Buildings fell into disrepair and weeds encroached on fields.[40] School study and nighttime lectures for adults turned to Jones' discussions about revolution and enemies, with lessons focusing on Soviet alliances, Jones' crises, and the purported "mercenaries" sent by Tim Stoen, who had defected from the Temple and turned against the group.[40]

For the first several months, Temple members worked six days a week, from approximately 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch.[42] In mid-1978, after Jones' health deteriorated and his wife began managing more of Jonestown's operations, the work week was reduced to eight hours a day for five days a week.[20] After the day's work ended, Temple members would attend several hours of activities in a pavilion, including classes in socialism.[11] Jones compared this schedule to the North Korean system of eight hours of daily work followed by eight hours of study.[43][44] This also comported with the Temple's practice of gradually subjecting its followers to sophisticated mind control and behavior modification techniques borrowed from North Korea and Mao Zedong's China.[45] Jones would often read news and commentary, including items from Radio Moscow and Radio Havana,[46] and was known to side with the Soviets over the Chinese during the Sino-Soviet split.[47]~

~Nothing in the way of film or recorded TV (shown on the commune's closed-circuit system), no matter how innocuous or seemingly politically neutral, could be viewed without a Temple staffer present to "interpret" the material for the viewers. This invariably meant damning criticisms of perceived capitalist propaganda in Western material, and glowing praise for and highlighting of Marxist–Leninist messages in material from Communist nations.[46]

[32]:

Events in Jonestown before Ryan visit

~

Exploring another potential exodus

~On October 2, 1978, Soviet dignitary Feodor Timofeyev visited Jonestown for two days and gave a speech.[87] Jones stated before the speech, "For many years, we have let our sympathies be quite publicly known, that the United States government was not our mother, but that the Soviet Union was our spiritual motherland."[87] Timofeyev opened the speech stating that the Soviet Union would like to send "our deepest and the most sincere greetings to the people of this first socialist and communist community of the United States of America, in Guyana and in the world."[87] Both speeches were met by cheers and applause from the crowd in Jonestown.[87] Following the visit, Temple members met almost weekly with Timofeyev to discuss a potential Soviet exodus.[84]

The relevance of Russian/Soviet/Communist sub-elements, will come into play again in an upcoming ROC entry.

Continue ahead in comment 9...