The Jonestown Massacre :: Papers

The Jonestown Massacre The Jonestown massacre was a horrible tragedy, which took the lives of over 900 innocent people and could possibly be the most corrupt and horrific try out the American government has ever done. To get to know about the massacre, you have to know a little about the man behind it all, Reverend Jim Jones. Jim Jones was the give-and-take of a Klansman and considered himself to be a reincarnation of both Jesus and Lenin. (Lenin was a Russian revolutionist who helped bring about socialism in Russia.) They say he was paranoid of the American government, but later, it was found that he worked for it. He was a well-known person in San Francisco because he was the leader of the Peoples Temple and also because of the occurrence that he was the Chairman of the Housing Department and he and his church service won many humanitarian awards. He was called Father by members of the Peoples Temple. The Peoples Temple was the so-called church that Jones established. People joined the Peoples Temple for different reasons a political statement, structure, discipline, or a way to escape from violence, alcohol and drugs. Whatever the reason they joined for, when they got in something kept them there. Jim Jones was a mastermind at brainwashing, and thats just what he did to all of his followers. He had many tactics he was an excellent speaker and was amazingly convincing, he staged fake healings, and used narcotics on his followers, so they would believe almost anything. As he was doing all this brainwashing he was stealing money from the people, raping the upstart women and girls of his church, and on top of it all, murdering those who seemed a threat to his church or attempted to leave. Eventually, The Peoples Temple was being investigated by the police, so Jim Jones moved it to the jungle of Guyana, he called this focalize Jonestown. Jonestown was his idea of the perfect community. It was base d on the ideals of socialism and communism, and everyone worked