On November 18th, twenty five years ago, in the desolate Guyana Jungle, the Apocalypse occurred. It is worthwhile to remember the significance of this event, an event that came to be known as ?Jonestown?. At Jonestown more than 900 people died, snuffed out in a few of hours of frenzy and terror. But their lives, what happened to them in the jungle, are not entirely lost in time. They are captured on more than 600 hours of recordings, taped by Jim Jones, and his followers, during their stay in the Guyana wilderness.
Jim Jones believed that every word he uttered, and what was happening within his movement, their struggle to build a perfect society in a jungle desert, was of world importance and so he had the church meetings recorded, forever preserving his own opinions. But not just his own words are on the tapes, the ?Peoples Temple? was, in theory, an interactive Socialist church and so the public utterances of members of his revolutionary church were also taped as they confessed their sins before the assembled group and publicly tried and humiliated those in their midst who had ?treasonous thoughts? or had committed such base ?crimes? as eating more than their share of food.
The trouble for Jim Jones, the serious trouble, started a mere two months after the ?church? moved to the Guyana wilderness. Jones had wanted to leave America to escape the bad publicity that was being generated, in the media, by apostate ex members of his group. These told horror stories of beatings, strange sexual practises such as ?revolutionary sex?, and endless exhaustive ?catharsis meetings? that went on into the dawn hours every night.
And so Jim fled, with his entire church, into the jungle. Away from the corrupting influences of the fallen world. But the ?persecutions? of the Apostates soon followed him, even there.
Out in the jungle, with no external sources of information, no civilization nearby, and only the sounds of the alien jungle creatures and the endless monologues of ?Father? Jim to break the silence, fear and paranoia easily set in, especially among people of little education and no experience outside of their lives in the cities of America. The paranoia was rooted in Jims own extreme paranoia and soon infected the whole commune. The people were paranoid, and they were scared. Mainly they were trained to be scared of the things outside the safety of the barbed wire compound. Outside the protective ?aura? of the ?living god?, pastor Jim.
Jim had experts in jungle fauna come to the compound and give the people warning talks about the prospective dangers of wandering outside the compound. Deadly spiders, man eating reptiles, and lethally poisonous snakes abounded out there. Surely it must have seemed, for anyone that thought of leaving the group, that flight into the jungle was a dangerous option. And so, they remained. And they laboured, exhaustively, beneath the sun.
But snakes weren?t the only source of peril that lurked, in the impenetrable jungle.
There were also ?mercenaries?. These mercenaries were rumoured to have been hired by wealthy apostates, so the church members believed, and had even on occasion taken shots at Pastor Jim, trying to assassinate the ?greatest man who ever lived?. Father Jim endlessly warned the people of the horrible prospects in store should these mercenary armies ever gain access and overwhelm the compound.
Terrifying scenarios were not only painted by Jim, a skilled wordsmith, but they were acted out in ?dramas? on the stage and in full rehearsals, liable to be called at any hour of the day or night. The exhausted ?people? would be jolted out of their sleep by the sirens and have to man the barricades. Old, young, and sick, there they were in the pouring 3am rain with sticks and machetes running from one place to another as Jim directed, fending off murderous soldiers sent by the FBI, the apostates, or the US government:
Jim:? (Hysterical).. ?Love is the only weapon??.Bull shit!?Bull Shit love is the only weapon!? Martin Luther King died with love. ?.He was shot down?.(Yelling)?BullShit love is the only weapon I get to fight with.
I got a hell of a lot of weapons to fight with!?.I got my claws?.I got compass?I got guns?I got dynamite and I?ll fight!.. ?I?ll fight!?I?ll fight??.
(Cheering from the members, sounds of sticks beating together)
Jim: (Screeching)??I WILL FIGHT?.IIIEEEEEEE WILL FIIIIIGHT??.
(Church members make the sound of a war cry which reverberates thru the night)?.?WWWOOOOOOOOOOO?.OOOOWWOOOOOOOOOOO??.
Jim:?(Screeching)? ?Let the night ROAARRR with it!?..They hear us!!?.They're there!!??.WE WILL KILL THEM IF THEY COME??.
Crowd:??WOOOOOOOOOOOO??..
In the face of the prospect of such horrors as rape and massacre, what was called the ?white night? seemed a preferable option. This was the ?Revolutionary Suicide? of the whole group. Father Jim claimed that he loved the entirety of his church so much that, rather than a single one of them be hurt, or dragged from their midst, the entire church would extinguish itself in a ?white night?. These ?white nights? were often rehearsed and it was clear that ?revolutionary suicide? was a final option in the face of the ultimate crisis. Unfortunately the crises kept mounting, even though the crises often were caused by a seemingly small thing. But only Father Jim knew the big picture What might seem an insignificant matter to the eyes of an individual member, Father Jim understood, was actually a thing crucial to the entire movements continued existence. Fortunately though, the living god, Jim, was always able to stave off the crises thru his manipulative genius. At least until the final crisis came in November of 1978.
As the jungle fever and paranoia within Jim Jones escalated he became more and more obsessed with the sense of impending doom, and he became more and more concerned with the prospects of dissension within members of the group. Most of the troublemaking apostates back home, those who were ?killing him?, were educated, professional whites, like the Stoens and the Mertles, and so, within the jungle compound, any suggestions of intellectual eliteism, any tendancy toward formal learning were condemned, and severely punished.
One night an exhausted young man was brought before the church. He had just been released from the ?Psyche department? where he had undergone thought correction. Now he stood before the entire church in the wee hours of the morning and was quizzed by Jim. Jim the judge, Jim the protector of the people, to see if he was now reformed. His voice echoes across 25 years as he speaks in an exhausted whisper. He sounds confused and his speech is halting. Broken:
Young man: ?Id just like to say?.(long pause)?about the comment?.I wasn?t really referring to the group?.That I was smarter?I was referring to those with intellectual?.leanings. Intellectual background?.(long pause)?I just used that word?.
Jones: ?(long silence)?.You won't be well for a while. I hope you have learnt?(long pause)?I must exert my power with justice?.and with will. (Long pause. Jones voice rises)?Because you have stepped TOO FAR?..(sighs)?.I expect you to do your study. When you are back in good health I expect you to be on the job. Doing your task?(Long pause)?when you are back ?in good health?
(Long pause) Young man: ?Thank you Father?. Thank you father?
Jim Jones couldn?t bear the thought of a single member of his church leaving the fold. Everyone of them that deserted was like a knife in his heart. A betrayal after all that he had suffered on their behalf. And everyone that left was a prospective ?traitor?, a potential source of trouble if they spoke about the things that happened in the church. Things like ?The Blue Eyed Monster? used to keep the children on the straight path. Things like the public beatings with wooden paddles, which the ?fallen world? did not understand the necessity of. And so, in the stifling jungle, the practise of searching out potential defectors grew more common, the methods of detection ever more subtle. Pastor Jim would have a false rumour whispered into the ear of a member who he was suspicious of to see whether they complied with the church edict that such rumours be reported.
?The People?, who were weak in Jims mind, helpless without his guidance, had to be protected from themselves and their own strayed impure thinking , such as happened one night with one of the seniors, an old black man who had mentioned to a friend that he wanted to see his kinfolk back in America once more. He wanted to be home at Christmas time. The report reached the ear of Jim thru the dobbers system, and the old man found himself on public trial :
Woman inquisitor: How many witnesses heard him say he wants to go back to the States??
Woman witness: ?He said if he really wants to get away from here by Christmas I will be gone?
Jim: ?He said that??(long pause).. that may be true( contemplative)?.yes?it may be very true?
Pause.
Jim: ?You want to be gone??
Old man (in a very creaky voice): ?I would like??
Jim: ( chopping each word out) ?By Christmas?do?you?want...to? be?.GONE??
Old man: ?Could I make the trip? To see my people??
Jim: ?I am asking you just one question, and I will not repeat myself, I now move from my position as administrator and assume my office as saviour. Do you want to be home by Christmas???(Long pause) ?.(intimidatory)I have the power to send you home?but it WONT be on any boat? or airline. Do you want to be? gone??
Old man: ?No, no??..( long pause)?(Sullen)?.you always makes a big deal out of every little thing??
Jim (Roaring)?It is NO little thing!?It is blasphemy!?.blasphemy!?.It is blasphemy?..
Crowd yelling: ?Right on!???Right?..
Jim: ?Blasphemy!?? (silence)?. ?If I cease to intercede for you?.you WILL be going home?.do you wanna go home??
Old man: (long pause) ?No?
Jim: (contemptuous)?Then be seated.. shut your mouth ..and stay outta my face?
Lest we forget.