WEBVTT - The Backstory: Drinking the Kool-Aid – the Jonestown massacre

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<v Speaker 1>All right. Can you imagine needing emotional, intellectual, or spiritual

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<v Speaker 1>comfort so much that you'd be willing to sign your

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<v Speaker 1>life away to a powerful, mind controlling individual. Some call

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<v Speaker 1>it a fad, others a cult. And what happens when

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<v Speaker 1>you drink the kool aid and give up your life

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<v Speaker 1>for the cause. I'm Patty Steele. The Jonestown Massacre was

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<v Speaker 1>the actual origin of the term drinking the kool aid

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<v Speaker 1>and it left over nine hundred dead. That's next on

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<v Speaker 1>the backstory. We're back with the backstory. So cults are

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<v Speaker 1>nothing new. You can go back to ancient times in Greece, Rome, Egypt,

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<v Speaker 1>and so many other societies and see the rise of

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<v Speaker 1>these powerful influencers who basically hypnotized people into joining their cults.

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<v Speaker 1>In Greece and Rome, a lot of them were what's

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<v Speaker 1>called mystery cults. It was about the mystery of life itself.

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<v Speaker 1>Join them and you had the opportunity to control your

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<v Speaker 1>own life. That's what they told you. In order to join,

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<v Speaker 1>you had to be initiated in order to prove your

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<v Speaker 1>devotion to the belief system. Cults back then and now

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<v Speaker 1>are all about accepting the absolute authority of the leader.

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<v Speaker 1>Never questioning their decisions when it comes to your life,

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<v Speaker 1>and accepting their unreasonable fear of upcoming catastrophes and evil

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<v Speaker 1>conspiracies from the outside world, and most importantly, accepting without

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<v Speaker 1>question that the group leader is always right. In ancient times,

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<v Speaker 1>the belief in these spiritual cults allowed people to figure

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<v Speaker 1>out a reason for distressing events like hailstorms, winds that

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<v Speaker 1>prevented them from sailing, fires, and crop failures. If they

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<v Speaker 1>then put their faith in these beings, sometimes gods that

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<v Speaker 1>controlled their spiritual life, they could ask for their intervention

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<v Speaker 1>in times of struggle. So at the end of the day,

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<v Speaker 1>cult leaders, whether they're gods or human entities, attract people

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<v Speaker 1>who simply want to feel safe through the process of

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<v Speaker 1>being led, and over thousands of years that desire never

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<v Speaker 1>went away. How many of us feel safe around a

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<v Speaker 1>powerful figure. There's an old adage in the military that

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<v Speaker 1>in a time of crisis, people will listen to the loudest,

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<v Speaker 1>most powerful voice they can hear, and that is what

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<v Speaker 1>happened almost fifty years ago during the rise and the

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<v Speaker 1>ultimate fall of Jim Jones and his People's Temple. Jim

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<v Speaker 1>Jones was born in Indiana at the dawn of the

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<v Speaker 1>Great Depression. His parents were poor, his dad a World

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<v Speaker 1>War One vet, his mom totally unemotional, except for her

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<v Speaker 1>belief that her son was destined for greatness. Even as

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<v Speaker 1>a kid, Jim was fascinated by religion. He'd stage funerals

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<v Speaker 1>for dead animals or animals he'd killed himself. Neighbors said

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<v Speaker 1>he was an intense kid who was obsessed with death

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<v Speaker 1>and power, but he also had an ability to captivate people.

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<v Speaker 1>He saw religion as a tool for control. It wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>about salvation, simply domination. By the nineteen fifties, Jim Jones

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<v Speaker 1>was a minister in Indianapolis and opened to church he

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<v Speaker 1>named the People's Temple. It was progressive. He preached racial

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<v Speaker 1>integration and social justice. He welcomed black members into his

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<v Speaker 1>mostly white congregation and adopted children of different races to

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<v Speaker 1>form what he called his Rainbow Family. Those who felt

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<v Speaker 1>alienated by mainstream society saw him as a revolutionary, a savior.

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<v Speaker 1>But as the People's Temple grew, so did his need

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<v Speaker 1>for power. He started using faith healing to draw in followers,

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<v Speaker 1>performing miracles to heal the sick and disabled. The problem

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<v Speaker 1>is most of these healings were secretly staged. He would

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<v Speaker 1>plant people in the audience to fake their illnesses. He

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<v Speaker 1>moved his congregation finally to California and drew some pretty

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<v Speaker 1>powerful people under his spell. People like Jane Fonda sang

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<v Speaker 1>his praises for his devotion to Marxism, and California Governor

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<v Speaker 1>Jerry Brown even spoke at the People's Temple. President Carter's wife,

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<v Speaker 1>Rosalind Carter, appeared on stage with him, and Pulitzer Prize

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<v Speaker 1>winning journalist Herb Kane called Jim Jones a profoundly decent man.

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<v Speaker 1>The more powerful he became, the more power he wanted.

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<v Speaker 1>He demanded total loyalty and made his followers cut ties

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<v Speaker 1>with anybody outside the church, saying they were all out

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<v Speaker 1>to destroy the faithful. Meantime, members were viciously disciplined and

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<v Speaker 1>publicly humiliated if they didn't follow the rules. Fear and

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<v Speaker 1>paranoia were at the base of his cult's identity, and

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<v Speaker 1>he made it clear he was the only one that

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<v Speaker 1>could trust what to do escape. In nineteen seventy four,

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<v Speaker 1>Jim Jones founded a utopian community in the Jungles of

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<v Speaker 1>Guyana in South America. He promised that Jonestown would be

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<v Speaker 1>a paradise free from racism, inequality, and the outside world.

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<v Speaker 1>Hundreds of followers sold their homes, gave up their savings,

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<v Speaker 1>and followed him into the jungle. Problem is, it was

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<v Speaker 1>no paradise. There was nothing there but dense jungle. They

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<v Speaker 1>worked hours in the sweltering heat, clearing land, building primitive homes,

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<v Speaker 1>and growing crops. Descent was not tolerated. He had loud

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<v Speaker 1>speakers throughout Jonestown, broadcasting his voice day and night, paranoid

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<v Speaker 1>tirades about enemies closing in and the need for total loyalty.

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<v Speaker 1>He staged what he called white Knights, which were rehearsals

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<v Speaker 1>for mass suicide. He wanted his followers to see death

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<v Speaker 1>as an act of devotion. At this point, back in

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<v Speaker 1>the US, relatives started to freak out a little bit.

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<v Speaker 1>As stories about what was going on leaked out. A

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<v Speaker 1>congressman named Leo Ryan decided to launch an investigation. In

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<v Speaker 1>November of nineteen seventy eight, Ryan went to Jonestown with

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<v Speaker 1>a number of journalists and worried family members. At first,

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<v Speaker 1>things looked fine. Jim Jones offered a warm welcome with

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<v Speaker 1>smiling followers and happy speeches. About the joys of life

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<v Speaker 1>in Jonestown, but it all began to fall apart. Some

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<v Speaker 1>residents slipped notes to Ryan's team, begging for him to

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<v Speaker 1>help them escape. As Ryan got ready to leave, armed

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<v Speaker 1>guards from Jonestown rushed the airstrip. They ambushed the group,

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<v Speaker 1>killing Congressman Ryan, three journalists, and a defector. There were

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<v Speaker 1>some survivors, but the violent sealed Jonestown's fate. Back at Jonestown,

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<v Speaker 1>Jim Jones told his followers the enemies would storm them

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<v Speaker 1>and destroy their community. He said, the only solution is

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<v Speaker 1>revolutionary suicide. Cyanide was mixed with a fruit flavored drink,

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<v Speaker 1>Thus the kool aid and mothers were instructed to give

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<v Speaker 1>it to their children first. As the children died, the

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<v Speaker 1>adults followed. Armed guards made sure everybody did as told,

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<v Speaker 1>and anybody who resisted was forced to drink it. Jim

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<v Speaker 1>Jones himself was found dead with a gunshot wound to

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<v Speaker 1>the head. In all, authorities found over nine hundred people dead,

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<v Speaker 1>including around three hundred children. How did Jim Jones convince

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<v Speaker 1>so many to give up their lives? Pure manipulation, isolating

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<v Speaker 1>his followers, breaking their spirits, and enforcing blind loyalty to him.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end, Jonestown was the culmination of one guy's

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<v Speaker 1>quest for absolute control. Hope you like the Backstory with

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<v Speaker 1>Patty Steele. I would love it if you'd subscribe or

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<v Speaker 1>follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and

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<v Speaker 1>feel free to dm me if you have a story

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<v Speaker 1>you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele

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<v Speaker 1>and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The

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<v Speaker 1>Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, Premier Networks, the Elvis

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<v Speaker 1>Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.

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<v Speaker 1>Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday

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<v Speaker 1>and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with

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<v Speaker 1>comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty

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<v Speaker 1>Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 1>to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The pieces of history

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<v Speaker 1>you didn't know you needed to know.