Jonestown: Difference between revisions

"Discussion" about current events often took the form of Jones interrogating individual followers about the implications and subtexts of a given news item, or delivering lengthy and often confused monologues on how to "read" certain events. In addition to Soviet documentaries, political thrillers such as ''[[The Parallax View]]'', ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|The Day of the Jackal]]'', ''[[State of Siege]]'', and ''[[Z (1969 film)|Z]]'' were repeatedly screened and minutely analyzed by Jones. Recordings of commune meetings show how livid and frustrated Jones would get when anyone did not find the films interesting or did not understand the message Jones was placing upon them.<ref name="manytapes"/>

 

 

Jones' recorded readings of the news were part of the constant broadcasts over Jonestown's tower speakers, such that all members could hear them throughout the day and night.<ref>"[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/filmmore/pt.html ''Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314080911/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/filmmore/pt.html |date=March 14, 2009}}" (Documentary also airing on PBS including numerous interviews).</ref> Jones' news readings usually portrayed the US as a "capitalist" and "imperialist" villain, while casting "socialist" leaders, such as [[Kim Il Sung]],<ref name="q216">Jim Jones, [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27379 ''Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 216''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205013606/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27379 |date=February 5, 2015}}. ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.</ref> [[Robert Mugabe]],<ref name="q322">Jim Jones, [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27422 ''Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 322''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516162440/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27422 |date=May 16, 2017}}. ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.</ref> and [[Joseph Stalin]]<ref name="q161">Jim Jones, [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27349 ''Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 161''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205013922/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27349 |date=February 5, 2015}}. ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.</ref> in a positive light.

 

For a year, it appears the commune was run primarily through [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] checks received by members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35666|title=The Demographics of Jonestown|last1=Moore|first1=Rebecca|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple|publisher=San Diego State University|access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> Up to $65,000 in monthly welfare payments from US government agencies to Jonestown residents were signed over to the Temple.<ref>{{Harvnb|Layton|1998|p=103}}</ref> In 1978, [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|officials from the US embassy]] in Georgetown interviewed Social Security recipients on multiple occasions to make sure they were not being held against their will.<ref name="pear">Pear, Richard. "State Explains Response to Cult Letters." ''Washington Star News''. November 26, 1978.</ref> None of the 75 people interviewed by the embassy stated that they were being held captive, were forced to sign over welfare checks, or wanted to leave Jonestown.<ref name="pear"/><ref>Wessinger, Catherine. ''How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jonestown to Heaven's Gate''. 2000. {{ISBN|978-1889119243}}.</ref>

 

===Demographics===