Murder or Suicide by Jim Jones’ Followers

Murder or Suicide by Jim Jones’ Followers

Introduction

The expression, Drinking Cool-Aid, has often been utilized in reference to individuals and groups who adopt dangerous and harmful ideas as a result of increased pressure from their leaders and other individuals. However, the expression has its origin in the Jonestown massacre as a result of an occurrence that was fatal compared to the implication of the phrase. On 18^th November 1978, approximately 918 women, men, and children died on the agricultural settlement located in the northern coast of Guyana. Though the incidence is amongst the significant loss of life recorded in the American history, debates have emerged on whether the event was a deliberate suicide by the followers or a murder committed by their leader, Jim Jones. Owing to the discussions, this paper seeks to analyze whether the incidence that claimed the lives of over 900 individuals was a suicide or a murder. Though various arguments have been presented on the issues regarding whether it was a suicide or murder, this paper presents the argument that the event was both suicide and murder.

Analysis of the Incidence

The settlement in which the event took place was referred to as Jonestown and had been named after the charismatic preacher, Jim Jones, who founded the Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ in 1955. As an American preacher, before moving his followers to Jonestown, Jones was known to preach racial integration and peace in the 1960s and 1970s (Guinn, 2017). Jims promised his followers the utopian community, and this resulted in increased isolation from individuals and life outside Jonestown. However, on 18^th November 1978, as a result of the feat of a United States government siege, Jones alongside his 918 followers put cyanide in the Flavor Aid and drunk the product leading to mass deaths. The final recorded death toll in the event was 918 individuals. Even as there are no queries that the incident that occurred at Jonestown was tragic, various scholars have expressed different opinions on whether the event should be considered as mass murder or mass suicide.

To ascertain an incident as either suicide or a murder, there is a need for one to differentiate the implications of murder and suicide. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, murder refers to the illegal and planned killing of another person by an individual. The dictionary additionally defines suicide as the intentional killing of oneself. As such, murder tends to occur without the consent and knowledge of the victim even as the victim commits suicide. Based on the definitions, nearly 300 children were residents of Jonestown and did not have an understanding of the consequences of taking the cyanide-laced Flavor Aid, and this led to the conclusion that they were murdered by their caretakers and parents who offered them the drink (Guinn, 2017). Moreover, upon instructing the followers to take the poison-laced drink, the followers forcibly fed the blend to children in the settlement using spoons and syringes.

Nevertheless, understanding the adult deaths at the event is challenging and leads to the questioning of whether the members willingly opted to die or they were forced and brainwashed into ingesting the concoction. According to Hall (2017), every individual at the settlement died for different reasons given that several adults had developed convictions in Jim’s cause and, therefore, followed him. On the other hand, others were dejected and residing in Jonestown and desired that all things would get over. Still, several followers, having sensed danger, escaped Jonestown before the event even as others who wanted to escape were unable to. It is also worth reporting that the mass deaths could also be attributed to the view that Jim did not only pit the followers against one another but also meted horrific punishment for individuals who defected (Wiles, 2018). As a result of the punishments and inability to escape, the followers became increasingly isolated and dejected as Jim had effectively convinced them that escaping Jonestown was impossible. Jim also had several armed guards located throughout the edges of the settlement to prevent access by outsiders and also prevent followers from leaving (Wiles, 2018). As such, one may conclude that not all adults who drank the concoction did so intentionally. The assertion that all adults residing in Jonestown were murdered, however, is inaccurate as this is prone to deny the solidarity and agency of the individuals.

Conclusion

In summary, based on the above-stated facts, it is impossible for one to conclude that all deaths at Jonestown settlement were as a result of either suicide or murder. However, given that close to 300 children and other adults were forcibly offered the drink, it can be concluded that the children and some adults were murdered. Individuals who wished to escape the settlement were prevented from doing so by the armed guards along the settlement’s edges. The fear of the repercussions of fleeing or defecting also made individuals stay in the settlement leading to their deaths. Nevertheless, many adults were also ardent followers of Jim Jones and, therefore, willingly committed suicide by ingesting the concoction.