Jim Jones was a charismatic man who held loyalty and sacrifice close to his heart. He created The Peoples Temple as a church to help the elderly, homeless, addicts, foster children and those of the like. He believed that a capitalist America caused an unhealthy balance in the world (rich people are too rich, a.k.a communist) and established The Peoples Temple to alleviate as much unfairness from the world as possible. The Peoples Temple seemed like an amazing feat from the outside but on the inside, it was transforming into a cult centralised around Jones himself. As the number of his followers increased, he became infatuated with power and forced everyone to call him "Father" or "Dad" and soon believed himself to be Christ and later proclaimed himself God.
He convinced his followers to move into the remote jungles of Guyana where his "temple" became a place of politics rather than religion. His control became extreme, the living conditions horrible and the people forced to work long hours. The rumours of these conditions reached home and the public rallied for the government to investigate Jones. The government body took a trip into the jungles of Guyana where Jones, heavily induced by drugs which caused paranoia, saw as his demise. He launched an attack against the government and influenced all of his followers to commit "revolutionary suicide" by drinking cyanide-laced grape juice. He died from a shot to the head, but people aren't sure if it was his own doing or a murder. But this travesty was the largest massacre in American history (not due to natural disasters) until the events of September 11 unraveled.
It really puts power into perspective, huh?
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