Global Conflict/ Human Behaviors: A Look into Mass Suicides

Up until now, after studying some areas of global conflict, particularly that of dictatorships and what turns the minds of normal men to conform to a dictatorship situation, I aimed to look at such ideas within another situation. The idea and event of mass suicides, both combines influence from a leading influence and conditions of a changed mind of an average person/s. To look at what influence the leader extends over people, to what exactly are the reasoning, feelings, and rational for the actions and beliefs of a normal person swayed to influence. For example, what verbal, power, or fearful influence is the leading person exuding? What are the reasons, feeling, emotions, and beliefs of the normal person committing or engaging in beliefs they themselves know and see as socially and morally wrong? To me, happenings of a mass suicide combine both of these ideas.

            I looked at an incident of mass suicide known as the Jonestown Massacre. This was a church group known as the “People’s Temple”. This church was setup up by a man named Reverend Jim Jones. It was a “racially integrated, communist community who worked together in “harmony” and “common good.” (Rosenberg, 1) Jones, the reverend and leader of this group, wished to have church grounds and community somewhere outside U.S. control. Eventually establishing such an area in Africa, the followers he sent there to setup community and work did as he said and awaited his arrival. He received knowledge of a writing pieced; he knew would go against him, and therefore fled with all his followers to this Africa “promised land” if you will. Upon arrival, people got sick working long hours in heat, back living quarters, and began being held against will.

The real problems began when Congressman Ryan of California visited to do a writing piece on Jonestown, after hearing of such bad conditions that put this group in a wrong turn. Knowing the piece would make bad publicity for him; Jones had people attack Ryan twice. Upon finishing this, Jones knew the U.S. government would respond drastically, and began telling lies to his followers against the government. He said things like they would “torture them, and take and torture their babies and children” (Jennifer Rosenberg, 1) to get the followers to panic and go against the government. He then said suicide was the only way to absolve all the fate that awaited them. Each person, women, children, and men, poisoned themselves. It was said people spoke out against such an act, but he returned reasoning for it, to which then others defended.

This is a prefect example of how an influential leader can first, have all these follows, and then  have such  an influence on them, that suicide is accepted as something as a resolution, to repercussions that this leader himself, ignited. And at that note, why were these people so influenced, what could they have felt when they knew what they were doing was something of craziness? Or did these people believe in him and what they were doing as right? What about the people, who spoke out with reason against it, did they suppress or did they do it by force? All these ideas come into play when one is to look at the reasoning of both influence and those influenced. If you look at depictions of the Reverand his appaearance and demeanor is not that of a normal man of the church. I drew a depiction, after veiwing many variations of his photo, and i have also left a link to where to one can see, evidence of the damage hes done in influencing suicide.

 http://altereddimensions.net/images/crime/jonestown/JonestownArielBodies.jpg

Facts

Date: “Novemeber 18, 1978”

Place: “ from Indiana, to California, to Guyana, Africa”

Leader: Reverand Jim Jones

Known For: “death of U.S. Congressman in line of duty.”

How: self-poisoned. “kool-aid” “cyanide and valium mixture”

Death Toll: “918 total, 276 of which children”

(Rosenberg, 1)

Rosenberg, Jennifer. The Jonestown Massacre, About.com Guide http://history1900s.about.com/od/1970s/p/jonestown.html

Steel, Fiona. The Jonestown Massacre: A Reason to Die, Crime Library.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/jonestown/index_1.html