All articles tagged with #jonestown
Decades after the Jonestown massacre, a new tour allows visitors to visit the site, sparking debate over whether it serves educational purposes or exploits tragedy, with mixed reactions from locals and survivors.
The site of the Jonestown massacre in Guyana is opening to tourists through a new tour, sparking controversy as survivors and locals debate whether revisiting this tragic event serves educational purposes or commodifies suffering. The tour aims to educate about manipulation and cult dangers, but critics see it as a money grab, while some residents prefer to move on from the dark history.
On November 18, 1978, the tragic events of Jonestown unfolded, resulting in the deaths of over 900 people, including 16 Jewish members of the Peoples Temple cult led by Jim Jones. The Jewish members were attracted to the Temple's social justice ideals and its involvement in racial equality movements. Over time, the Temple transformed from a church to a social-communal experiment centered around Jones. The members were subjected to indoctrination and rituals, including simulated suicide drills, which normalized the idea of mass suicide. Some prominent Jewish members, such as Deborah Layton and Sharon Amos, played significant roles in exposing the dangers of the cult and providing insights into the conditions at Jonestown.
At least 90 bodies have been found at the ranch of a pastor in Kenya who is accused of telling his followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus, and the death toll could rise with the Kenya Red Cross Society saying 213 people are missing. This has sparked memories of some of the world’s worst cases of cult-related mass deaths, including Jonestown, Waco, Heaven's Gate, and the Uganda Doomsday Sect.