Discussing Peoples Temple: Social, Cultural, and Political Influences on the movement

[@cinnamongirl5410]

I will be happy when Yulanda's book comes out! She did amazing things with her life. Inspiring. Would really love to hear more from professor Russell as well.

[@joycea6576]

This is a wonderful panel! Very informative and thought provoking. I want Lt. Williams to be my best friend. She is such a neat lady!!!

[@spacetimecontinuum]

This needs more views, I find all discussion about Jonestown massacre riveting. I think I could read every book, watch every doc on the subject and still not be able to unpack everything surrounding this "event", but what I have noticed is that a certain demographic has been consistently written out of this history or just given a passing mention, meanwhile they are the LARGEST demographic of the followers. Thank God for the internet because now I get to hear those stories at last.

[@kathrynbarbour1029]

For sure, we never dreamed, amidst all the so-called threats we were preparing to defend against, that the greatest danger of all was posed by the one we all called "Father." I am grateful for your curiosity, as the relationship of the wider society to Peoples Temple is still radioactive to the left and right, of all colors. We could do better, and hopefully after 40 years, will.

[@Clarene24]

Never knew 75% were black until this year most 20 years and younger A lot were adopted into the temple from orphanages

[@Clarene24]

@@youtubeillegallydeletesacc1525 yes and ppl still calling it suicide and calling them Gullible people who is chasing the white savior. Whenever reality most of them are awarded to him by the state

[@cjar1981]

the entire jonestown massacre has often been so very scary to me ....and one of the reasons i ended up here was to learn about it from others perspectives than that man whose name i wont mention because he was vile and i hope is sizzling in hell ..to hear of a survivor, who not only was allowed to leave, but who is positive and doing great work is so refreshing to see ..everyone on this panel is so passionate, well spoken and concise in their views ...continue to stay positive and uplifted .GOD BLESS YOU ALL

[@jeromeswanson9265]

Thank you for this panel California historical society! The contributions of peoples Temple have shaped my life and thinking. I have studied it for many many years, 30 to be exact. Thank you for this excellent piece.

[@americaneclectic]

I think certain people will idealize socialism, My husband grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution. It was hell on earth. Capitalism with a strong, compassionate Christian foundation is the best we can hope for.

[@rca6576]

Capitalism with controls and they do NOT have to be "Christian" Narrowing it to that dictates religion to others which is much the same as dictating a political belief system to others.

[@dqverify6797]

With all due respect to the panelists (and I mean that sincerely, I do have great respect for them), I found it rather...interesting and troubling, that Lt. Williams can complain so strongly about the way she and others were treated when they returned to the US "because [they] were US citizens." They were US citizens who spoke against the US and everything it stood for, who plotted to aid and succeeded in aiding our enemies, who supported groups like the Symbionese Liberation Army, who worked to destroy democracy and capitalism and derided America/ns as vicious racists. While I believe the survivors and those who left deserved compassion and kindness, and I understand her desire for both of those things, I think it's kind of incredible to think you can spit on people and their ideals and not expect them to be a bit put off by and unhappy about that. I also think it's depressing that to this day we have white leftist politicians and public figures preaching racial equality and pretending to love and support African Americans, and gaining in return the support of large sections of the AA community, when in truth all they're doing is lying, using them, and keeping them down, exactly the way Jim Jones did (and often using such similar words and phrases that you couldn't win a game of "Who Said It?").

[@cameron_fairchild]

I'm a Black support TRUMP voter and Capitalist. I am college educated and an agnostic/Buddhist and feel the exact same way as you. They wouldn't even let someone like me in to a group like Peoples Temple. I'm not angry enough at whitey to accept another white as "my savior in the struggle." It was actually a lot of older Blacks who already had a white Jesus hanging on their wall and black militants who wanted to be revolutionaries, in this movement. The rest were white bleeding heart liberals whose missionary zeal and feelings of moral superiority were perfect for Jones to manipulate in this New World Project deep in the Guyanese jungle. Jones had to have a certain type of person. i.e. many of these parents and kids in the videos were foster families so calling Jones dad and etc. was not a stretch. I could go on, including how important it was for Jones to become Housing Dir. in San Francisco in order to meet housing requirements when taking ALL the foster care monies, social security checks, and welfare from seniors and the other members and housing them and etc., but to suffice; your comment is appreciated by Black Patriotic Americans like myself.

[@faronrich9381]

Jackie Spier, the aide who was with Leo Ryan and almost killed, is now a US Rep and has a knowledgable perspective of the response of the State Department. She reminds us that there is more to the story than socialism. There were 300 mostly African-American children involved. There were outstanding custody cases, and Jones wouldn't release those children, and he wouldn't let officials talk to them. Once rumors of neglect, abuse, and terror reached the US officials in Georgetown, they should have done a serious investigation. If they had tried to do that, instead of letting Jones direct their short visits, they would have realized that the defectors were right, something was very wrong. Since almost all of the people in Jonestown had overstayed their visas or reasons to be there, the State Department could have demanded Guyana deport them. But that would have meant the US government would have had to help the Guyanese government achieve that goal. Jackie Spier said they just didn't care. Even after the mass murders, the State Department, the administration, and Congress had to be forced to deal with the dead Americans, including the 300 children and 200 hundred elderly adults. If they could have gotten Guyana to dig a huge grave and throw them all into it, that's what they would have done. American children have the right to expect the US government to help them. Besides, it's a slippery slope to think it's okay to ignore the plight of other Americans just because those Americans disagree with US politics. And that is all it is, politics.

[@richardmastromarino8908]

The view that any comparisons happening today is associated to Democrats is ludicrous....if anything the slavish devotion to Trump is the correct one. Jones people, with a few exceptions never stood up and questioned Jones obvious megalomania....sound familiar ?

[@dqverify6797]

@@richardmastromarino8908 You mean the way the media is refusing to question Joe Biden about Hunter and his emails and the clear and obvious corruption they reveal? You mean the way the media is refusing to investigate that? You mean the way tons of Biden voters are refusing to even consider that it's true, and Twitter and Facebook are censoring the story, even though there is hard evidence of it with a clear chain or evidence, and they pushed "Russian interference" on Trump with NO evidence for years (which we now know was cooked up by the Hillary campaign)? You mean the way they claim everything Biden says is true even when it's an obvious lie (like, "No Americans lost their insurance under Obamacare," to name just one example?) And they claim everything Trump says is a lie even when we know for a fact it's true (like, "Obama spied on my campaign," for example? We have the evidence, people have pled guilty, but the media acts like that never happened)? That kind of refusal to stand up and question? You believe there's some "slavish devotion to Trump the megalomaniac," because you actually buy the media's lies and distortions. There have been plenty of Trump officials who have questioned him and/or criticized him. The media have reported all of those with obvious glee. But you still say no one questions his "megalomania," while the left lies and lies and lies, and tries, for example, to blame NY covid deaths on Trump when Trump wasn't the one encouraging NYers to go out and party, he didn't force nursing homes to accept Covid+ patients. He tried to re-open the economy and they insisted he wanted more people to die, and now they blame him for the economy. They called him a xenophobe when he banned travel from China (while the Dems were still downplaying Covid) and now they blame him for not doing it sooner. Yet all of that hypocrisy apparently flies right over your head. Sheesh. BTW, ALL politicians are megalomaniacs. And everything Jones said is stuff still being preached and cheered by the left today. BLM's "What we stand for" could have been written by Jones. But you still want to claim Trump is the one who's like Jones?

[@dqverify6797]

​@@cameron_fairchild Well, now, remember, according to elderly white man Joe Biden, if you don't vote for him, then "you ain't black!" :rolleyes The racism of the left never fails to disgust me. You're right, you wouldn't be welcome at the Peoples Temple, just like you, as an intelligent, free-thinking, patriotic Black man, are persona non grata to the left. Their disgusting stereotypes about Black people and their insistence that you need them to be your White Saviors are not just anathema to the truth, they are anathema to what America itself stands for. The left has been deliberately trying to destroy Black people and "the Black community" for decades, hiding their racism under a blanket of false sympathy, claiming to be against racism and claiming to want success for Black people but screaming angrily when Black people succeed without them or when, say, Trump's policies lead to the lowest Black unemployment rates in history. How can anyone claim to want to see Black people succeed but then get angry when they do, and fight against the policies that helped them do so? Because I honestly believe that the positive impact that Trump's policies had/have on Black Americans are one of, if not the main, thing that angers them the most (just like they were furious when Li'l Wayne told an interviewer that he had never faced racism or felt that the color of his skin held him back. Anyone truly against racism would be thrilled to hear that, and think it's wonderful--as it is--but the left raged for days and weeks about it. Why? You and I know why). Black success through independence rather than through their handouts proves the lies of their racist claims & beliefs; Black success threatens their goal of segregation; Black success demonstrates the superiority of capitalism over socialism/Marxism and shows that America is truly a land of opportunity and friendship rather than the evil Nazi-Germany-like nation of bigotry that the left wants it to be. (And, of course, if white Americans aren't horrible bigots, how can the left demonstrate how superior they are to the rest of us?) Sorry, lol, I'm running on a bit now and I know I'm not telling you anything you don't know. I just wanted to reply (I didn't see your comment until now, sorry!) to say that *your* comment is appreciated by white Patriotic Americans like *myself,* heh! And it is absolutely spot on. Have a great day, my friend, and let's keep our fingers crossed that we get four more years of prosperity and goodness rather than being plunged into the nightmare of poverty and division we'll get with a Harris presidency (because let's be honest, Sleepy Joe isn't capable of running the country himself these days). Lovely "meeting" you!

[@theafricanphilosopherqueen3032]

The closing remarks by the panelists are worth noting,especially the need to recognise the characteristics of cults and their manipulative nature here ìn Africa

[@Cha-y412]

How did that progressive socialism work out for Jones and the Peoples Temple members. ? A big dead end!

[@sadiqqdaoud4210]

I disagree with Lt. Yulanda Williams who says this could have happened to any one of us. I highly disagree because not every black person is searching and gullible to a white savior. I realized not everyone there was black but Jim Jones could have NEVER convinced me to follow him. She chose to follow a man and not God and not everyone is that type of person. Let's keep in mind, there are people who refused to go. There are those who woke up and saw the charade before it was too late. I could not disagree with that woman anymore than I do now.

[@judepower4425]

I agree: it's just not true that anyone can get sucked into a cult. I was involved in a couple of small groups decades ago which began to show cultish red flags and I got out fast, not because I follow god, by the way, but because I follow my own good questioning intelligence!

[@neilcooper9508]

Yes I agree with you in fact I think the majority of people black or white woodent have got involved with this church at all I think thay were potty to be honest poor kids

[@katrinkagivens4401]

I don't care how nice and sincere a person seems you will see the real soul they have pretending gets tiring to a phony! This clown started doing weird things before he left for Ghana! I believe he was drugging these people secretly.

[@katrinkagivens4401]

I will leave the minute they start preaching nonsense. I don't get hyped over no religious bullshit or pastor! If you were a member of a church and the pastor served some punch and then told you it was poison would you still attend?! I don't care what he did to help the people they don't owe him anything!

[@tuutts39]

Remember, Yulanda was brought into the PT by her parents when she was 11. She was indoctrinated for years because her parents were. Fortunately though she, her then husband and her parents finally woke up and came to their senses as a united front. Which was rare in PT. She and her late ex husband and parents were smart cookies. Im just glad they they all survived and she got to raise her daughter and enjoy her grandchildren. Yulanda Williams is a legend a Law Enforcement hero and a glamorous woman who refuses to age. I love her.

[@captainbeastazoid7084]

Yolanda was fascinating to listen to.

[@yaknbo]

“I am quite capable of organizing the suicide aspect + will follow through + try to convey concern + warmth throughout the ordeal.” - Dr. Larry Schacht, in a letter to Jim Jones in Guyana, 1978

[@philyeary8809]

Yes Larry was ass deep in the death camps, he parlayed that into Jonestown

[@yaknbo]

@@youtubeillegallydeletesacc1525 WTF r u talking about?

[@leighjoelfierman3705]

It was a memo to Jones from the doctor there. Means Jones was planning ahead

[@tuutts39]

I just looooove Lt. Yulanda Williams! I’ve seen several of her interviews and am ALWAYS on the lookout for more. Does anyone know where I can view more People’s Temple videos? And does anyone know how I can email or DM Ms. Williams? I’d love to talk to her. She seems like such a wonderful human being. Sadly, her beloved mother (whose courage saved her daughter’s life) recently passed away. And JT’s 43rd anniversary must also still bring great sorrow. Hope someone out there can assist.

[@philyeary8809]

Evidence of revision 5 MK ULTRA part 2 Jim Jones ..listen closely to.dr mootoo's speech towards the end, for info on Jonestown and how America works.

[@MJ-hope]

Ecclesiastes 1:9 King James Version The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. The only place where there will be no more pain and such sinful practices is heaven. History repeats. Those who obey GOD'S word, HIS commandments will feel the ire of Satan soon ! , Rev 12:15-17 and Rev 13:16. This is all about spiritual warfare. We were warned by JESUS, to beware lest any man deceive you. Matthew 24:4. Jesus is the only one who is preparing a wonderful place for us , not a sinful human being like Jim Jones see John 14:1-3.

[@supermichaelssecondchannel4342]

I love how it states “Alien Reservation” in her passport. We are alone in this universe everybody.

[@WaveChronicles0]

The dude who refuses to pick up the mic is rude as fk and unprofessional.

[@mindyourmess4386]

Great discussion!

[@maryyoung777]

Wait a minute I never heard that before what Yulanda just said. Who was that? She said she the lady's grandmother carried her mother on her back during the massacre. And now she's on the San Francisco police force. Who is that? The mother and the grandmother had to have died. Who saw them? was it Odell Rhodes or Tim Carter or Stanley Clayton? I'll check for your book Yulanda. I'm glad she's got you.

[@jamiethestylist]

I think she was insinuating Leslie Wagner Wilson's kid.... who is only 2 years older than me. This whole panel discussion is filled with holes. She can't keep her story straight!

[@maryyoung777]

@@jamiethestylist I'm going to listen again and see if I can figure it out.

[@leopoldoparada76]

The two ladies are comunists: the first one is talking about a nice utopia and the second one was talking about Indiana people.

[@philyeary8809]

Cult us still active...look up dr mootoo, bodies were illegally cremated as well, without any protocol.

[@leopoldoparada76]

@@philyeary8809 it was comunism movement not a cult, there was murders and fanatism - all people there belong to minorities - nothing to do with religions. Shame for those who belonv to these kind of movements/sects. We apply to Mcarthur's act against comunism infiltrations in US. Convert yourself to the Catholic faith and live genuinely Jesus Christ.

[@kristopherrainbolt2617]

What are you talking about? Yolanda is not a communist. The two communists are the scumbags to her right.

[@chrislondo2683]

Imagine picturing Jones being born in 70s instead of the 30s. And having a Twitter account outside of Trump.

[@joeallenboxing]

Twenty-three minutes in and only folks glorifying their books and achievements...

[@philyeary8809]

CIA keeping that cult money alive.

[@ceceb6264]

So only one person was in Jonestown

[@ChaceWayne]

I meant the votes were taken twice in Ukiah in 1976. Sorry!!

[@kathrynbarbour1029]

No problem. Thanks for the correction. What a great panel, and thank you for inviting Prof. Russell, who sees the great potential of communalism and the extent to which "the end" pretty much hung an albatross around the neck of anything good that could be publicly said about PT or Jim Jones. I just read "American Messiahs" by Adam Morris, and was enlightened by his chapter on Father Divine, to whom he gives great credit. It turns out the Peace Mission earned its chops in the depression and lasted much longer. Jim Jones schemed long and hard to take it over. He told us any lie he could to make us think Father Divine was corrupt, and had (gasp) had sex with one of his "secretaries." Divine and his followers refused to recognize or label racial groups in days of broad legal sanctions against "miscegenation." Everyone was light-complected or dark-complected. I never knew about the farming village, or any of the other facilities the Peace Mission possessed.

[@timothyappleseed2986]

Can someone explain how this was racial genocide when there were all races there?

[@beverlycromwell9805]

because there were more black people 70% then white

[@neilcooper9508]

There just happend to be far more blacks then white it just happend that way could have been the other way round it wasn't a racial thing at all like some wood won't you to beleve

[@sirpudding8934]

It’s just the race card, as usual.

[@jgunn03]

I read a comment that JJ owed child support and that was ONE of the reason (not the entire reason) that he left U.S. Now I'm not sure about this. I am hoping someone in the know can comment on if they know this is true.

[@jgunn03]

Darn, now I'm in a Mother Divine YT rabbit hole.

[@HeyYo8]

@@jgunn03 Smh

[@PERRYOL]

No, he took his child from the mother and refused to share custody. He fled to Guyana to avoid giving up the child and killed their child by injection in Guyana

[@leighjoelfierman3705]

He was facing several scandals and lawsuits. He was going to be indicted, arrested,exposed and embarrassed. He was out of favors from Moscone, Brown, Gerry Brown and even Jimmy Carter. The crap was going to hit the fan. He could not bear to see his work and project fall. He'd rather have died. So he did. And took his followers with him

[@ricardoalfaro1899]

Really!!!!! Really!!!!!- Wow!!!!

[@juehlwillis9519]

Wow...Seriously...#12 comments...Despicable!!!

[@gingersnap9712]

You wanted Marxism and Socialism and you sure got it didnt you!!!

[@timothyappleseed2986]

I'd love to hear more about the theory that JJ was either an agent or a useful ideot running a CIA social experiment.

[@franklinloll2229]

He was your typical sjw virtue signaling Democrat. President Carter and wife attended Jones church to show their support for him. The same useful idiots brainwashed by globalist mainstream media and Democrats today fell for Jones.

[@philyeary8809]

Evidence of revision 5 MK ULTRA part 2 Jim Jones...listen to dr mootoo about the killings, he figured it out. But, it will alter how you view life.

[@leighjoelfierman3705]

That's actually very interesting and not as bizarre as many think. Jones had major ties to The CIA. On the death tape you can hear Jones making sure that " Dwyer" is being led from danger away and out of the encampment. Dwyer was CIA. There's also a reason why Ryan was shot so many times. There's a back story here that's pretty credible. Take another slow ride through Jonestown. You might find something you missed the first time

[@marcusdavenport1590]

The grandiose words... without saying anything intelligent. I don't think most on the panel learned much sense the massacre.

[@sirpudding8934]

The first man who spoke is a deluded conspiracy theorist.

[@philyeary8809]

@@sirpudding8934 dr mootoo, my guy.

[@ricardoalfaro1899]

You should seat down and listen to someone who reads and study the Holy Word of God. Your there for the money right?? I don't know but may God have mercy on y'all .

[@bigdogpete43]

Communists talking about Communists.

[@BeautifulOne-h1x]

DO YOU KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD?

[@sherleengibson8847]

I agree 👍🏾 the Black community should have say about their people, after all it was MOSTLY THE BLACK PEOPLE that lost their lives over in jones town.

[@marcusdavenport1590]

The massacre had nothing to do with Guayana. It was the collectivist/socialist ideology. You can travel to South America... If that's what you "learned from History" then you need help. Yes, if you don't learn from history you are doomed to repeat it. You never bothered to learn economics or gained the ability to look at data yourself to see how you're being manipulated. You're still repeating the misinformation today.... If you have a sound mind... do not take these people seriously.

[@philyeary8809]

Agreed Dr mootoo knows the truth. Be warned, it's not pleasant at all.

[@kristopherrainbolt2617]

Yolanda admitted that she is a capitalist

[@NatashaFaurburne]

I do understand why so much people followed him because they thought they would get a better life in guyana i wondered why they did let the local guysnese people join the temple i feel that they would of learnt to much about jim jones .

[@brianshepherd8282]

Comparing yourself to Vietnam veterans my ass¡

[@ceceb6264]

Using the race card, what can go wrong

[@corey5991]

Jim Jones was their God and government.

[@callithowiseeit5806]

Race racerace race race justice justice justice California deserves every Jim Jones it gets

[@01denese]

It's a beautiful place and they desire a beautiful life. Sometimes it's not always easy.

[@dqverify6797]

@@01denese "A beautiful life" is an unachievable fantasy. No one's life can be perfect and without adversity and/or struggle. Some people get lucky and have less of those things, and most people have at least some periods of "beauty," but no life can be perfect and perfectly happy. It's not "not always easy," it's completely unrealistic.

[@Clarene24]

And so do you

[@NatashaFaurburne]

Question jim jones had so much power that he change georgetown to jones town see what money can do and it was the temple members paying for his lavish life style who do you think was paying for his drug abuse i have no empathy when he was alive or dead this had become an soci experient that ended so many lives god bless thier souls .

[@joanofarc33]

I’m down with Captain Yulanda! If they were gonna kill them anyway its a reason to fight not stand in line and drink the Kool Aid! Why? Because they couldn’t kill them all! And yes they are responsible for their deaths because they are responsible for following that man. I also find it disingenuous to connect that event to Trump.

[@candancewashington8335]

I could not watch this video all the way through. Firstly and lastly the man speaking introducing the panel is having a really hard time reading and studdered more then I could bare. They all sound lost qnd kind of slow 🐌 sorry, but I'm not sorry 😐

[@neilcooper9508]

I agree with you thay were all idiots realy apart from the kids

[@ChadElk88]

Rickford does nothing but ramble and engage in word salad. He needs to go.

[@skyjuiceification]

.........................................................................................................................................................? U mean ur an ignorant ssa hat?

[@NatashaFaurburne]

Ms lultenant was it a dollar a day or a week and you peaceful souls inclunding children was going hungry on a daily basis am very sorry.

[@NatashaFaurburne]

This man was sick and he went to mr devine for advise but the wrong advise it was horrific mr divine is another monster i would not relate as a youngchristian woman to a pastor father or mother then you will start to think something is wrong here i know christians who call thier pastor father and am thinking no he is a pastor or a monist

[@NatashaFaurburne]

To continue sorry did the man really like black and the minority I feel he didn't but a lot of them had property so he use that to get them into the temple and con them and that is what happen in the first film the original I think he set the kkk men to go and scare the man n his family and then when they moved to guyana the same man was murdered which jim jones ordered which is sad before they moved and was in Sunday service the black man was jimjone black hand man and he was not selected for a higher position not one black members was selected after that I would of stayed in America jim jone had no respect for his fellow black church family but he and his family still went out of respect and loyalty jimjones wanted to be a celebrity not a leader of the church but then on the flip side he never wanted to take photo jim jones you were a cult leader n Isle it in the UK and I run for the hills I am not going to call no leader father daddy I have one father and he is god in heaven

[@ricardoalfaro1899]

This ain't funny.

[@ricardoalfaro1899]

Stop!!!!-it

[@wdwhytemon6516]

Koolaid drinkers. Sickness.

[@franklinloll2229]

Sjw virtue signaling Democrats. Jones was a popular mainstream, much lauded Democrat. President Carter and wife attended Jones church to show their support for him.

[@mozfonky]

Yulunda is a fox. She could arrest me anytime

[@FATSIDEDOWN]

I'm Jewish... Jonestown is a picknick compared to what my ancestors went through..