Research Paper Draft # 2

The Jonestown Massacre: Page 1

 

Kavita Singh

English 103-0905

Professor: Kitana Ananda

November 22nd 2017

 

“The Jonestown Massacre”

 

“Take our life from us. We laid it down. We got tired. We didn’t commit suicide. We committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world.” – Jim Jones last words on Death Tape FBI No. 0042 (18 November 1978). How does one preach the complete opposite of Protection of Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property (Amendment 5 of the United States Constitution). How can one be so naive to believe in someone who wants others to commit suicide to save themselves?. Here is the story of the Jonestown Massacre created by one of the evilest men of the 1970’s; Jim Jones.

Jim Jones was the creator of “The People’s Temple”, which was created to be free from oppression and violence. According to his son, Stephan Jones his preaches were about socialist ideas and Christian Redemption. Many individuals were fooled by Jim Jones and believed that “The People’s Temple” was a way to seek help and also to serve humanity. Many were fooled that he had special powers to heal the sick and dying. Throughout his services at the Temple healings were staged for the people to believe in his lies.

“The People’s Temple” was first built in San Francisco, California where Jones became more popular by preaching  more about Social Activism and started to call himself “a profit, a savior that would guide, protect and watch over his followers”. (Jonestown: Paradise Lost  –

 

                                The Jonestown Massacre: Page 2

2006 movie/ documentary). Followers began to refer to him as their “Father” and many of them signed over their paychecks, possessions and even their homes to him. But there were a few followers that left while they can after rumours spreading that he was a physical and sexual abuser and a mind controller.

In 1977 Jim Jones and supporters left San Francisco, California and set out to South America, Guyana to build a new community. “The Peoples Temple”was created one hundred and fifty miles away from the capital of Guyana which was Georgetown,  was then the  establishment of Jonestown. Vernon Gosney, a survivor of the massacre joined “The People’s Temple” from 1974-1978 and lived in Jonestown for eight months. He currently is a Police Officer living in Hawaii. He explains that an emergency code “White Night” was created for extreme emergencies. For example, to create fear and desperation amongst his followers and also to rehearse for Mass Suicide which he considered to be a “Test of Faith.

November 14th 1978, the United States Congressman Jay Ryan and agent Jackie Spheir flew to Guyana to investigate allegations of abuse within the temple. Congressman Ryan decided that he would create a delegation which consisted of relatives who were determined to see that their loved ones were free to come and go as they pleased but Jones considered the group as a direct threat. Fourteen members that spoke out against Jones accompanied Congressman Ryan on his trip to Guyana. Members of the United States Media covered the trip including Dawn Harris from NBC and American Television Network, and also Tim Reiterman which was a reporter on assignment for the San Francisco Examiner.

 

The Jonestown Massacre: Page 3

Jim Jones controlled the members of “The People’s Temple” through disciplinary beatings and forcing them to turn over their property and custody of their children. When some

of the individuals decided that they did not want to be apart of this lifestyle anymore Jones threatened them with death if they left the organization. Sherwin Harris was one of the members that bordered Congressman Ryan’s plane. He was attempting to visit his daughter Lynn who was living in Jonestown. In 1978 Lyann was just twenty one years of age when she was brought into “The People’s Temple” by her mother who was one of the members.

Jones created an isolation of the people from the outside world. There were no telephones, televisions, or commuting with anyone outside of Jonestown. Jones made people sign a petition stating that they didn’t want to see their loved ones. Being a leader how could u isolate people from their families? Jones wife, Marceline Jones had a passion for helping children so she had schools, nurseries, and clinics built for them. Even though Jones mid was so corrupted his wife seemed to actually care about people.

It took a few days for Jones to let Congressman Ryan and other family members to enter Jonestown. When Congressman Ryan finally entered Jones made sure to show that nothing funny and unusual was going on. But during the night Vernon decided to pass a note to who he thought was the Congressman which said “Please get me out”. Luckily it was one of the men that came with the Congressman and delivered the message. Vernon was pulled aside and was told that they were going to get him out. Jones made Vernon sign a note stating that he was leaving his son in Jonestown. After it was time for Congressman Ryan and the other visitors to go Jones ordered their plane to be shot down and the pilot to be killed.

The Jonestown Massacre: Page 4

After ordering the plane to be shot down Jim Jones decided that it was time to die. Jones made it seem as if “The People’s Temple” was under attack. The children were the first to die by

the poison including Vernon’s son. “If we can’t live in peace, then let us die in peace”. (Jonestown: Paradise Lost  – 2006 movie/ documentary). To Jones, the people did not commit suicide, they committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of the inhumane world. Lastly, many people were killed in this horrific tragedy. For instance, Congressman Ryan was assassinated, Dohn Harris of NBC, Ray Robinson the photographer, Rob Brown of NBC, Patricia Parks which was one of the defectors. There were eleven other people which were wounded but did survive.

In “The People’s Temple” Sharon and Lyann both slit their throats and killed the children. After all the children were killed Jones wife took the poison herself and Jones ordered someone to shoot him in the head. He couldn’t even go the same way he ordered others to die. This was not a mass massacre it was a mass murder according to Jim Jones son Stepan. 908 members of “The Peoples Temple” committed suicide or were poisoned against their will by being forced to drink the poison or being injected with it. Almost 300 of them were children with no idea what was going on.In the end, the gunman Larry Layton was jailed for eighteen years and released in April 2002. Tim Reiterman is now a Journalist for the Los Angeles Times and Co – Author of “Raven”, a book written about “The Peoples Temple”. Vernon Gosney is a Police Officer living in Hawaii, Sherwin Harris is a businessman and has two children, and finally Stephan Jones is married with three daughters.

 

The Jonestown Massacre: Page 5

What was the reason for Jim Jones to create such a horrific moment of history?. To Jones this was a way being powerful, being a leader to people that needed to find faith; to find answers. So they confounded in him as a leader. Jones took what people hated and decided to turn it into

his preachings. He was referred to as a priest which spoke about segregation and the “abuses, disgraces, and contradictions of American capitalism” The people that decided to follow the people’s temple took this as a positive movement which lead them to follow his teachings.

Jim Jones was a pathological liar which created this Physiological Massacre. There were innocent lives in his hands which trusted him to do the right thing for them but he turned it upside down. What they thought the People’s Temple should be was actually a easy way to manipulating people into an easy way of death. This was a man which didn’t care about anyone else but his publicity and his psychotic ways.

To conclude, no person can control minds the way Jim Jones did. Jim Jones was a monster full of rage, hatred, and lies. He made the people believe in his lies, he abused their freedom and will power. Why commit such a crime? What could possibly be going through his

mind? Jim Jones created such a horrific history that some may not be able to bare the truth of it. Throughout my essay i decided to tell the story of Jim Jones; the creator of Jonestown to specify on the importance of having your own mind and expressing your freedom. He was called a religious leader but also a psycho. Innocent people put there whole life in a murders hand and now they are all our history.

Draft # 1 – Research Paper

Kavita Singh

English 103-0905

Professor: Kitana Ananda

November 3rd 2017

“The Jonestown Massacre”

 

“Take our life from us. We laid it down. We got tired. We didn’t commit suicide. We committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world.” – Jim Jones last words on Death Tape FBI No. 0042 (18 November 1978). How does one preach the complete opposite of Protection of Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property (Amendment 5 of the United States Constitution). How can one be so naive to believe in someone who wants others to commit suicide to save themselves?. Here is the story of the Jonestown Massacre created by one of the evilest men of the 1970’s; Jim Jones.

Jim Jones was the creator of “The People’s Temple”, which was created to be free from oppression and violence. According to his son, Stephan Jones his preaches were about socialist ideas and Christian Redemption. Many individuals were fooled by Jim Jones and believed that “The People’s Temple” was a way to seek help and also to serve humanity. Many were fooled that he had special powers to heal the sick and dying. Throughout his services at the Temple healings were staged for the people to believe in his lies.

“The People’s Temple” was first built in San Francisco, California where Jones became more popular by preaching  more about Social Activism and started to call himself “a profit, a savior that would guide, protect and watch over his followers”. (Jonestown: Paradise Lost  – 2006 movie/ documentary). Followers began to refer to him as their “Father” and many of them signed over their paychecks, possessions and even their homes to him. But there were a few followers that left while they can after rumours spreading that he was a physical and sexual abuser and a mind controller.

In 1977 Jim Jones and supporters left San Francisco, California and set out to South America, Guyana to build a new community. “The Peoples Temple”was created one hundred and fifty miles away from the capital of Guyana which was Georgetown,  was then the  establishment of Jonestown. Vernon Gosney, a survivor of the massacre joined “The People’s Temple” from 1974-1978 and lived in Jonestown for eight months. He currently is a Police Officer living in Hawaii. He explains that an emergency code “White Night” was created for extreme emergencies. For example, to create fear and desperation amongst his followers and also to rehearse for Mass Suicide which he considered to be a “Test of Faith.

November 14th 1978, the United States Congressman Jay Ryan and agent Jackie Spheir flew to Guyana to investigate allegations of abuse within the temple. Congressman Ryan decided that he would create a delegation which consisted of relatives who were determined to see that their loved ones were free to come and go as they pleased but Jones considered the group as a direct threat. Fourteen members that spoke out against Jones accompanied Congressman Ryan on his trip to Guyana. Members of the United States Media covered the trip including Dawn Harris from NBC and American Television Network, and also Tim Reiterman which was a reporter on assignment for the San Francisco Examiner.

Jim Jones controlled the members of “The People’s Temple” through disciplinary beatings and forcing them to turn over their property and custody of their children. When some of the individuals decided that they did not want to be apart of this lifestyle anymore Jones threatened them with death if they left the organization. Sherwin Harris was one of the members that bordered Congressman Ryan’s plane. He was attempting to visit his daughter Lynn who was living in Jonestown. In 1978 Lyann was just twenty one years of age when she was brought into “The People’s Temple” by her mother who was one of the members.

Jones created an isolation of the people from the outside world. There were no telephones, televisions, or commuting with anyone outside of Jonestown. Jones made people sign a petition stating that they didn’t want to see their loved ones. Being a leader how could u isolate people from their families? Jones wife, Marceline Jones had a passion for helping children so she had schools, nurseries, and clinics built for them. Even though Jones mid was so corrupted his wife seemed to actually care about people.

It took a few days for Jones to let Congressman Ryan and other family members to enter Jonestown. When Congressman Ryan finally entered Jones made sure to show that nothing funny and unusual was going on. But during the night Vernon decided to pass a note to who he thought was the Congressman which said “Please get me out”. Luckily it was one of the men that came with the Congressman and delivered the message. Vernon was pulled aside and was told that they were going to get him out. Jones made Vernon sign a note stating that he was leaving his son in Jonestown. After it was time for Congressman Ryan and the other visitors to go Jones ordered their plane to be shot down and the pilot to be killed.

After ordering the plane to be shot down Jim Jones decided that it was time to die. Jones made it seem as if “The People’s Temple” was under attack. The children were the first to die by the poison including Vernon’s son. “If we can’t live in peace, then let us die in peace”. (Jonestown: Paradise Lost  – 2006 movie/ documentary). To Jones, the people did not commit suicide, they committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of the inhumane world. Lastly, many people were killed in this horrific tragedy. For instance, Congressman Ryan was assasinated, Dohn Harris of NBC, Ray Robinson the photographer, Rob Brown of NBC, Patricia Parks which was one of the defectors. There were eleven other people which were wounded but did survive.

In “The People’s Temple” Sharon and Lyann both slit their throats and killed the children. After all the children were killed Jones wife took the poison herself and Jones ordered someone to shoot him in the head. He couldn’t even go the same way he ordered others to die. This was not a mass massacre it was a mass murder according to Jim Jones son Stepan. 908 members of “The Peoples Temple” committed suicide or were poisoned against their will by being forced to drink the poison or being injected with it. Almost 300 of them were children with no idea what was going on.In the end, the gunman Larry Layton was jailed for eighteen years and released in April 2002. Tim Reiterman is now a Journalist for the Los Angeles Times and Co – Author of “Raven”, a book written about “The Peoples Temple”. Vernon Gosney is a Police Officer living in Hawaii, Sherwin Harris is a businessman and has two children, and finally Stephan Jones is married with three daughters.

To conclude, no person can control minds the way Jim Jones did. Jim Jones was a monster full of rage, hatred, and lies. He made the people believe in his lies, he abused their freedom and will power. Why commit such a crime? What could possibly be going through his mind? Jim Jones created such a horrific history that some may not be able to bare the truth of it. Throughout my essay i decided to tell the story of Jim Jones; the creator of Jonestown to specify on the importance of having your own mind and expressing your freedom. He was called a religious leader but also a psycho. Innocent people put there whole life in a murders hand and now they are all our history.

 

Primary Sources Essay

Immigrants that haven been entering the United States illegally has become one of the most popular issues happening today. This issue is not something new to us, it dates back many years ago to some of our ancestors. There are two particular articles that I took interest to in the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives which are “The Council Report of Legal Services Division; Committee on General Welfare”, and “Stop the Deportation of Haitians to Belize”. The first article is a letter dated back in 1873 and the second article actually is a flyer which both talk about Haitian refugees.

“The Council Report of Legal Services Division; Committee on General Welfare”, talks about the 2200 Haitians refugees that had been imprisoned in eleven detention centers across the United States. The reason for them being imprisoned is because they had entered the United States illegally. At the time, fifty three refugees were being held in at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. According the article, Judge Robert Carter ordered the Haitians to be released but he was turned away because they were still waiting on an appeal.

“Stop the Deportation of Haitians to Belize”,  a flyer, which protests about the United States having ideas of shipping the Haitian refugees in the prisons to Belize in Central America. The march was to represent the Haitians and support them through this massive disaster. The Government made citizens even believe that immigrants would steel their jobs. Because of the Haitians being undocumented in the United States the Government wanted them out of the county. So, why not ship them to Belize which was there idea.

In conclusion, both articles have similarities between them. Both deal with undocumented immigrants in the United States being mistreated like there not even human. The only reason people came to the United States back then was because Visa’s took forever to be handed to them. All people want in life is to have a better future for themselves and their families. Its hard to believe that today we still have this hate towards immigrants in our country.

 

My Research Topics

For my research paper i came across a few interesting topics. Being a Criminal Justice Major i normally like to stick to topics that fit in with what i would like to peruse and concentrate on in the future. The one topic that has stuck with me is immigration and how immigrants migrated to the U.S. I am thinking about interviewing an immigrant and also a friend of the family which works for a immigration law firm. I feel like this would be a great topic and very informative to people with any interest.

My Educational Narrative (ENG – 103) Kavita S.

                                                    My Educational Narrative

     High School can be one challenging ride in a teenagers life. The bullying, the gossiping, first boyfriend/girlfriend. It was all just too new for me. At the beginning i though high school would have been fun but it turned out to be a nightmare. Many students are judged before they even know it. Like in my case, I attended Franklin K. Lane High School which was known to be one of the toughest high schools at the time. My first day as a Freshman in high school i was already categorized as an Indian. But little did they know that I am a Guyanese American.

     My religion is Hinduism and my parents are from Guyana which is part of the Caribbean. In high school there were a group of teenagers that only hang out with their own races. For example, African Americans and Hispanics. During my freshman year i was teased a lot and called “The Indian” pretty much every day. Most days i didn’t even want to go to school just so i wouldn’t have to deal with it. But why should i have to be the one to hide? I asked myself. One day i decided to go to school and sit wherever i felt like sitting in the lunchroom. An African American girl approached me from behind and grabbed my hair and pulled me off the seat. She called me an Arab and cursed at me. I cried because in my mind i didn’t know what i had done wrong. This girl didn’t even know my race and she didn’t even know my religion.

     After lunch i went to my English class and i was still crying a little. Mr. Pearlman was my favorite English teacher in high school, he is the reason i love English so much. Mr. Pearlman saw me crying and asked what had happened so i told him and he sat down with me and talked to me about bullying. He taught me how to overcome bullying by standing up for myself. Instead of fighting back he told me to write down how much anger i felt and read it back to myself, and somehow i felt better knowing that i am strong enough to write rather than fight back.

     My first college before i transferred to  LaGuardia Community College was Queensborough Community College. In my first year there i became as Auxiliary Police Officer of the 106th Pct and i also joined the Caribbean Club and made many friends with all races. I found that most college students are proud of representing where they came from. Nobody there judged my nationality or my religion. My advice to teenagers growing up today is that if you are being bullied tell someone so you can get the help and advice you need rather than fighting back. Because of Mr. Pearlman helping me learn how to handle bullying i can walk with my head held high knowing that i never needed violence to make myself strong, all i needed was to write.