with some degree of sensitivity and regard for Barb and the memory of all the others who died and who survived, but remain marked by the People's Temple and the massacre.
Barb and I were thirty at the time of the deaths.
We were products of our times, Barb perhaps more than me.
We both graduated from Valparaiso University. Her father was a big deal in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. There was a memorial service for her and all the victims at the chapel there.
Barb was a very Christian person. But she was also a hippie chick, like so many of us. I don't think she cared about drugs, but she may have tried them, like many people then. But she cared deeply about other people, and wanted to serve, using her faith as a vehicle, as much as possible. She trained as a social worker, and left Indiana to go West with the People's Temple as a kindergarden teacher.
She cared very much about civil rights. There were many black people in The Peoples Temple. They were truly treated as equals. (It has been studied as an historic part of black theology, as well as cult psychology). Barb cried tears of joy when the Vietnam War ended. She did not like it when anyone was dehumanized, including Nixon and the Chicago cops. She disliked name calling.
I learned early on that she was hooked on that church. But you have to remember that it started out as part of a small, but mainstream Christian denomination, Disciples of Christ. I did learn later that Jones tried to become a Methodist minister, and the United Methodists turned him down because he did not pass their psychological tests.
Barb fell in love with Jim Jones and developed a sexual relationship with him. But so did many other men and women in the church. He controlled people through sex. I tell myself that I would never have fallen for it. To be somewhat facetious, there were Elvis people and Beatles people back then. I was a Beatles person. Jones even tried to look like Elvis, and I thought he was pretentious. Actually, it was more than pretension. He said, "I come with the black hair of a raven. I come as God Socialist!"
Beware of any mortal who says he is God.
Jones isolated the people who revered him, under very primitive conditions. He frightened them and made them paranoid. He controlled every aspect of their lives, from diet, living conditions, family arrangements and sexual needs. He made them practice drills for mass suicide, getting them used to the idea that the time would come for it.
Since the People's Temple massacre, I have tried to learn about cults. I understand why Barb would be swayed by this man, for all the good reasons, not just the bad ones.
Someone called the members of the People's Temple who died the "loose change of the sixties." This is so callous. We need to try to understand why people fall for people like Jim Jones, and people like Hitler.
I think the best book on the topic is Tim Reiterman's "Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People." I got it from the library. As of last year, it is still in print. But there are newer studies, and books by survivors that may be valuable.
I do not mean to disrespect the memories of any of those people. Even Jones deserves a serious examination, which is hard to do without becoming judgmental.
p.m. me if I forgot anything.
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