So this podcast is incredibly interesting as i had no knowledge of the events of Jonestown. the idea that someone so charismatic and seemed to genuinely be a transformational leader can turn so toxic and crazy is wild. the correlation to Hitler seems very uncanny also, in regards to the natural charismatic becoming hooked on pretty much all the known drugs then taking a deep dark dive that kills a lot of people, shows just how powerful a leader can be if the followers participate in Groupthink, it essentially gives the Leader unlimited power to do and act however they want.
It is very sad however that he had to take what seemed to be a very influential role in altering how civil rights came about and squander it on neigh narcissistic tendencies. it seemed like promising and genuine servant leadership with what he was doing, but the combination of drugs and the groupthink of the followers really lead to a wild spectacle of blind faith and murder. i guess the takeaway of the whole podcast is don’t drink the kool aid, especially when it is laced with cyanide.
I definitely think there was some groupthink taking place in this scenario, but I think it is important to note that there were defectors, so it is not as if nobody was saying negative things about Jones. It seems that there was a lot of fear around introducing new ideas and defecting from the group. There was the potential for physical harm if you chose to speak out, which is a strong deterrent.
I agree that it is disappointing that Jones had a lot of positive ideas about social change that got wasted on his narcissistic tendencies and groupthink. It is interesting to think about what percentage of his downfall came from his narcissism and what percentage came from groupthink.
I totally agree with you that someone who is a charismatic leader can somehow just transform into a toxic leader. It really shows how power can control people and turn them wild.
I was also amazed by Jones’s transformation to such a toxic leader. I had only heard about the mass murder-suicide and never about the change he was able to effect before he lost it. It’s so sad to think of the legacy he could have had and the changes you could have continued to make if he had stuck on the original route of his preaching.
I really hadn’t realized the scope of Jonestown either until listening to this podcast. I was under the impression that the number of people who “committed suicide” (read: were coerced into suicide-murder) would be around 50–70 people. But over 900 people?! Children?? RECORDED ON AN AUDIO TAPE!? That’s really messed up, I was not prepared. I really, really would like to blame drugs for Jones’ behavior, but he was manipulative from the jump and I have to think twice about anyone (child or not) who idolizes Hitler. Big yikes on this one.