I found this podcast very intriguing as it dives into Jonestown and Jim Jones as a leader. Something that was interesting was that Jones was actually a good person and encouraged his followers to act on racial inequality. Learning about what Jones did before The People’s Temple spiraled out of control was something that made this podcast engaging. Hearing how people joined his church for what Jones was preaching and his methods, and not the religion itself speaks to Jones’ effective charismatic leadership and how he utilized it in order to gain followers.
It’s also interesting how Jonestown took a turn and became a very negative thing. It was sad that Jones used his charisma and large following selfishly rather than continuing to benefit the community like he did at the start. Overall, hearing about how Jonestown unfolded in this podcast was very interesting.
I agree, what I found fascinating is the people who followed him even though they knew he was a hoax. For his wife, why did she put up with infidelity? Or his partners, why did they help him look like something he was not.? I could see how his audience was manipulated, but why did the people who knew the lies continue to support him.
I agree that is was really interesting for the podcast to point out all the good Jim Jones had called his congregation to do . It is really interesting to wonder, like one of the hosts did, how much positive change, especially in the civil rights movement, the People’s Temple could have made if the plan wasn’t derailed by a spiraling leader.
I agree with you that it was interesting that it was Jones’ effective leadership style and charisma that drew people to his religion, not the components of what he was teaching. I think this leads to how good of a leader he was to entice people to follow him regardless of his mission and goals. Also playing into his goodness was his mission for racial equality, showing how he was a leader for others.
I found it interesting that Jones knew what he was doing. He talked about himself as a living god and must have had some sort of charisma in order to influence that many people to follow him. His abilities are intriguing because he didn’t make sense but he was smart about it.
I agree with you. I wonder how many activist groups today have some form of the same thing going on. Obviously not with the suicides/murders, but the spread of misinformation that turns into something violent.