Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Monday, November 17, 2003

A quick break from work

listening to: NPR's 'All Things Considered'

I can't believe that it's been 25 years since the mass suicide/murders performed at Jim Jones' People's Temple in Guyana. I was 11 at the time time, and it's one of the first news stories I really remember, because it was so shocking. The idea of all those men, women, and children taking poison at the behest of a charismatic leader was unthinkable then. This was before Waco, before Heaven's Gate; communes and strange cults had been around awhile, but this was when the mainstream news really took notice, and it showed what could happen when utopian ideals truly went wrong.

As I listen to a survivor's story, her pain, her tears, I realise it doesn't seem so long to her as well. Strange how time can telescope and a mere mention of an event can take you back in time to your emotions, as if you're there--whether memories of joy or pain. Humans are remarkable creatures, although some, of course, are more dangerous than others, as the People's Temple incident shows us.

I think it's important to remember that

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