The victims of Jonestown didn’t drink “Kool-Aid”
Following the assault on Congressman Ryan and his group at the Port Kaituma airstrip, Jones warned his more than 900 followers in Jonestown that if they didn’t commit suicide, the Guyanese military would invade and take their children away. And of course, this panicked the people in the community, but somehow they took it lightly, and according to the survivors, they even laughed before they drank the poison.
It is a widely accepted assumption that the majority of individuals who died at Jonestown did so by consuming cyanide and Kool-Aid beverages. The expression “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid,” which is supposed to discourage people from engaging in risky behavior because of social pressure, was inspired by the Jonestown events and is deemed disrespectful by those who survived this catastrophic event.
It turns out that Jones did not mix his followers’ drinks with Kool-Aid. He applied Grape Flavor Aid. The brand Kool-Aid became a trademark that could be used for any flavored powdered drink, which led to the misconception.
Although the entire community was “exposed” and he was about to get arrested, he never drank the punch. He died by gunshot, but even after the autopsy, it remains unclear if he committed suicide or not.
Interested in further People’s Temple insights we didn’t cover? Author Jeff Guin’s The Road to Jonestown Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple was published about the case. The book is a great study based on the FBI’s files. And trust me, it’s worth every dollar! The paperback version of the book is only $14.59 on Amazon.
