Q937 Transcript

This tape was transcribed by Heather Shannon. The editors gratefully acknowledge her invaluable assistance.

To read the Tape Summary, click here. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1Pt. 2).
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Jones: [begins in mid-sentence] –what was absolutely essential. Production here has fallen too. We’ve got to increase our production, and get out in the fields, and everyone has got to know the talk of the fields. We’ve got to know how many acres we have in cassava and how many acres we have in eddoes. We have to know how many piglets there are over in the piggery. We have to know how many cattle we are preparing to get, we have to know how much milk it takes to produce– to produce milk, how much cheese for this entire family. How many bags of cassava to each– for each meal? We need to know that.

Crowd: Murmurs

Jones: How many bags does it take?

[Multiple people answer] Eight.

Jones: Eight. How many bags of eddoe, the same, eight. [talking over crowd] How many pounds of sugar? A day?

[Multiple people speak]

Jones: No, it– uh, 275 pounds (pause) of sugar a day. How many pounds of rice?

Crowd: Murmurs

Jones: Not now. Because of the shortage of our own field production, it’s going to be double that. It’s gonna be 350 pounds of rice a day. That’s a lot of rice. Too much rice to have anybody take it like we had today – Do we have any of those names? – took the rice and then did not eat it. We give you the best rice. We didn’t get the cheapest rice – we could get it for 9 cents less a pound – we get you the best rice we can get. We’d get brown rice if it were available, but it’s the same price. It’s just not available. All orders in for brown rice. But when we get you the best rice, we expect you to eat it, if you take it.

Crowd: Responds

Jones: Because there’s a few hundred more of our family back there in hell. Over there on hell side. And it’s so easy to forget hell. You look at the movies we had last night and think like, well, you forget all the problems, but some of you remember [voice climbs] every day and every hour, when Jim Jones and Peoples Temple were being smeared and lied upon and cut down in every goddamn media all over the whole West Coast. Don’t you forget that hell. It’s easy to step over here in paradise and forget that, but that hell is still going on back there for hundreds of our people. And it’s not right that anyone would waste, while we’re trying to conserve and bring our people to freedom. So we want to know those who betray. If it was unconscious today, tomorrow if you do it, if you waste food, it will be conscious, and we will consider it counterrevolutionary.

Crowd: Calls and applause

Jones: If there are names of those that you have that you can bring to my attention, other than those who’ve already confessed it, the only way to avoid public humiliation, which is a good form of discipline. It’s better than boxing. It’s better than spanking. We’d rather compliment and humiliate, so that we can grow, than to get into physical violence with one another, wouldn’t we?

Crowd: Right.

Jones: Because we remember the days when there were too many goddamn enemies out there that we had something against. Let’s save our anger for them. It reminded me of someone here that broke up a fight, and I– I was very touched to– a lad here broke up a fight between two brothers. I don’t know just where it is, I’ll find it here. Larry Tupper. We want to praise him and give him an, uh– an extra dessert slip for breaking up a fight. He stopped two brothers from fighting in– fight–

[tape edit]

Jones: [mid-sentence] –and get us tanks free and other kinds of reductions of price and communicate us to the far winds. And if anybody causes problems here when we have people come in like that, there’ll be problems for you. Minister of Public Works went back to Georgetown raving about what he saw here. Even they wrote it down in our book, and be sure that they always do. The first thing when anyone comes in here, be sure, if someone would not be present, some coordinator or secretary, you be sure that you remind the relief person that they sign our book. Because they put down some very fascinating things. Permanent secretaries of government wrote down in clear black and white that this was a model community for everyone to emulate throughout the world. And we want to get a lot of that going, because we certainly’ve had a lot of damned enemies. Now this happens to be a warm night. But normally a night like this is not warm like tonight. It’s usually much cooler. But it’s sure much better than a sweltering heat that we were told that the papers said, that we were living in a swamp in sweltering heat and surrounded by savages and eaten up by mosquitoes. Oh, those lies those sons-a-bitches told to try to keep our people from c– wanting to come over here. They just wanna keep us apart, because they know when we’re together, we’re like a black panther.

Crowd: Cries out and applause

Jones: Peace.

[tape edit]

Jones: [starts mid-sentence] –[unintelligible word] army that cannot know any defeat, and that’s the only reason they’ve told all that bullshit, and we’re glad for some of you that pursued on through and didn’t listen to what bullshitters had to say, ‘cause I told you years ago and in the last months, I persisted to tell you, enjoy the good news because the shit’s around the corner.

Crowd: Right.

Jones: I said they’ll attack us because they can’t keep from doing that, they have to do that, because we are communist, we are Marxist-Leninist socialist on the road to fulfilling communist goals, and they had to attack us. No other way, they had to call us bad. Because if they didn’t, we would’ve been able to sweep into the countrysides up and down the West Coast. And even though we haven’t even begun to infiltrate, we were further on the road. Charles Garry said the other night, he had never seen in all of his life a movement so solidified, so strongly cohesive. He said the entire Communist Party USA cannot compare to the power and togetherness and organization and fundraising ability and capability in everyscope that Peoples Temple has. That’s quite a compliment. And you think the fascists, you think the CIA, the conspirators, the lackeys, the running dogs of imperialism are going to stand by and not attack us? Of course, they had to attack us. And they planned an attack in the United States and destroying us before we could get our second wind and regroup, and now they are up, I’m sure, shit creek wondering what the hell we’re doing out on these 27,000 acres.

Crowd: Cries out and applause

Jones: Said a little child will lead them. One child came up to me not many days ago when we were in the middle of a confrontation and said, One thing, Father, if we had to go back, we have sure got our shit together.

Crowd: Laughs

Jones: And that’s the goddamn truth. We came over to Guyana, and we’ve enjoyed a long vacation. And if it ended tomorrow, we got our shit together.

Crowd: Calls and applause

Jones: Peace. But it’s not ending tomorrow, child. These acres, there’re thousands of acres out there, 5,000 mile we can wander through the jungles to preserve our integrity and our family lifestyle. And by God, we’ll fight to preserve it.

Crowd: Right.

Jones: And the only way we will go back to America if it’s toppling, or the nuclear dust has begun to settle. Unless there’s hope for change, I ain’t a-going back.

Crowd: Calls “no”

Jones: Negative, negative. That’s a negative copy, as they say. Anybody have any question tonight on any matter? I’m sure sometimes you may wonder about things. Ask any question you have on your mind.

[tape edit]

Jones: Remember I took 120-some on the boat, our Jonestown Express, the Marcy, the Cudjoe. Some of those kids, when they landed, I wondered how in the hell they kept out of jail as long as they had.

Woman in crowd: Laughs.

Jones: I mean, I wondered how they did it. They were splittin’ each other’s heads open when they land in Georgetown. I’m sure it’s true. Little– uh, some of these kids would cut each other’s heads open, they were fightin’ and shootin’, even. One– one child, he nearly killed another. Now out here, we have peace. These same children, like Mike Jones – you wouldn’t recognize Michael Jones. No, you wouldn’t recognize him. He’s such a changed young man. We salute that change, comrade. We’re proud of you, comrade. Let’s– Aren’t we– Hold ‘im up there, we’re proud of it.

Crowd: Applause

Jones: Out raking our sidewalks. And that’s what Jonestown means. That’s what communism means. Only Jonestown, Father and communism can bring that change. If you don’t remember him, I do, because I had to deal with him every 15 minutes. And I’m so proud of what he’s doing now. Any– any que-

[tape edit]

Woman in crowd: –I was reading an article in the Socialist Chinese, uh, magazine.

Jones: Yes.

Woman in crowd: Uh–

[tape edit]

Jones: It’s just like I said it would be. You sweat out the toxicities. Even when you don’t sweat, the heat b– draws out allthe impurities of your body. It’s the best place to live. Not only that it is our land, and there’s no racist police comin’ in all the time, no white faces we have to look at, with their goddamn countenances lit up with hate. No oppressor that we have to h– see paraded in front of the TV. Don’t have to listen to Ambassador Young [United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young] be impeached and nobody wanting to do anything about it. Even the black sellout Uncle Toms cooperating with it. Don’t have to set and wait for a nuclear bomb, and no place to protect your children. Don’t have to listen to the police state growing by leaps and bounds, and the Ku Klux Klan marching, and chapters formed in every goddamn county and now marching up and down the whole southern border of the United States, even supplied with money and equipment by the United States, because they’re helping immigration service keep out aliens. It’s a hell of a business to live in a country when you can’t do anything and nobody wants to do anything. Even when you want to resist, nobody wants to resist with you. It’s a mighty good feeling that there’s not a goddamn condition here that can confront us that we have got a– at least an option. In America, you don’t have any options. When starvation and economic loss comes, like the dollar’s dropped so sharply on the market today, when that happens in America, you don’t have any options. When there is no food in San Francisco, you’ll never see Steiner Street grow potatoes. You’ll never see a fuckin’ pig down Geary Avenue. Only a white pig in a black car–

Crowd: Scattered voices and applause

Jones: –with a little badge on his son-of-a-bitchin’ chest, that looks like a pig, all right. I know why they call ‘em pigs. I missed that– that’s the only kind of pig I’ve missed. We’ve got good pigs down the way. Little piglets under the dormitories when I was making my morning inspection today. And, by God, you that missed the twilight, by the way, you’re missing something. You ought to look up at the rainbow, but you ought to see the suns– the– the sunrise. Jesus Christ, this morning, the sun was scarlet colors and the blue and the purple all mixed, it was something out of– out of a book of wonderland. And last night’s setting of the sun and this afternoon the rainbow up in the sky, Jesus, the beauty all around us. We got beauty every day, we got each other every day, we don’t have to walk down the sidewalk and meet no fuckin’ Ku Klux Klan, ain’t no fuckin’ Ku Klux Klan around.

Crowd: Cheers and applause

Jones: It’s wonderful. Until that small time when the conspiracy tried to reach over here and destroy a great nation, even to get us, that’s how important we were. Since that time, anybody comes up here, the head of the Ministry of Health today to spraying for mosquitoes coming back Thursday to begin the spraying, gone take four days. Spray under our buildings and everywhere, we still have to go on and do our job, but he [unintelligible word] spraying the buildings. Don’t keep any food in that building when he comes your way, and anything, any pr– pictures out. But he gonna do that, and that doesn’t cost us anything. But they come here and eat of our bread and drink of our drinks, and you can feel an air of friendliness. Today, a Venezuelan Guyanese and Indian Guyanese, Black Guyanese, all with a spirit of friendliness. Never once was I ever visited by any official in the United States that represented any goddamn bureau that I ever felt he was friendly. I never met one of the fuckers I ever thought was friendly. If it was police, whoever. That one FBI man we– we– he– we– he– even with the warmth we put on him, he was stiffer than a coal poker. You remember, the ol– those coal poker sons-of-bitch that stood up there and talked to us about being Christian and Bible readers? And looked like he was ready to be– shit or go blind, just b– being around us? Even that is about a friendly as you’re ever gonna get in that system. But here, we have options. They wanna come with planes, we’re like the Vietnamese. We could scatter and be in the jungle in no time, and that fuckin’ napalm couldn’t find us. And they won’t be dropping any thermonuclear bombs down here, because they’re going to need too many to protect their own capitalist imperialistic assholes up there.

Crowd: Murmurs.

Jones: There’re no cconcentration camps that they can drag us off to, because just give us 15 minutes and our ass is hid, and they’ll have to hunt for 5,000 miles.

Crowd: Cheers and applause

Jones: There I’m talkin’. We got some old troopers here. Everybody says, “Where’s your cemeteries?” They can’t get over it. “Where’s your cemetery?” Haven’t got a cemetery yet. Some of you are contrary, I know you waste food and you break rules and somebody’ll die sometime. And some of the si– ill, most ill people here won’t keep a rule. But nonetheless, up ‘til this time, for several months we’ve settled in Jonestown in three and a half years, the total community nearly four years. Nobody dead. That’s something to say. That’s something to talk about.

Crowd: Cheers and applause

Jones: We have an option. No matter what they bring us, we have an option. We can give our children a promise of life, and we could not give them a promise of one goddamn day in the United States, not one goddamn day. We didn’t know what the hell was around any goddamn corner. Never had any chance. No way to get out with nature, there was no place to run to. Now you want to take a walk, and if you’ll do it in groups, don’t walk singularly, because we have the place patrolled. But if you want to go take a walk, you can go out to the falls – I did it on Sunday – you can take a walk out through the most paradisical land you’ve ever seen. Charles Garry, with all of his wealth, his Porsche car and his diamond stick pins, said, I don’t want to leave this place. It was like holy ground down here in camp one. He just wanted to breathe in the experience. And he’s regretted ever since he went back to the United States. Said he wouldn’t have gone, if it hadn’t been for uh, being on television, he wouldn’t have gone. And he left us a promise, and he had to get that promise, that he would always have a place here. Wealthiest white man, most prestigious white man, rather, in the country, I suppose. But it hasn’t satisfied. Lonely man trying to lift his eyelids. That’s what he’s done, he’s had operation to have his eyelids lift– lifted and his hair stretched. Poor old man, any– anytime the rain rained, he had to spend an hour to get his hair fixed up. That’s sad.

Crowd: Murmurs

Jones: And round– around here, give him another few more days, he’da forgot about his hair. He wouldn’t look all bad bald at all. Here you don’t have to worry about droopy eyela– eyelids. But there he had to go through painful operation. It’s not funny to have eye– your eyelids cut and lifted, and your face lifted and scraped away. That’s America, 1977. How fortunate we are to have a place where nobody’s lookin’ at your eyelids.

Crowd: Murmurs

Jones: That’s true. Nobody that’s really socialist is looking at your eyelids. (Pause) Any other questions?

Man in crowd: Voice too soft

[tape edit]

Jones: [mid-sentence] –and Venezuela and some of the Caribbeans making alliances with the Arabs. That suits me. I’d make alliance with anybody as long as I can stay away from Yankees. Let ‘em come. We’ll bargain for a little of their oil. Jesus, you’d be shocked at some of the things I’m doing. I’d do anything to keep this family alive. Planning long trips in case somebody wanna come here and start shit. Honey, what your Father’s done, you should thank your lucky stars every day. ‘Cause someone would come here and say what if they come for someone that had a custody charge, tried to kidnap them? Well. If– [chuckles] If they really want to take their life in their hand, let ‘em come in here and try to kidnapsomebody.

Crowd: Cheers and applause

Jones: Peace. And if they put pressure on the government like they did before and try to topple it, we got travelin’ plans. We got travelin’ plans. I don’t mean for all of us, I mean just for a few of us. They come for somebody and they may be visiting us in Siberia that afternoon. [Short laugh] If they wanna come with their court order and go over to Siberia and get ‘em, and then when they leave, we’ll come– bring them back from Siberia, shit.

Crowd: Laughter

Jones: We got a lot of plans in motion. And if we don’t feel like it, we won’t use any of the plans, we’ll just stand here and form a circle like the Indians.

Crowd: Cheers and applause

Jones: Hm. Yes. If it gets too heavy. What a blessing we have in this place.

Crowd: Right.

Jones: With a– ah, just to look at you, just to look at the sweet faces and see the change. That’s worth my comin’ over here. I don’t know whether you’ve looked around and appreciated the health of our seniors. I said only– uh, except those that’ve just not been here long enough. Only one with insulin problem, and all the people, diabetics, forty or fifty of them, cleared? My God. Forty– between forty and fifty diabetics cleared up? That’s something to consider. And these youngsters that would’ve sure as hell been in trouble. They were on their way to jail. They were on their way to jail. I mean, some of the best young people in this place. They wouldna had these three months or four months they’ve been here. [enunciates] They were on their way to jail. I mean, some of them were doing sing– things in that town out of hostility to the system, they were– All the things that were in the headlines, some of our kids were involved with. Do you hear what I’m saying?

Crowd: Agrees

Jones: ‘Cause they couldn’t stand that oppression anymore. And it wouldna been long before the police woulda been at our church doors and take them away. For years and years. We oughta thank– uh, we oughta kiss the ground, we oughta thank the principle bearer, our Father, every day for this chance, because if he’d been like any other human being, [emphasizes] any other human being, woulda been thinkin’ about their own comforts, woulda been thinking about their own conveniences, and you wouldn’t have no food in the warehouses and money in the bank and a boat that comes up and down the streams and all this land, and all these supplies, because he would have wasting it on himself to such a degree that you wouldn’t be here at this point in time, ‘cause there’s never been a leader [voice rises] Marxist-Leninist or anybody else [quietens] that’s ever sacrificed like I have to see that you get what you need. I can tell you that.

Crowd: Applause and cheers

Jones: And your lack of enthusiasm on the subject does not bother me. But it does show your ignorance. It shows your ignorance.

Crowd: Applause lessens

Jones: I seen revolutionaries in the revolutionary movies smoke their cigars and some– have their yachts and go in their special fine cars. If I had done that, you wouldn’t be here today.

Crowd: Scattered affirmations

Jones: That’s the truth. I have a special uh, it’s a problem in my stomach, which I need carbonation. And they had a few of these, uh, colas, those diet colas, and I drank them a while, and they said, “We’re going to order more,” and I said, “No. My stomach will have to find some way else to carbonate itself.” So I don’t have one damn convenience. You hear what I’m saying?

Crowd: Scattered affirmations

Jones: I didn’t even eat the meat that I need to maintain my physical– basic physical health. So I have shown that I care. And some of you’ve shown it too. And we’re gonna stick together, ‘cause there’s nothin’ worth goin’ back to. And there’s nothin’ better, and we should be grateful every moment.

Man in crowd: That’s right. That’s right.

Jones: And you sang like tonight like some of you know it. And I hope you won’t forget it.

Crowd: Applause

Jones: We [tape edit] –and our workers will be more proud of being workers than anything else. That’s why I said– and I appreciate the kitchen’s quick cooperation, when I announced today, I said, I want immediately to change the lines, so the workers don’t have to wait in lines. We form two lines and let them have their plates, so they can come up and get what they want. Don’t take more than you need. Take what you want, though. It may not be imposed on you more than you want. I said it’s not right that they have to wait 45 minutes in a line. And I appreciated their cooperation. And I know the workers will make up for that. The true and conscientious workers will make up with more production. Give us more production so that we can feed our babies and our seniors and make it easier to get some from that horrible hell. And it’s hell, honey. You talk to ‘em on the radio. I tune you in on the radio at night just so you could know a little bit of the hell that goes on of just planning, and that was a mild radio broadcast. That was nothing. That was nothing! You oughta tune in to hear the hell [stretches out word] every night. The first thing I got ahold of in San Francisco, there was new intrigue and chicanery and deviousness that the so-called relatives of the Olivers [Beverly and Howard Oliver, parents of Bruce and William Oliver] were trying to pull. And, uh, Shanda [James Oliver]’s mother [Dorothy James] and the whole bunch of ‘em, the damn people. And you say your relatives are different. They all are a bunch of motherfuckers, and you know they are. They’re all motherfuckers.

Crowd: Cheers and applause

Jones: Peace. [voice rises] They’re all motherfuckers, I said. You don’t wanna clap, but I said they’re all motherfuckers. Daddy fuckers. Peace.

Crowd: Applause continues, then dies down

Jones: Olivers were very nice. They sent their sons over here very proudly, until some money come along.

Man in crowd: That’s right, that’s right.

Jones: My God, for a few hundred dollars, they wanna raise hell and get in the newspaper and get that filthy [Joe] Mazor, that criminal, with 75-page criminal history and plan dirty work, work with the worst criminals that we have that’ve conspired against us. That’s what their loving mom and dad did in a matter of just a few hours over a little money.

Man in crowd: That’s right.

Jones: You ain’t worth a piece of change to your loved one, honey.

Man in crowd: That’s true, that’s true.

Jones: That’s all it is. The cost of a piece of change, ain’t gonna have nothing to do with you. And some of you never like to look at me when I say your relative is a daddy fucker and a motherfucker.

Crowd: Cheers and applause

Jones: Peace. They’re all the same. Peace.

Crowd: Applause dies down

Jones: Say, a man writes me very nice letters. Asked h for a hundred dollars.

Crowd: Right.

Jones: Every one of you think you got a good relative tonight, write up and say, I want a hundred dollars to help– we’re adopting a child, I want a hundred dollars to help with– uh, with that child. Oh, yes, you say you’re starving. They’d like to look good so you’d ha– they– you’d have to be eternally grateful and have to say, Ohhh, you helped me out of that place. You helped me out of that awful place over there and that with– [stumbles over words] that Black and brown nation.” Yeah, they’d give you a hundred dollars maybe to get home. They might give you a airplane ticket to get home. But I dare you to ask them for a hundred dollars for a little baby like Neal [Shaun Welcome], our precious Neal here that we just adopted, that Joyce [Touchette] took in and CT [Charles Touchette] adopted. Joyce and CT [stumbles over words] are in the process of adopting. [Cries out] I– I dare you to ask them for a hundred dollars for one of those precious little babies, and see how sweet your mother fuckin’, daddy fuckin’ relative is.

Crowd: Cheers and clapping

Jones: Yeah. (Pause) My beautiful David [George] over there. And Philip [George] and Gabrielle [George]. Ask for some money to get them some dental work, or some medical work or some shoes, or clothes. You’ll see how your goddamn relatives are. All your relatives. You shitheads that still don’t wanna believe that your relatives just like all the rest of us. Relatives ain’t worth a shit. Trouble. That’s what they are. Trouble. Mother [Irene] Edwards tonight, said I’ll said– be– she said I’ll be so glad. Her relatives caused nothing but trouble ‘cause they want her property. And so she got a little pittance and come over here. Neither property worth that much, but that’s how it was worth too much for her. They did not– they did not want that money to get out of their hands. And one of her sisters gonna sue this place [pauses] for a million dollars ’cause her heart was botherin’ her over the money she didn’t get from her sister. And she writes it right down in the letter. Said she’s just all upset over that money she didn’t get. That she’s having heart trouble– she’s gonna sue this church for putting her through all that. Hope the old bitch dies of cancer of the nose.

Crowd: Scattered response

Jones: Yes. Peace.

[tape edit]

Jones: –Our whole planning now will be about just this type of thing, how to do it the best way, to rotate so that we are never without. and utilizing every acre, every piece of ground, even our yards can be utilized. We were talking last night, some of us, how we can utilize, right up to the back of our cottages, and around the cottages, we can plant. And we shouldput everything into growing something that we can. Yes, Sister [Mary] Black– [tape edit] What is it? Why we’re not going ho-

[tape edit]

Jones: Took the husk off. That’s all you gotta take off. Take the husk off and Eva [Pugh] found a process, Jim Pugh found a process to get those off. So we boil the husk off, so we’re gonna start eatin’ cutlass beans– don’t– no, no, don’t give any of that shit about vomiting. It’s all in your head. ‘Cause they won’t cause you to vomit. It was tasty bean. [unintelligible] See, all you’ve been eating of the cutlass bean is the green, ‘cause there’s a superstition that you can’t eat the– the bean itself. And the only reason you couldn’t eat that is because of the husk around the bean. We just snap that off and by god, we ate– we found delicious bean, high in protein. That’s what you have to do. We have to– some of us, be guinea pigs. And all the guinea pigs again feel good, do you– do you have any– uh, [Richard] Tropp didn’t even know what the fuck, he was, he was a guinea pig, didn’t know it.

People in crowd laugh, Jones laughs

Jones: The professor ate a whole bowl, he didn’t know all the shit he was into. I asked him 45 minutes ago– oh, he did too, I told him. He– 45 minutes, he said no, I haven’t had any symptoms. Didn’t you have any– I didn’t even have any sh– gas. Shit, you get gas with every bean you eat in America. (Pause) What’s that?

Voice in crowd: Too soft

Jones: Pinto beans. He said they can grow? Yes. We have them, he said. We have them. That’s good. Ask questions, show interest. Yes. [tape edit] Hm?

Voice in crowd: Too soft

Jones: It’s um, the– what’d you just say?

[tape edit]

Jones: [cries out] –ability to realize how much tension I have to go through to be a leader! (Seethes) But my God, you gonna wave your fucking hand in my face and see that you piss when I’m struggling between being a Father and a leader. Goddamn you, go piss.

Woman in crowd: Get up and go!

Jones: Go piss!

Crowd: Calls after woman (Pause)

Jones: It isn’t easy for me to be a leader and a Father. (Pause) (Sighs) And I just would appreciate that you show sensitivity to the problem, so that you can grow. But honest to Christ, uh– and I agree, that anybody can be lighthearted. That’s the kind of lightheartedness that gets me, though, just in the middle of it. Somebody wave their face [sighs], wave their hand at me. But it coulda been anyone. It wasn’t more that young lady than anybody else. Okay, I’ve said what I think, and I think what I said. (Sigh) (Pause) Vincent [Lopez].

Man in crowd: Do you understand what Father’s been saying about you and Stephan [Jones]?

[tape edit]

Vincent Lopez: No, I wasn’t. I didn’t have a hard life.

Jones: Well. That’s all right. Good. Lot of these, uh, you know we’ve had children here who’ve had to have– who’ve been– who have, uh, been dug out the clutches of their dying mother or their dead mother, you know. We’ve had some real sad stories here. Oh, I think you’ve had a hard life, to some degree. You’ve had a bitch like Grace [Stoen] manipulating over you. Sexually to disturb you when you didn’t uh, know what the hell she was doin’ and she didn’t give a shit and walked outta your life. Kicked you over here. So she didn’t want to be bothered with you, ‘cause she had a new plaything. I think you have some things to be hostile about. But uh– but here you’ve had a lot of consideration. Friendship. Charlie and Joyce [Touchette] were subjective about you. They indulged you, man. They gave you everyopportunity. Just like I was doing a moment ago. You have no reason to kick. You’ve given more– you’ve had attention here tonight than some people are gonna get in their lifetime. More patient concern to do the right thing by you. And I hope to Christ you can show us that it’s worthwhile. How repressed, how resentful some people must feel in this room, who’ve internalized their hurts and pains, and have to be quiet. What if every night we took up this much goddamn time with every person? There wouldn’t be any movement. (Pause) There’re kids have gotten good on their own here. They’ve gotten good on their own with no conversation. And we oughta think about that. We’d make a big zero, we’d be better– we’d be better people. I’ve had kids here that are doing magnificent things, and they haven’t said a goddamn word to me, nor I them, hardly other than, hello– Hello, Father. (Sighs) And I get the feeling of inequality, it just– it– it overwhelms me, ‘til I feel like I can’t handle it, so I don’t want to get on that subject. I get– I get resentful. Some take too much time. It’s time for you to grow up, young man. You’re very bright. It’s time for you to grow up.

Vincent: Yes, Father.

Jones: Okay. What is the– what is the ruling? I uh–

Male in crowd: Too soft

[tape edit]

Jones: [mid-sentence] –own kin, special foods, we’ve [unintelligible word] and the people have come over here and left everybody. I walk by, I thought, I don’t know, I w– walk w– one of the inspections around the houses today, I forgot who. [unintelligible word] Nancy Clay, Nancy Clay. She walked off and left every motherfuckin’ one of ‘em.

Scattered in crowd: Right.

Jones: There she been out doin’ her du– duty, walked off, left children. Arrogant, all of them. And some of them still don’t appreciate the fact that some people had to walk off, they cared enough for a principle and they work every day and they left every child, every grandchild, everybody they had. They said, in a– so many words, fuck it.

Scattered in crowd: That’s right.

Jones: Why are you– when you doing that, are you wanting to go to the bathroom? I don’t know, uh, uh– Okay, okay.

[tape edit]

Jones: –then. If we look at ourselves, we’ll change.

[tape edit]

Marceline Jones: This weight committee has been set up by–

[tape edit]

Jones: Fuckin’ [unintelligible word] school. And then [voice rises] You– you tell me, you don’t do that. This child, you’re very difficult here in school. You tell me that someone giving you difficulty, you don’t uh, care a little bit less about what they get than somebody else has been nice to you. Don’t give me none of that shit. And some sister over there, one of the worst damn shitheads in this place would just nod and lookin’ right at folks. Never look at yourself, though, do you, sister?

Crowd: Cries

Jones: ‘Cause you just come up and complain today, someplace. I don’t know what the hell it was over. A fl– a flagrant kind of a– a flagrant kind of a discrimination though. But you could see her error and I never hear you talk much about yours. Go ahead now, go ahead, I’ve said my spiel.

Crowd: Right.

Jones: And I think that’s what turned to enemy. I don’t give a shit if they– I don’t think it made a goddamn bit of difference if we were communist or fascist or nationalist or Martians. I don’t think– I don’t think principle had a goddamn thing to do with it. I think it was just that, here we are, don’t fuck with us, don’t cross our line. So I’m committed to this family ‘til, uh– as far as I know me, death do us part. Yes, you can go, baby, whoever it is. (Chuckles) And that’s where I’m at, philosophically. I don’t know a damn thing about the rest of the world. I know that communism is right, whether anybody [unintelligible]?

[Baby cries] [Pause]

Jones: Who– Somebody step on the child?

Crowd: (low conversation)

[tape edit]

Jones: [mid-sentence] –wherever in the hell we go, I’m gonna stick by you. I don’t give a shit. I don’t– I don’t believe in anything but me, and some of you. And that’s the very fact of it. I don’t– That’s where it’s at. I advise– I critici– I look in too many films, I see too many fuckin’ flaws, but I uh– One time one of our brothers was going through a trial, didn’t believe in anything, and he said he’s a nihilist. But that– I said to that brother, yeah, okay. But as long as you’ve got a responsibility and you’ve seen more character than nihilism, you can’t be a nihilist. Can’t justify it. Long as somebody needs you, you can’t justify it. And so that’s where I’m at. You– you need my principle, and I think some of you realize that same thing in life that uh, people need you and you– you’re my big family. That’s better at least than having five, isn’t it?

Crowd: Scattered replies

Jones: Se– seven hundred’s better than five.

Crowd: Scattered replies, baby cries

Jones: But it’s philosophy– some people said to me– one person said uh, and several have said to me, “Father, you don’t get up and s– expound too much anymore.” I uh, I– I– I think when people expound a great deal, they’re not livin’ a lot. So I expound– When I do, I do it only because you need it, because you’re still in that leadership aura. I don’t trust big uh, long-winded fuckin’ speakers. Nor the great rhetoric that comes out of their mouth. Left or right, I don’t trust it. And for a long time I spoke in San Francisco, only because people needed it, to maintain the organization. But I haven’t got a thingto say. I hope that Vincent was sincere about it. If you can’t see it in my life, then there’s no fuckin’ good to talk about it.

Crowd: Scattered replies

Jones: And speakers, speakers, speakers. Anybody that enjoys speaking has to be an egotist, and an egotist on the left or an egotist on the right is dangerous. (Pause) But here we are, a group of communists up on this hill. And our first loyalty better be to us. I had some people talkin’ about, well, I wanna join GDF [Guyana Defence Force], I want– when can I go to GDF to do a– You’re a crazy fucker. You better stay right here. You better talk about being loyal to Peoples Temple, because you get spread ass out all over this country in this organization, that organization, and we won’t have shit! We won’t have one little bit of hold in this country. You better not think about joining anything until we talk about joinin’.

Crowd: That’s right.

Jones: If you follow what I’m saying.

Crowd: Agrees.

Jones: We haven’t come over here and found no panacea. We haven’t found no goddamn panacea. We just got a lotta room. You understand what I’m talkin’ about?

Crowd: Scattered replies

Jones: We don’t have the sophistication of a bunch of honkeys breathin’ down our fuckin’ neck. And we got ground that we can run to and things that we can utilize to live and give our children a chance. And what’s going on in Georgetown isn’t that much different than what’s going on in Washington. So just get– don’t be dreamers. Father’s who you put your trust in. I came over here not because of Georgetown, because this gives us room and we– [microphone adjustment noises] Th– this is not your problem, son, I just keep following where you’re going with that damn microphone. Uh– It’s a little awkward. Uh, I came over here because this gave us the only opportunity to give our children options. We got options here. Washington gives us no options. Whether Washing– Washington is right, or Moscow. The goddamn missiles are gonna fall on our babies. Concentration camps, uh, the technology of Western society is so sophisticated it can develop then in a quick order, or can destroy whole races with ge– genocide weapons, ethnic weapons. That is not a problem here. We’re pioneers. But don’t think suddenly you’ve landed in Gloryland. You follow me?

Crowd: Agrees

Jones: I mean, you have landed in Gloryland. This is a Promised Land to us. But that doesn’t mean every fucker walks in here is a part of that Promised Land. Okay. Uh– Who will be the person that’s been here long period of time that would be uh, uh, good to uh, be doing this?

Woman: Reply too soft

Jones: A lot of you didn’t understand what I was saying. You better think on that, though. Go home and think on it.

Woman: Reply too soft

Jones: Okay, all right, fine, fine. We’ll come up with someone. Okay. Know this, you haven’t got anything better than this family. [unintelligible] way you can go. The world is an angry place, unless you have a movement. And we’ve gotta keep this movement strong. Our first loyalty is to this movement, to our leader, to this movement. Not to some communist movement outside of this movement, but to us first. You can’t take loyalty on up until you’re loyal first here. And don’t ever think you’re gonna split off from this movement and get a goddamn thing. All you’ll do is get the shaft. When we’re together, we can make it. As long as we keep that motto – if they come for one, they gotta come for all – we can make it.

Crowd: Right.

Jones: If we start trying to make individual compromises, you’ll all lose in the process.

Crowd: Right.

Jones: It wasn’t Guyana that showed you socialism, it was Jim Jones.

Crowd: Right. Applause

[tape edit]

Jones: [mid-sentence] –and we will be able to correct all the damage done. Is there not some transitional things that can be used?

[Tape edit]

Unidentified man: Too soft

Jones: Mm-hmm. Well, what’d you recommend? Sounds like a touchy subject. Particularly after Mother [Marceline Jones] told I want ‘em at the [unintelligible]. Shit. Doc, you want to recall that transfer object? [Chuckles]

Voices: Too soft

Jones: Go ahead, Tom [Grubbs].

Grubbs: No, I’m just saying there’s kindly ways to establish a rapport with a child. We get the thumb out of the mouth, it doesn’t have to be harsh, you can include them not feeling it so they don’t feel like they need to reject you for defense.

Jones: And what are those kindly ways? Tell us. So we’ll all know them–

Grubbs: Little Jed, little Jingles, I know several of them, I gotta say, they’ll think, (sings) gonna get some cat shit for that thumb. (speaks) It’s a silly little thing.

Jones: [unintelligible] So they can all do it, it’ll all be universal. If it’s been working for you, then fine for you.

Grubbs: I just say, sing a little song, gone have the thumb-sucking, and so far most of them just get a– a mild embarrassment and then sto– you know, and take it off for a while.

Jones: You don’t know what to get out of here. It don’t work for me anymore. [unintelligible]  [chuckling]

[tape edit]

Jones: Shit, if I could shut out the world, I’d try it. (Pause) You people, all put your thumb in your mouth. Jesus Christ. Some of you people are so proper. Come on, honey, back there. I didn’t wanna put my dick in there.

Crowd: [Ribald laughter]

Jones: Make her– make her– make her suck her thumb.

Crowd: Stirs.

Jones: These goddamn people. Some of ‘em are so holy.

Crowd: Stirs.

Jones: Okay, good.

Crowd: Stirs.