{"id":112395,"date":"2021-12-09T12:41:11","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T20:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=112395"},"modified":"2021-12-09T12:41:11","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T20:41:11","slug":"temple-declares-soviet-union-is-its-motherland-late-march","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=112395","title":{"rendered":"Temple Declares Soviet Union Is Its Motherland, late March"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Editor’s notes<\/strong>: The transcript of this document retains its original spellings, with corrections noted only where necessary for clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n

[Likely in an effort to save paper, Temple members often used the reverse side of old documents. That is the case here, and the reverse sides of the pages on this memo were not transcribed.<\/em><\/p>\n

[There is no date on this document. Based on the context of its contents \u2013 the March 30 document at <\/em>G-1-h-2a \u2013 2d<\/em> refers to the possibility of Chilean refugees staying in Jonestown \u2013 we are placing it in late March.]<\/em><\/p>\n

G-1-g-32a<\/p>\n

For Shirley: <\/u>[code name, likely for Soviets or Soviet Embassy]<\/p>\n

I do not expect to go to the Soviet Union as a group. It would be good as a model. We could make some contributions like some Americans did at the beginning of the revolution. They did a very good job there so we read in Soviet literature. We would do an excellent job there, we’d build again. we are tireless working people. The Soviet Union is our spiritual mother. The mother of our revolution. The soviet union is our motherland, our spiritual motherland.<\/p>\n

We understand their position in being pragmatic in a nuclear age and making compromises, but we aren’t going to effect a nuclear war, and this thing seems to be so hodge-podge with no real politicizing, that if we can\u2019t be taken and be useful someplace in a real socialist situation. We came here to save children [from] premature acts of terrorism, some were destroyed on drugs, but here they found a new lease on life and nobody wanted to even touch a drug if they had to. That is the kind of progress we make, but what are we dealing with. Technocrats? Why can’t we live principled lives? Either we need to be dropped in Mozambique where we can fight or be taken to USSR as a model of principled people. We sure as hell understand USSR. All we want is some opportunity for our children to grow up educated along socialist lines. We would not want the material comforts that some people feel they need in the USSR over the years of struggle and what they went through in WWII and all of the hell with 20 millllion dead<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G-1-g-32b [Reverse side of G-1-g-32a, not transcribed]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G-1-g-32c<\/p>\n

\u2026with 20 million dead.<\/p>\n

But if we were too hot to handle Dennis in Mozambique so we can die, somelthing we believe in.<\/p>\n

Instead of up here fighting black against black when the political lines are not clearly drawn unless they see something that is clearly drawn if they see something coming of a revolution then we will hold out some way until the shit hits the fan.<\/p>\n

But just to die for issues important to us, as important as the doctor is, we are told one thing, a promise that we are going to have our doctor. We got all of these people pouring in here. We are told by certain leaders in the government that they were dying before you got there. We can’t think that way. There are people in the govt who are very sympathetic and we have been told directly from them: [Deputy Prime Minister Ptolemy] Reid, [Prime Minister Forbes] Burnham, [Minister of Home Affairs Vibert] Mingo, [Minister of Energy Hubert] Jack, and we were told that Hubert Jack is the next Prime Minister. [Minister of Health Hamilton] Green says himself he is freindly but we have heard that there is a conflict between Green and Reid. We were told that distinctly. [Minister of Information] Shirley Field Ridley\u00a0 is supposed to be on our side, but not enough to put her neck out. Some of the others are not committing one way or the other. [Guyana Minister of Development Desmond] Hoyte is supposed to be against us. We are told by the US consulate that they love him that he is the darling of the USA and that they trust him, but we are also encouraged by these four that he will never be the PM, that Hubert Jack will be the next PM.<\/p>\n

(This ought to be in writing. We don’t want to compromise you, that is why we are putting this in writing. We love you. That is our only loyalty.) That is our major loyalty.<\/p>\n

We saw soviet delegations that we thought there was too much male chauvenism, too much interest in things, too much interest in jewelry. We understand that for an emerging society, but at least we know in the Soviet Union, we know that they are on the side of leiberation, Angola, Ethiopia, they have been on the right side of every liberation question. So what about China. They may have done some things domestically, but their foreign-policy is reactionary. Worse than capitalists, they are renegades. That makes us suspicious of them. Our contact with the embassy has only been through them?. They blow a lot of wind up our ass but we have grave questions about them. We have congressmen on our side but now the<\/p>\n

[Interjected note: “They should send a message similar to the one that went to Rodgers \u2013 about ascension to Jack. This should be written out and avoid Ann\u2019s mistake.\u201d]<\/p>\n

appeals come out that we are prosoviet. The last news agent that his us said we were pro-soviet against USA. We have always taken on\u2026 We took on Senator Stennis. That is what got us into trouble in the first place. There had been electronic surveylance [surveillance]. We took on Senator Stennis when they were trying to kill or do something worse to Unita Blackwell Wright. Because if there have been electronic surveillance, it sure as hell wouldn’t have been done. Two officers came from Kessler AFB. We can get documentation on this if you want to. This was wehen our shit began. The editor of one of the major newspapers in the Bay Area said that is when we met our Waterloo. We realize in retrospect that we got ourselves in trouble, but JJ says one thing about himself that there is one thing he doesn’t know how to do and that is to compromise his principles. He was pragmatic enough to get in the church, but when he got in the church, he felt it was only honourable to make atheists out of all of them and make communists out of all of them and that takes straight forward actions, involvement and open discussions otherwise they will go back to religion. You have to constantly educate or they will go back to religion. You have to constantly get involved or they will go back to religion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G-1-g-32d [Reverse side of G-1-g-32c, not transcribed]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G-1-g-32e<\/p>\n

Is there some deal going on. I understand with a right wing in the PNC it is difficult \u2013 the black majority have strong feelings about a national front, and the east indians have the same, with racism. But is there something that you people sense that would make a difference in what contribution that our people could make \u2013 we don’t expect you to answer vocally \u2013 if you could just nod \u2013 that this is a possibility \u2013 anything to hold on to becuase our people \u2013 we don’t expect that you could emphasize [empathize] with us fully we have had burnings and we have had fire just two days ago we had people try to break into our temple in SF and our people are concerned about people back there \u2013 there is a comraderie [camaraderie] \u2013 like Miller set up on this homosexual shit \u2013 one of the more progressive congressmen in the US molesting children \u2013 all this crap going on \u2013 and all the hell (JJ says I have kind of jumped it too far that is kind of remote).<\/p>\n

So if you could give us anything so that we could hold on here. You say hold on \u2013 but if this country is going to move to the right and we can’t have anything to do with Jaggan [Guyana opposition leader Cheddi Jagan] and Jaggan is consistently behind the coviet union we don’t want that kind of world, if we cannot meet with Jaggan. \u2013 that is if it is moving to the right \u2013 however if it is moving to the left and you are trying to keep us from causing some difficulties we understand that shit \u2013 you can be blunt with us and if you feel that you don’t want to talk to all of us for christs sake seek out Jim Jones \u2013 because we don’t give a motherfuck about what the US does about you being up here. Everyone has visited up here. And we have had a lot of \u2013 we have had US, and Russians and we have been openly supporters of Russian in the US. So shit\u00a0 if they are after us for that they are going to be after us there. We are the only ones that do all the party work for the friendship society. We do all the goddamn leg work. We do all the preparation for various functions. We have had soviet delegation after soviet delegation in our church \u2013 so what the fuck do we give a goddamn when we are 6000 miles here in the jungle \u2013 Angela Davis came to our church \u2013 when ever she came she came \u2013 we were in the line in support of her when no body else would \u2013 said that we would even put our lives on the line for her if it came to that. But we don’t want to live with the kind of pragmatism that if Jaggan\u2013 or if their [there] is some question that Jaggan is moving away from the soviets \u2013 we need to know that because we are gor the soviets down the line. We have supported the Chileans and we still support the chileans \u2013 we have been giving one chilean refugee group their bread and butter and it is hard for us to do it. We have been pinching pennies but we are still doing it. (You know we are capable of some diplomacy ourselves) You know we had a man [Joe Mazor] come in here \u2013 telling us that there was going to be an attempt at kidnapping \u2013 he came to warn us \u2013 whatever his purpose was[,] he said that he was asked to participate \u2013 and he said no \u2013 can we have a been coming here and shoot the other day. We decided not to make this one public becuase we have reported that before and they come out and then they do nothing. So this is what is going on here. So one action could trigger this movement to its death. We are in total and complete solidarity behind the societ union. You know it is a constant battle to communize a church. To get them out of religious credibility and make them athiests. So you have got to be open and direct. Jim has wondered at times if it was a mistake but he couldn’t see just putting money into causes. \u2013 and even<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G-1-g-32f [Reverse side of G-1-g-32e, not transcribed]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G-1-g-32g<\/p>\n

where it still got us into trouble [illegible word] we put money way back into communist causes \u2013 like Anlgela Davis which we put 2000 up for in the early days when they were quite as communized as they are now. But if people don’t know what the fuck they are doing in a church they will always revert to religion. He had to remind them in every service there he was an athiest and that he was a Marxist-leninist. And we sang the soviet national anthem \u2013 in fact we have been singing the soviet national anthem for 7 years \u2013 we even send the soviet national anthem when the leader of our denomination came. We sang it no matter who came \u2013 chinesses what ever \u2013<\/p>\n

[Handwritten addition: “Are you still standing by your assurance that this country is not moving to the right.”]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G-1-g-32h [Reverse side of G-1-g-32g, not transcribed]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G-1-g-32i<\/p>\n

[Handwritten name: \u201cShirley\u2013\u201c]<\/p>\n

We are not concerned for ourselves. We want to follow the Marxist-Leninist position. We want to help socialism. We appreciate thier concern but we thought we were to apologetic. If Jim went to the Soviet Union he wouldn\u2019t take any kind of position. He’d like his children to assimilate. The group would not be a criteria. We could set a model, but he wants his children safe [Handwritten addition: “in a socialist environment.”]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G-1-g-32j [Reverse side of G-1-g-32i, not transcribed]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Editor’s notes: The transcript of this document retains its original spellings, with corrections noted only where necessary for clarity. [Likely in an effort to save paper, Temple members often used the reverse side of old documents. That is the case here, and the reverse sides of the pages on this memo were not transcribed. [There […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":112381,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-112395","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=112395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112396,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112395\/revisions\/112396"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=112395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}