D-2-D-1A<\/p>\n
Dear Dr. Jagan:<\/p>\n
It is a sad fact, but one that we feel should not be kept from your attention,\u2028that there are certain elements in the United States who are attacking Peoples Temple and Rev. Jim Jones as a result of our open support of Socialism in the\u2028U.S. and throughout the Caribbean. California\u2019s Lt. Governor Mervyn Dymally,\u2028who has freely praised Peoples Temple and the move to Socialism in the\u2028Caribbean with particular enthusiasm since his visit to our agricultural project\u2028here last December, is likewise under attack. The head of a law enforcement\u2028agency who knows our dedication and our complete integrity has himself said that\u2028the localised move against us is all because of our support for the Marxist\u2028Leninist principles which we are practicing in Guyana.<\/p>\n
The States\u2019 white, moderate press has in the past given the agricultural\u2028project the same good coverage it has customarily given our human service programs,\u2028and of course the black press has been totally supportive of us all along. But\u2028now, our large scale move to expand our settlement has caused embarrassment\u2028among certain segments of the establishment, and the reactionary press has moved in\u2028to attack. As I\u2019m sure you can well understand, it engenders a loss of fact to\u2028say the least, to recognise that a sizeable number of people who have always\u2028worked for human justice within the existing social structure have become so\u2028disillusioned with U.S. materialism that they have chosen to relocate in a\u2028developing country where we can help to bring about a just Marxist society.\u2028Those who can\u2019t admit that good people would make such a move are using the right\u2028wing press, recently showing its true character more and more, to whip up the\u2028bigotry that is always present to one degree or another within the U.S.<\/p>\n
We wouldn\u2019t say the press has ever given a totally accurate picture of\u2028Peoples Temple\u2019s work or the role Jim Jones has played in stimulating the conscience\u2028of many in our stateside community. Essentially, the dimensions of Rev. Jones\u2019\u2028work are so broad that the media, with its space and time limitations, inevitably\u2028fails to encompass them Nevertheless, I\u2019m enclosing some articles, reprinted\u2028in the States, that are a fair selection of past media coverage of our programs.<\/p>\n
These oft-mentioned programs are clearly the proper function of a church\u2028fulfilling the true teachings of the New Testament, appropriate for any group\u2028which cares about people, and in fact are part and parcel of our Marxist-Leninist\u2028orientation \u2013 for which we have faced constant harassment and now, outright\u2028attack. It is sad there are still so many who have not yet captured the Socialist\u2028understanding of the New Testament\u2019s message. But progressive church leaders in ourState, and even on a national scale, have all recognized the outstanding quality\u2028of Rev. Jones\u2019 ministry and his extraordinary accomplishments and meeting people\u2019s\u2028needs while standing like a tower with high level of commitment to social justice. You\u2019ll notice sprinkled through these articles highly complementary\u2028statements by individuals like the District Superintendent of the Methodist Church,\u2028the minister of the second largest congregation (next to ours) in our city, as well\u2028as popular State representatives of both black and white races. We\u2019ve received\u2028hundreds of calls from supporters from all segments of the community who stand resolutely with us in the face of the reactionary conspiracy organized against us. Just a few\u2028of the statements publicly made on our behalf during this period of persecution are included on the attached sheet. It\u2019s amazing that we have the support of politicians\u2028even out of our voting districts, particularly in view of the clear fact that we are emigrating abroad. The fact of our emigration also explains the current attack,\u2028because some people see us as no longer useful in meeting their needs. Our being\u2028in transition between two parts of the world, far separated by thousands of miles,\u2028emboldens bigots to feel that they can lie with impunity, feeling we\u2019ll have no\u2028money or time to sue.<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
D-2-D-1B<\/p>\n
Page 2<\/p>\n
However even the most scurrilous press reports have had to admit that Jim Jones and Peoples Temple have never done anything but for the good of the people. In time, we trust that the judgement of even-minded people will thoroughly wash out the outrageous lies and distortions now being bandied about. We are proud to make Guyana our new home, and we have already had many good experiences here. Our settlement near Port Kaltuma, which is completely integrated with Guyanese nationals (and many of our members have adopted Guyanese children from all racial backgrounds) is fulfilling our highest expectations. Our people are making the utmost of this new opportunity to live cooperatively and productively on Guyana soil.<\/p>\n
We hope you won\u2019t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or comments about our presence here. On our part, we are looking forward to more and more friendly relations with the people of Guyana, and anticipate a very happy life here.<\/p>\n
Sincerely yours,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
D-2-D-1A Dear Dr. Jagan: It is a sad fact, but one that we feel should not be kept from your attention,\u2028that there are certain elements in the United States who are attacking Peoples Temple and Rev. Jim Jones as a result of our open support of Socialism in the\u2028U.S. and throughout the Caribbean. California\u2019s Lt. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":88241,"menu_order":15,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-133501","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/133501","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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=133501"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/133501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133502,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/133501\/revisions\/133502"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/88241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=133501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}