{"id":28114,"date":"2013-08-10T21:28:09","date_gmt":"2013-08-10T21:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alternativejonestown.com\/?page_id=28114"},"modified":"2024-07-17T14:43:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T21:43:24","slug":"279-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=28114","title":{"rendered":"Q279 Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

To read the Tape Transcript, click here<\/a>. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1<\/a>, Pt. 2<\/a>).
\nTo return to the Tape Index, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FBI Catalogue\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Jones Speaking<\/p>\n

FBI preliminary tape identification note:\u00a0<\/b>Labeled in part \u201cSat Aug 19\u201d<\/p>\n

Date cues on tape:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Events described on tape corresponds with label<\/p>\n

People named:<\/b><\/p>\n

Public figures\/National and international names:<\/i>
\nAbraham Lincoln
\nMao Tse-Tung<\/div>\n
Don Freed
\nCarlton GoodlettCuffy, former slave, Guyana national hero
\nCudjoe, slave emancipator
\nCommander Clarence Price, GDF leader in Guyana Northwest District<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Temple adversaries; members of Concerned Relatives:<\/i>
\nDebby Layton Blakey<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Jonestown residents, full name unknown:<\/i>
\nBecky (likely Rebecca Beikman, could be Flowers)
\nGloria
\nTim (numerous Tim)
\nMitchell [likely L.C. Mitchell]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Jonestown residents:<\/i>
\nWes Breidenbach
\n“Jonestown’s Moms Mabley” [likely Bertha Cook]
\nEllihue Dennis
\nJames \u201cReb\u201d Edwards (speaks)<\/b>
\nJames Ford, aka James Wade
\nDavid George
\nPat Grunnett
\nMarthea Hicks (sings)<\/b>
\nValerie Jones
\nPenny Kerns
\nTom Kice
\nDonald Wayne McCall
\nRussell Moton
\nJane Mutschmann
\nMike Prokes
\nCharlie Touchette
\nHarriet Sarah Tropp (speaks)<\/b>
\nBruce Turner
\nAndrea Walker(speaks)<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Bible verses cited:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201c[F]rom each according to his ability, to each according to his need. That\u2019s Christian, honey, that\u2019s right in the Bible.\u201d (Acts 2: 44-45, \u201cAnd all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.\u201d\u00a0Also<\/b>, Acts 4: 34-35, \u201cNeither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Summary:<\/b><\/p>\n

(Note: <\/strong>This tape was transcribed by Vicki Perry. The editors gratefully acknowledge her invaluable assistance.)<\/i><\/p>\n

Jim Jones leads the Jonestown community in anticipating questions which visiting reporters and other outsiders might ask about their project. Throughout the tape, he alternate roles between that of an aggressive reporter asking questions and a critic dissecting the answers the people give him. He maintains a conversational tone for most of the tape, gently offering suggestions and even remarking \u2013 with some levity \u2013\u00a0on the inconsistency of the responses, but there are several occasions when he seems to be frustrated and angry.<\/p>\n

The specific impetus for the night of role-playing is unknown. The tape label has a mid-August 1978 date, and the references he makes \u2013 the recent defection of long-trusted advisor Debby Blakey and the anticipated arrival of American screenwriter Don Freed \u2013 are consistent with the label. The Jonestown community often hosted official delegations from the Guyanese government, and certain relatives of Jonestown residents were granted entry into the settlement, but the detailed critiques and repeated warnings about reporters\u2019 tricks in tripping up their interview subjects suggest the expected arrival of a more hostile contingent. While Jones praises many of the answers, he offers either a lengthy critique, a minor correction, or alternative phrasing to practically everyone who comes before him.<\/p>\n

At its core, though, the evening is one of an attempted community-wide public relations effort. They are supposed to accentuate the positive, turning what a reporter might see as liabilities into assets and \u2013 at times \u2013\u00a0denying their own reality. \u201cYou don\u2019t say Father, or Dad, no screaming around like that. It\u2019s Jim,\u201d he counsels early in the tape. \u201cNever Pastor, never \u2026 Father, never Dad\u2026 No, it\u2019s got to be Jim. You always refer to me as Jim.\u201d Later in the session, as he runs through questions he hasn\u2019t directly asked of anyone, he says: \u201cWho is Jim to you? He\u2019s myfriend<\/i>. Best friend I\u2019ve ever had. Do you believe he\u2019s God? You should say, what are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n

The tape reveals a few nettlesome areas for the community. Jones \u2013 in his role as a reporter \u2013 asks a woman what they eat. She begins with homemade bread, then says rice. Jones interrupts her on the spot. \u201cDon\u2019t name rice first, please. \u2018Cause that damned woman \u2026 Debby [Blakey] said we never eat anything here\u00a0but<\/i>\u00a0rice. So, I\u2019d forget the rice for the time being.\u201d She amends her answer to talk about meats, dairy, fruits and vegetables, and then \u2013 again at Jones\u2019 suggestion \u2013 adds rice on at the end.<\/p>\n

People are also cautioned about talking about Public Services and other forms of discipline, about people of different sexes living in a house together, and about dissenters. (And if a reporter asks a shocking question, it\u2019s okay to react accordingly: \u201cI\u2019d look more shocked than that,\u201d Jones tells one man.) The Jonestown leadership will also make some cottages available for the outsiders to tour, but say the living quarters off the official list must keep their curtains down; if the reporters ask to see those cottages, the answer will be no, because \u201c[t]hey like privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the questions and answers elicit laughter. \u201cOkay, tell me,\u201d Jones questions an older unidentified man, \u201chow many hours do you work, sir?\u201d \u201cI work eight hours a day,\u201d the man replies. \u201cWhat\u2019s your shift? What\u2019s your hours?\u201d Jones fires back. \u201cSeven to six,\u201d the man says, and the crowd behind him erupts in spontaneous laughter. Jones corrects him \u2013 \u201cSeven and six means, by my last count, eleven\u201d \u2013 then continues with the type of warning found throughout the tape: \u201cYou gotta watch it with reporters. They\u2019ll trip your ass\u2026 Shit now, friend, if you start telling that people who work at eight, when they see everybody walking down the fucking path at six thirty, somebody\u2019s going to get in trouble.\u201d The problem for Jones and everyone else, of course, was that people were on the way to the fields by 6:30 and that they did often work 11 hours.
\nJones\u2019 main critique of the answers is in people saying things they can\u2019t back up. One man says he has learned four skills in Jonestown, but can name only two; a young woman says the Jonestown school is one of the best in Guyana, and Jones-as-reporter follows up with a questions about how she knows that.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, Jones\u2019 advice focuses on word choice. He asks a question about the \u201cgate\u201d into Jonestown, and praises the woman who answers by speaking about the \u201cfront entrance.\u201d When a man answers that he no longer suffered from a bladder problem he had in the States, Jones notes with approval that the man did not talk about healings.<\/p>\n

And even though Jones suggests that people not be intimidated by the reporters \u2013 or by him \u2013 it is also clear that people feel on the spot, and that they need to answer quickly and decisively. Answering a question about the desserts they have in Jonestown, a woman lists two and then pauses. \u201cYou\u2019re too slow,\u201d Jones says, and gives her several more examples of the sweets they have. On the other hand, at another point, he suggests that if someone needs time for reflection on the question, to \u201csmile [and] say what did you say? I didn\u2019t quite hear your question. You understand what I\u2019m saying? That gives you time to think.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is apparent, though, that Jones struggles with a sense of frustration throughout the conversation, and periodically, it finds a voice. When a woman cannot answer a question about the source of Jonestown\u2019s money, Jones prods her at first \u2013 \u201cYou standing there, and look like this, I\u2019m telling you folks, there\u2019s going to be shit. You all know these questions. I told you to learn them\u2026 You seem like you\u2019re hesitant to\u00a0speak<\/i>. What\u2019s the problem?\u201d \u2013 but when she turns to someone in the crowd for assistance, he cries out, \u201cListen, woman! I\u2019m talking now! Get your huffy shit off! I\u2019m talking! \u2026 Don\u2019t you address anybody there, \u2018cause you should have the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tape ends with a run-through of the questions they didn\u2019t address that night, and Jones\u2019 short answers. Are you communist? Do they listen to long sermons? Do they have healings? How do they get their news? What is the public address system for? Each of the questions indicates that the Jonestown leadership believes the incoming visitors have their own agenda and\/or have been speaking to \u2013 or are part of \u2013 Concerned Relatives.<\/p>\n

FBI Summary:<\/b><\/p>\n

Date of transcription: 6\/13\/79<\/p>\n

In connection with the Federal Bureau of Investigation\u2019s investigation into the assassination of U.S. Congressman LEO J. RYAN at Port Kaituma, Guyana, South America, on November 18, 1978, a tape recording was obtained. This tape recording was located in Jonestown, Guyana, South America, and was turned over to U.S. Officials in Guyana and subsequently transported to the United States.<\/p>\n

On May 31, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B93-25. This tape was found to contain the following:<\/p>\n

JAMES JONES speaking and quizzing members of Jonestown on questions and answers which may be asked by visitors to Jonestown.<\/p>\n

Questions and answers deal with topics of:<\/p>\n

1. Schools in Jonestown
\n2. Entertainment in Jonestown
\n3. Food and Housing in Jonestown
\n4. Health care in Jonestown
\n5. Weather in Jonestown
\n6. Life in general in Jonestown<\/div>\n


\nDifferences with FBI Summary:<\/b><\/p>\n

The summary is accurate and meets the FBI\u2019s purposes.<\/p>\n

Tape originally posted May 2009<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you. To read the Tape Transcript, click here. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1, Pt. 2). To return to the Tape Index, click here. FBI Catalogue\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jones Speaking FBI preliminary tape identification note:\u00a0Labeled in part \u201cSat Aug 19\u201d Date […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":27996,"menu_order":137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-28114","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28114","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28114"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127879,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28114\/revisions\/127879"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}