{"id":30287,"date":"2013-07-25T15:46:05","date_gmt":"2013-07-25T15:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alternativejonestown.com\/?page_id=30287"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:40:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:40:49","slug":"kooldirectory","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=30287","title":{"rendered":"Drinking the Kool-Aid: A (Partial) 2010 Directory"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Editor\u2019s note<\/strong>: the jonestown report made note every year in its 13 editions between 2007 and 2019 of the numerous articles, op-ed pieces, and commentaries that specifically mention the use of the phrase “Drinking the Kool-Aid,” even if it isn\u2019t the focus of the entire piece. Even though the report suspended the annual listing beginning in 2020, the references continue on a near daily basis in online media sources.<\/p>\n

(The listing below includes several references from 2010. The entries include the source and nature of the references. Even as the URLs themselves often go defunct, we will continue to note the outdated links.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0Kool-Aid Commentary<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/i><\/b>Setting the record straight on \u2018drink the Kool-Aid’<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n<\/i><\/b>by Graham\u00a0Kislingbury, Mid-Valley Newspapers<\/i>,\u00a013 June 2010
\nNote<\/strong>: Access to this article at http:\/\/www.gazettetimes.com\/blogs\/graham-kislingbury\/setting-the-record-straight-on-drink-the-kool-aid\/article_fac6fe07-1d90-532f-9174-2c57c0b7a107.html requires a paid subscription.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u00a0always cringe when I hear people use the now-common expression \u201cdrink the\u00a0Kool-Aid.\u201d According to Wikipedia, \u201cthe phrase suggests that one has mindlessly\u00a0<\/span>adopted the dogma of a group or leader without fully understanding the\u00a0<\/span>ramifications or implications.\u201d\u2026<\/span>Kool-Aid\u00a0<\/span>is made by Kraft Foods. I called the company recently to see how it deals with\u00a0<\/span>the \u201cdrink the Kool-Aid\u201d phrase. My message was passed on to Bridgett\u00a0<\/span>MacConnell, Kraft\u2019s senior manager for beverages in the U.S., who called me\u00a0<\/span>from her Tarrytown, N.Y., office.\u00a0<\/span>MacConnell\u00a0<\/span>also cringes when she hears the words \u201cdrink the Kool-Aid.\u201d The company,\u00a0<\/span>however, doesn\u2019t get defensive, nor does it send out requests for corrections.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>become ubiquitous,\u201d she said. \u201cThe idea of trying to fight it is not worth\u00a0<\/span>it.\u201d\u2026\u00a0<\/span>Last\u00a0<\/span>month while visiting relatives on the San Francisco Peninsula, my mother and I\u00a0<\/span>drove to Alta Mesa Memorial Park cemetery in Palo Alto. Grass had grown over\u00a0<\/span>portions of my dad\u2019s grave marker, so I cleaned it up. Less than a foot away is\u00a0<\/span>my sister\u2019s grave. I stood over it for a minute, and had the thought I\u2019ve\u00a0<\/span>always had when viewing it: She shouldn\u2019t be dead.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00a0<\/span>can\u2019t change what happened at Jonestown or the fact that a grave marker at Alta\u00a0<\/span>Mesa bears the name <\/span>Sharon Kislingbury<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

For<\/span>the rest of my life, however, I can do something about the bad rap that\u00a0<\/span>Kool-Aid continues to get. Whenever I see or hear the words \u201cdrink the\u00a0<\/span>Kool-Aid,\u201d I will politely set the record straight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where did the term \u201cdrinking\u00a0<\/span><\/b>kool-aid\u201d come from?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Three definitions\u00a0at the urban dictionary<\/i>
\nhttp:\/\/www.urbandictionary.com\/define.php?term=drink+the+kool-aid<\/a><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Drink the Kool-Aid<\/span><\/b>
\nby Dub Mowery, The Gilmer<\/i> (TX) Mirror<\/i>, 15 July 2010<\/span>
\nNote<\/strong>: The url for this article at http:\/\/www.gilmermirror.com\/view\/full_story\/8731216\/article-Don-t-drink-the-Kool-Aid?instance=special_coverage_bullets_right_column is defunct.<\/em><\/p>\n

For more than 30\u00a0years the coined expression: \u201cDon\u2019t drink the Kool-Aid!\u201d is often heard. It\u00a0generally carries the concept of not being gullible. In other words, don\u2019t be\u00a0easily taken in by a smooth talker. How did that saying come about? It was\u00a0derived from a tragedy in November of 1978 when 913 members of the People\u2019s\u00a0Temple cult committed suicide. That took place after Jim Jones, the leader of\u00a0that cult, persuaded his followers to move from the United States to a remote\u00a0area of Guyana in South America.\u2026 It is hard to believe that those people\u00a0blindly followed such a fanatic individual as Jim Jones. He obviously used\u00a0<\/span>intimidation in that several of the people attempted to leave with the\u00a0<\/span>congressman and the reporters. Any religion that uses physical force to assure\u00a0<\/span>compliance unto it is an inferior religion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drink the Kool-Aid<\/span><\/b>
\nby John J. St. John, Author\u2019s Den<\/i>, 4 July 2010<\/span>
\nhttp:\/\/www.authorsden.com\/visit\/viewarticle.asp?id=56961&AuthorID=89481<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve gotta drink\u00a0the Kool-Aid\u201d. When did you first hear someone say that? It was only a couple\u00a0of years ago I learned this has become a favorite catch-phrase of today\u2019s\u00a0thirty or forty-somethings. They use it as a kind of cool shorthand for\u00a0acknowledging that we all live under certain strictures or demands laid down by\u00a0one or another authority in our lives. Whether it describes a practice dictated\u00a0by etiquette, or formulaic words we are obliged to parrot in certain\u00a0circumstances, or someone\u2019s notion of the proper clothing to wear, the essence\u00a0of its meaning is that \u2013 even though we might prefer otherwise \u2013 we must\u00a0nonetheless conform to the group norm if we wish to remain in good standing.\u00a0There\u2019s no way around it. We have to suck it up, \u201cdrink the Kool-Aid\u201d. It\u2019s a\u00a0damn good expression, actually. Very descriptive. Especially if you are old\u00a0enough to remember how it originated.<\/span><\/p>\n

33 Conspiracy Theories that turned out to be True…<\/span><\/b>
\nby\u00a0Jonathan Elinoff, New World Order<\/i>, 6 January\u00a02010
\nhttp:\/\/banderasnews.com\/1001\/edat-33conspiracytheories.htm<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026In fact, if one\u00a0were to look into conspiracy theories, they will largely find that thinking\u00a0about a conspiracy is associated with lunacy and paranoia.\u00a0 Some websites\u00a0suggest it as an illness.\u00a0 It is also not surprising to see so many people\u00a0on the internet writing about conspiracy theories in a condescending tone,\u00a0usually with the words \u201ckool-aid,\u201d \u201ccrack pot,\u201d or \u201cnut job\u201d in their\u00a0articulation.\u00a0This must be obvious to anyone that emotionally writing\u00a0about such serious matter insults the reader more than the conspiracy theorist\u00a0because there is no need to resort to this kind of behavior.\u00a0 It is\u00a0employed often with an \u201cexpert\u201d who will say something along the lines of, \u201cfor\u00a0these conspiracies to be true, you would need hundreds if not thousands of\u00a0people to be involved.\u00a0 It\u2019s just not conceivable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Speak No Evil: The Decade\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Worst New Business Terms<\/span><\/b>
\nby David Schepp, Daily Finance<\/i>, 26 December 2009
\nNote<\/strong>: The url for this article at https:\/\/www.aol.com\/2009\/12\/26\/speak-no-evil-the-decades-worst-new-business-terms\/ is defunct.<\/em><\/p>\n

Perhaps we were\u00a0doomed from the start. In a decade that we never knew how to name — the aughts<\/i>? the naughts<\/i>? the zeros<\/i>? —\u00a0tortured words and phrases in business communication blossomed. Buzzwords and\u00a0phrases once typically came from larger society, such as \u201cdrink the Kool-Aid,\u201d\u00a0meaning \u201cbelieve in something on faith alone,\u201d which originated from the mass\u00a0suicides of the 1978 Jonestown Massacre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Derivatives,\u00a0Extensions, and Variations of a Familiar Phrase<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Are you a \u2018jazz nerd\u2019?
\nJason Marsalis revisits and\u00a0clarifies the term<\/span><\/b>
\nby <\/span>Jason Marsalis, Los Angeles Times<\/i>, 15 June 2010<\/span>
\nhttp:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/music_blog\/2010\/06\/jazz-nerds-revisited-jason-marsalis-responds.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Almost NO music\u00a0before 1990 is referenced in the majority of music played today. But if you\u00a0don\u2019t study the history of jazz, or music for that matter, the good news is\u00a0that you have an out clause. Jazz magazines and writers created this flavor of\u00a0kool-aid named \u201cinnovation,\u201d and when a musician drinks \u201cinnovation kool-aid,\u201d<\/span> you believe the following principles:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Jazz has to\u00a0move forward into the future.
\n2. We can\u2019t get\u00a0stuck in the past with hero worship.
\n3. Swing is old\u00a0<\/span>and dated. We have to use the music of today.
\n4. Jazz is\u00a0<\/span>limiting. You must take a chance by bringing in current styles.
\n5. I don\u2019t care\u00a0about the past. I have to do my own thing.
\n6. We\u2019re past\u00a0playing American songbook standards. That\u2019s yesterday\u2019s music.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Hate the iPad: A\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Break Down of the Backlash<\/span><\/b>
\nby Mike Melanson, Read Write Web<\/i>, 29 January 2010<\/span>
\nhttps:\/\/readwrite.com\/2010\/01\/29\/how_to_hate_the_ipad_a_break-down_of_the_backlash\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

TweetFeel, a\u00a0sentiment analysis tool that uses tweets as its data set, offers us a snapshot\u00a0of this darker side of the iPad.\u2026 \u201cThe positive tweets are mostly folks saying\u00a0things like \u2018It\u2019s awesome\u2019 [and] \u2018I want one\u2019,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWhen looking at\u00a0Apple products, the positive responses are usually very \u2018Koolaid-esque\u2019 meaning\u00a0they don\u2019t really say why they like it but just that they do…and they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Innovator and\u00a0writer looks ahead – with caution<\/span><\/b>
\nby Peter Hartlaub, The San Francisco Chronicle<\/i>, 15 November\u00a02009<\/span>
\nNote<\/strong>: The url for this article at http:\/\/articles.sfgate.com\/2009-11-15\/news\/17179482_1_earth-catalog-stewart-brand-global-business-network is defunct.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2026Hanging\u00a0out with [Stewart] Brand can be intimidating. Less than an hour into our first\u00a0<\/span>meeting, this reporter tried to dazzle Brand with some trivia: The oft-used\u00a0<\/span>term \u201cdrinking the Kool-Aid\u201d is wrong, because Jim Jones gave his Jonestown followers\u00a0<\/span>Flavor Aid during their mass suicide in Guyana.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0think \u2018drinking the Kool-Aid\u2019 predates Jim Jones to Ken Kesey – \u2018Electric\u00a0<\/span>Kool-Aid Acid Test\u2019 and all that,\u201d Brand politely corrects. \u201cDrinking Kool-Aid\u00a0<\/span>actually had a very different meaning then. It meant \u2018Are you on the bus or off\u00a0<\/span>the bus? Are you in or are you out?\u2019 All it meant is are you trusting Neal\u00a0Cassady. And why would you do that?\u201d\u00a0<\/span>He\u00a0<\/span>should know. He was there. Tom Wolfe wrote about Brand in \u201cThe Electric\u00a0<\/span>Kool-Aid Acid Test,\u201d and thanked him in the author\u2019s note.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drinking the\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Kool-Aid (sic)<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The connection\u00a0between the phrase and Tom Wolfe\u2019s book was also suggested <\/span>here<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>Finally\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Jonestown Kool-Aid\u00a0Cake:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>A recipe from <\/span><\/b>Apocalypse\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Cakes<\/span><\/b>
\nhttp:\/\/apocalypsecakes.wordpress.com\/2009\/09\/21\/jonestown-kool-aid-cake\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Editor\u2019s note: the jonestown report made note every year in its 13 editions between 2007 and 2019 of the numerous articles, op-ed pieces, and commentaries that specifically mention the use of the phrase “Drinking the Kool-Aid,” even if it isn\u2019t the focus of the entire piece. Even though the report suspended the annual listing beginning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":30363,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30287","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30287","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=30287"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134432,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30287\/revisions\/134432"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}