{"id":67782,"date":"2016-10-20T16:21:07","date_gmt":"2016-10-20T23:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=67782"},"modified":"2026-02-20T14:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T22:32:09","slug":"drinking-the-kool-aid-2016","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=67782","title":{"rendered":"Drinking the Kool-Aid 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Editor’s note<\/strong>: <\/em>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, 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

(The listing below includes several references from 2016. 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 Even as the URLs themselves often go defunct, we will continue to note the outdated links.)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

The expression \u201cdrinking the Kool-Aid\u201d is now deeply embedded into American slang \u2013 often as throwaway and\/or commonly-understood lines in sports, business, and popular culture \u2013 with upwards of a dozen references appearing on news feeds every day. Especially in political arena, the saying has become increasingly weaponized, as partisans on all sides use it to disparage the intellectual capacity and discernment of their opponents.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, there have been several serious considerations of the phrase in several commentaries during the past year, including:<\/p>\n

Both sides drink the Kool-Aid<\/strong>
\nby Peter Lemiska, Renew America<\/em>, August 13, 2016
\nhttp:\/\/www.renewamerica.com\/columns\/lemiska\/160226<\/a><\/p>\n

While appearing on a conservative website, this column acknowledges that partisans on both sides of debates \u2013 including in presidential choices \u2013 often form opinions based on \u201craw emotion,\u201d rather than thoughtful analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvariably during political arguments today, someone is accused of \u2018drinking the Kool-Aid.\u2019 It refers to blind loyalty, based on emotion, not reason, and originated from the 1978 murder\/suicide of 900 people living in a commune in Guyana. They were all fiercely loyal to their cult leader, Jim Jones, and on his orders, took their own lives by drinking a fruit beverage laced with cyanide. That incident showed how blind loyalty can deprive otherwise rational individuals of free will and common sense.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A crazy lunatic and the deadly story behind drinking the Kool-Aid<\/strong>
\nby Tom Peracchio, The World of Questly<\/em>, February 25, 2016
\nNote<\/strong>: The url for this article at http:\/\/questy.com\/content\/crazy-lunatic-and-deadly-story-behind-drinking-kool-aid is defunct.<\/em><\/p>\n

This column considers whether people who use the phrase \u201cdrinking the Kool-Aid\u201d know anything about \u201cthe very ugly event\u201d associated it. After giving a brief history of Peoples Temple and the Jonestown tragedy, the column concludes \u201cMaybe as you learn more about the origin of the phrase, and the gruesome details of the event, you will think of coming up with a new phrase to describe a mindless follower of an idea.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Drink Your Own Kool-Aid<\/strong>
\nby Jeffrey Hazlett, \u201cThe Blog,\u201d Huffington Post<\/em>, November 30, 2015
\nhttp:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/jeffrey-hayzlett\/drink-your-own-koolaid_b_8682264.html<\/a><\/p>\n

As opposed to almost every other analysis or use of the phrase that appears in print or online, this column puts the expression in a positive light, arguing that you should take stock of yourself and recognize your talents.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Don\u2019t Drink The Kool-aid<\/strong>
\nby Jeff Drinan, No Room at the Inn<\/em>, November 2, 2015
\nNote<\/strong>: The url for this article at http:\/\/noroomintheinn.org\/wp\/2015\/11\/dont-drink-the-kool-aid\/ is defunct.<\/em><\/p>\n

This column considers Jim Jones as an extension of the \u201cdecadent\u2026 nihilistic\u201d 1960\u2019s and 70\u2019s \u2013 when popular culture seemed to turn away from God and toward cults \u2013 and describes Jonestown as the \u201cperfect example [i]f people don\u2019t follow the true, unadulterated Word of God [and] don\u2019t have solid values.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Editor’s 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, even if it isn\u2019t the focus of the entire piece. Even though the report suspended the annual listing beginning in 2020, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":67656,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-67782","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/67782","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=67782"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/67782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133833,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/67782\/revisions\/133833"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/67656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}