JONESTOWN SURVIVOR Responds to Student Questions
JONESTOWN SURVIVOR Responds to Another Student's Questions Please remember - I am only one of 60 remaining survivors - these are my own, personal recollections only. I write only for myself. Also, I wrote only a few paragraphs to answer these questions. They need more time and more thought. I unfortunately can’t spend the time to do that right now. 1. How did you feel the People’s Temple was taking a stand for social justice? From the first day, I realized that Jim Jones had an adopted family of all races - Black, Native American, Asian, and his “home grown” son. He and ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor – Spring 2017 Schedule
JONESTOWN SURVIVOR - Spring 2017 Schedule February 1, Skype Interview by Douglas Foresta Resilience Radio: Crushing the Tough Stuff February 20, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington February 22, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington March 15, 1-3 p.m. CSUSM Osher Class, Carlsbad National University Campus March 25, 9-3, Panel member at 2017 Creative Industry Expo, U of Phoenix, San Diego April, University of So. Indiana, Evansville, Indiana and other nearby universities April 21, 9:30-11:30, CSUSM Osher Class at Temecula Higher Ed Center June 4, Host Table at Bay Area Book Festival, Berkeley June 9, 1-3, UCSD Osher Class
» continue readingJonestown Survivor – Available for Student Interviews
Jonestown Survivor - I am contacted almost every week by students learning about Peoples Temple and Jonestown. I respond to them, and then post my responses here for others who are interested in learning more. Jonestown Survivor responds to some new questions from a high school student: Thank you for writing to me. I have written very brief answers to your questions. I write only for myself, from my perspective. I am in touch with about 60 survivors, and each one of us would likely answer these questions (maybe most questions) differently, so these are my reflections only. I asked you what research ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Answers Student’s Questions
Jonestown Survivor Answers Questions from Students Studying Peoples Temple and Jonestown Hi there. Thank you for your questions. I have two reminders - First, I speak ONLY for myself. Each survivor has a unique perspective and I don’t pretend I represent any one else. Second, these are short answers to complicated questions. They are not full answers. Many books have been written, movies made, articles and research papers penned - and it has not all been covered yet. Research well, check many sources. We have a lot we can learn about both Peoples Temple and the wider issues. 1. What events were ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Answers Students’ Questions
Jonestown Survivor Responds to final set of questions from these two students: How was Jim Jones able to control everyone, especially such a large group to follow his words regardless of their consequences? When did you notice that Jim Jones was corrupt? Was he always like that? What’s the big takeaway now? Jim was able to paint a picture for all of us who had come to Peoples Temple, frustrated and angry with the racism and injustice we saw around us. He talked about a better, just and nurturing kind of world. He was very persuasive. He was also an expert at having a second ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Interviewed by John Borowski
JONESTOWN SURVIVOR NEWS Last year, I was interviewed by John Borowski for a segment of his television show. Here is the trailer for the show. More info to come soon about exact airing, etc. Thank you so much! Serial Killer Culture TV EPISODE 4 TRAILER: JONESTOWN SURVIVOR COMING 2017! Show release date and more info coming soon! https://vimeo.com/193718420
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Responds to New Inquiries
Jonestown Survivor Responds to Inquiries Earlier this month, I received this email from my website www.jonestownsurvivor.com - from the “Invite Laura to Speak” section. Since I don’t answer any Peoples Temple-related question with a “yes” or “no” answer, I try to give the questions some thought before I answer. I had quite a dialogue with these two students. They wrote: Hello, we wanted to talk to you about what happened in Jonestown and what you experienced there. We are writing a paper about the religion and we would like to ask some questions to a survivor who lived through it all. Thank you for ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor: Who Comes to Evergreen Cemetery on November 18?
[caption id="attachment_2072" align="alignnone" width="960"] 38th Anniversary - Evergreen Cemetery, Oakland[/caption]Who Comes to the Annual Gathering on November 18? This year, on November 18, 2016, for the 38th anniversary of Jonestown, we had many survivors and family members stop at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland at 3 in the afternoon. Some survivors visit Evergreen throughout the year, or at different times on the date of the anniversary. Many survivors and family members live in the Bay Area, relatively close to Oakland. Only a handful come to our annual afternoon gathering. Nearly 1,000 wonderful people died on November 18, 1978. Many more thousands miss those ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor – Thoughts on “Drink the Kool Aid”
Drink the Kool Aid The term “Drink the Kool Aid” refers to the time Jim Jones coerced 912 people to participate in killing themselves and five more at the Port Kaituma airport, in Guyana, South America. He died that day, too. That was on November 18, 1978. These days, the expression is used almost non-stop. Certainly the election of November 2016 is on everyone’s mind - since I have heard it so much in recent days. But, more and more, it is used in our daily lives - in print, in news, in politics (more and more), and in conversation. As a ...
» continue readingJONESTOWN SURVIVOR – Setting up Spring 2017 Events
JONESTOWN SURVIVOR - Setting up Spring 2017 Events I am a Board Member of the Communal Studies Association, and for the past ten years, I have presented scholarly research papers at the Communal Studies Association Conferences. I often speak about both Peoples Temple and Synanon, since I lived in each community. I am a Jonestown Survivor and have written a book about my life - JONESTOWN SURVIVOR: An Insider's Look. I travel around the country, presenting to universities, conferences, libraries, service groups, Quaker venues, and other events. I cover a huge range of topics, from New Religions, Cults, Psychology, Writing, bilingual education, ...
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