Secret and Suppressed: Banned Ideas and Hidden History (21 page)

The people in San Francisco will not be idle over this. We do not take our death in vain you know. Is it too late for Russia? Here`s why it’s too late for Russia. They killed, they started to kill. That’s why it makes it too late for Russia. I can’t control these people. They’re out there. They’ve gone with the guns and it’s too late. And once they’ve killed anybody, at least that’s the way I want it. I just put my lot with you. If one of my people do something, it’s me. When they say I don’t have to take the blame for this, well I don’t, I don’t live that way and if they deliver up sin and try to get the man that’s … it… mothers … lying on him and lying on and trying to break up this family and they’ve all agreed to kill us by whatever means necessary. Do you think I’m going to let them? … Not on your life. No, you’re not going, you’re not going. You’re not going. I can’t live that way. I cannot live that way. We lived for all and I’ll die for all…

To me death is not a fearful thing, it’s living that’s fearful.

I have never never never seen anything like this before in my life. I have never seen people take law and provoke us and try to purposely agitate mothers of children. It is only … it’s not, it’s not worth living like this, worth living like this.

There is one man there who blames, who blames Michael Stone for the murder of his mother, and he will stop that plane by any means necessary. He’ll do it. That plane will come out of the air. There’s no way you can fly a plane without a pilot…

I haven’t seen anybody yet that didn’t die, and I like to choose my own kind of death. I’m tired of being … to hell, that’s what I’m tired of. Tired of it. So many people’s lives in my hands and I certainly don’t want your life in my hands. I’ve been telling you to this day, without me life has no meaning.

I’m the best friend you’ll ever have.

I have to pay. I’m standing with you people — you’re part of me. I can detach myself … no no no no no, I never detach myself from any of your troubles. I’ve always taken your troubles right on my shoulders … I’m not going to change that now. It’s too late. I’ve been running too long. I’m not gonna change now.

The next time, you’ll get to go to Russia. The next time round. What I’m talking about now is the dispensation of judgement, this is a revolutionary suicide council. I’m not talking about self-destruction. I’m talking about what… we have no other road. I will take your call. I will put it to the Russians, and I can tell you the answer now because I’m a prophet. Call the Russians and tell them… see if they’ll take us.

I practically died every day to give you peace. And you’ve still not had any peace. You look better than I’ve seen you in a long while, but it’s still not the kind of peace that I wanted to give you. A person’s a fool who continues to say that you’re winning when you’re losing. Win one, lose two, what?…

He’s taking off, the plane is taking off… Suicide: many have done it … Stone has done it. If somebody oughta listen … somebody … can talk … can they not talk to San Francisco see that Stone is not … He has done the thing he wanted to do. To have us destroyed.

We win. We win when we go down, they don’t have nobody else to hate. They’ve got nobody else to hate. Many will destroy themselves. I’m speaking here not as the administrator but as a prophet today. I wouldn’t talk so serious if I didn’t know what I was talking about.

By now the damage will be done. But I cannot separate myself from the pain of my people. We can’t separate myself, if you think about it, we’ve walked together too long.

I saved them, I saved them, but I made my example. I made my expression. I made my manifestation and the world was ready … not ready for me. Paul says I was a man born out of due season. I’ve been born out of due season just like we all are and the best testimony we can make is to leave this goddamn world.

Everybody hold it, hold it, hold it, lay down your burden and I’ll lay down my burden down by the riverside, shall we lay ‘em down here inside of Guyana, what’s the difference?

No man didn’t take our lives right now; he hasn’t taken them, but when they start shooting them out of the air, they’ll shoot some of our innocent babies. I’m not lying … They’ve got to shoot me to get through to some of these people. I’m not letting them take your child. Would you let them take your child?

For months I’ve tried to keep this thing from happening, but I now see that it’s the will of the Sovereign Being that this happened to us. And we lay down our lives in protest at what’s been done. And we lay down our lives in protest at what’s been done. The criminality of people, the cruelty of people who walked out of here today. You know those people who walked out, most of those white people. Most of those white people walked. I’m so grateful for the ones that didn’t, those who knew who they are.

There’s no point, there’s no point to this … we are born before our time. Take ease, take ease, take ease, take ease … Sit down, sit down, sit down. I tried so very very hard … They’re trying over here to see what’s in it … what’s gonna happen … who is it? It’s all over, it’s all over….

What a legacy, what a legacy. Well, the Red Brigade’s the only one that made any sense anyway. They invaded our privacy, they invaded our home, they followed us six thousand miles away. The Red Brigade showed them justice — the Congressman’s dead.

It’s simple — there’s no convulsion with it. It’s just simple. Please get it before it’s too late. The GDF will be here I tell you. Get moving, get moving, don’t be afraid to die. If these people land out here they’ll torture our children, they’ll torture some of our people here, torture our seniors. We cannot have this.

Are you going to separate yourself from whoever shot the Congressman? I don’t know who shot him. They speak of peace, they gotta right to know how many are dead … Oh, God, almighty God.

I don’t know how in the world they’re ever gonna write about us. It’s too late, it’s too late. The Congressman is dead … Many of our traitors are dead … They’re all laying out there dead….

Will you please hasten, will you hasten with that medication. You don’t know what you’ve done… I’ve tried … It’s hard, it’s hard only at first is it hard. It’s hard only at first. Living … when you’re looking at death … living is much more difficult. Rising up every morning and not knowing what’s going to be … it’s much more difficult. It’s much more difficult.

Please for God sake let’s get on with it. We’ve lived as no other people have lived and loved. We’ve had as much of this world as you’re gonna get. Let’s just be done with it, let’s be done with the agony of it. It’s far, far harder to have to watch you every day die slowly, and from the time you’re a child to the time you get grey, you are dying.

This is a revolutionary suicide. This is not a self-destructive suicide. Who wants to go with their child has a right to go with their child. I think it’s humane.

I want to go — I want to see you go through. They can take me, and they can do whatever they want to do. I want to see you go. I don’t wanna see you go through this hell no more. No more, no more, no more … The best thing you can do is relax and you will have no problem. You will have no problem with the thing if you just relax.

It’s not to be feared. It is not to be feared. It’s a friend. And you’re sitting there showing your love for one another. Gone, let’s get gone, let’s get gone.

Who are these? We have nothing we can do. We can’t, we can’t separate ourselves from our own people. For twenty years laying in some rotten old nursing home….

We’ve tried to find a new beginning but it’s too late. You can’t separate yourself from your brother and your sister. No way I’m gonna do it. I refuse. I don’t know who killed the Congressman, but as far as I’m concerned I killed him. You understand what I’m saying? I killed him. He had no business coming. I told him not to come.

Die with respect. Die with a degree of dignity. Lay down your life with dignity, don’t lay down with tears and agony. There’s nothing to death. It’s like Mac said, it’s like stepping over into another plane. Stop this hysterics. This is not the way for people who are Socialists or Communists to die. No way for us to die.

We must die with some dignity. We must die with some dignity.

Before we had no choice, now we have some choice. And you think they’re going to allow this to be done, and allow us to get by with this? You must be insane. It’s only — it’s something to put you to rest. Oh God. Mother, mother, mother, please. Mother please, please, please don’t, don’t do this, don’t do this. Put down your life with this child but don’t do this.

Free at last. Keep your emotions down, keep your emotions down.

It’s never been done before you say. It’s been done by every tribe in history. Every tribe facing annihilation. All the Indians of the Amazon are doing right now. They refuse to bring any babies into the world. They kill every child that comes into the world because they don’t want to live in this kind of a world.

Be patient, be patient. Death is …

I tell you I don’t care how many screams you hear. I don’t care how many anguished cries. Death is a million times preferable to ten more days of this life. If you knew what was ahead of you, if you knew what was ahead of you, you’d be glad to be stepping over tonight.

Death, death, death is common to people.

If you ask the Samoans, they take death in their stride. Just be dignified.

Adults, adults, adults, I call on you to stop this nonsense. I call on you to quit exciting your children when all they’re doing is going to quiet rest. I call on you to stop this now if you have any respect at all. Are we black, proud and Socialist, or what are we?

No, no sorrow that it’s all over. I’m glad it’s over. Hurry, hurry my children, hurry. Let us not fall into the hands of the enemy. Hurry my children, hurry. There are seniors out here I’m concerned about, hurry. I don’t want to leave my seniors to this mess. Now quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly.

No more pain, Al. No more pain, I said, Al. No more pain, Jim Cobb, laying on the airfield dead at this moment. Remember the moment … all of the moments that he … these are the people, the peddlers of hate, we’re not letting them take our life, we’re laying down our life.

We’re sick of their lies, we just want peace.

All it is is taking a drink to take … to go to sleep.

That’s what death is, sleep. Whatever, I’m tired of it all.

We’ll set an example for others … one thousand people who’ve said we don’t like the way the world is.

Somewhere in the concrete canyons of New York City, a rock group is using the name “Jim Jones and the Suicides.” Irreverent and disarming, the name reflects the trend in punk rock to take social issues head on. Cynicism about the Jonestown deaths, the social parallels abound in the lyrics of today’s music. The messages are clear because we all know the story.

In fact, people today recognize the name “Jonestown” more than any other event, a full 98% of the population.
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The television and printed media were filled with the news for more than a year, even though the tale read like something from the
National Enquirer.
But despite all of the coverage, the reality of Jonestown and the reasons behind the bizarre events remain a mystery. The details have faded from memory for most of us since November 18, 1978, but not the outlines. Think back a moment and you’ll remember.

A fanatic religious leader in California led a multi-racial community into the jungles of remote Guyana to establish a socialist Utopia. The People’s Temple, his church, was in the heart of San Francisco and drew poor people, social activists, Blacks and Hispanics, young and old. The message was racial harmony and justice, and criticism of the hypocrisy of the world around his followers.
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The Temple rose in a vacuum of leadership at the end of an era. The political confrontations of the 60s were almost over, and religious cults and “personal transformation” were on the rise. Those who had preached a similar message on the political soap box were gone, burnt out, discredited, or dead. The counter-culture had apparently degenerated into drugs and violence. Charlie Manson was the only visible image of the period. Suddenly, religion seemed to offer a last hope.
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