Hilights of news I recall were:
Less than a year later Americans were taken hostage 11/4/79 and held 444 days The USA skipped the Summer OLympics. Reagan defeated Carter. And then all of those assassinations or assassination attempts.
The USA was seen as weak under Carter. But we were blessed with 8 years of Reagan
The drink was Kool-aide, hence the expression. I wonder how many under 50 realize that was the origination of the expression?
And Jones was in tight with most of the San Francisco and Bay Area politicos. They all vouched for him before running for cover after this.
The Mediascum always tries to leave the impression that this was a “Christian” cult, but it was primarily a LEFT WING cult for “progressive” activists. Jim Jones was tight with a lot of leftist pols in San Francisco. He called the mass suicide plan “revolutionary suicide” as a protest at the World.
The 80’s as an American teen was something else.
I was eleven and this was my sister’s ninth birthday. Also the night before the Star Wars holiday special was shown for its first and only time
Ryan was building a house just half a mile from where we lived, he would have been our second closest neighbor. He died before it was finished.
Interesting that the linked article (and Congresswoman Spier) failed to mention the “others” who died on that airstrip, along with Ryan. They included NBC news correspondent Don Harris; NBC videographer Bob Brown, San Francisco Examiner photographer Greg Robinson and a defecting member of the People’s Temple. In fact, I’m guessing the audio came from footage shot by Bob Brown before he was gunned down.
But Ryan’s death is the only one that apparently matters. And I’m guessing he invited the media to publicize his trip to Jonestown and raise his political profile. Unfortunately, most of the media contingent paid for that mistake with their lives.
Jones was a commie.