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Same author, different L.A. Theatre Works play.

Spill by Leigh Fondakowski

Deepwater Horizon oil spill, not an edifying presentation.

“Don‘t gamble with people‘s lives.” 🛢️😿

BP resumed drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after a moratorium of less than five months. They‘ve paid $65B in fines, no one went to jail.

Indeed!! 🤓

This is the most complicated case of radicalization, groupthink and a cultish following I‘ve ever heard of. The social psychology involved to create a community of over 1,000 and have them all die for the cause is beyond evil. The Jonestown Massacre may go down in history as the most atrocious murder-suicide this world has ever seen.

#bookishquote #bookbinge @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

For #ReadingTheAmericas2023 #Guyana I chose this biography written by a survivor of Jonestown. This was by far one of the most interesting and heartbreaking reads I‘ve read this year. She points out warning signs she saw and explains how someone can get so caught up in a cult they don‘t see it. @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

#2021Book48
The thing I liked best about this particular cult-related book was the focus on the victims and survivors. Scheeres didn't demonize the people who fell under Jim Jones's spell, but instead worked to understand why they chose to leave everything behind and follow him to the jungle of Guyana. Every story has more than one side, and Scheeres did a great job digging into every side of the Jonestown mass-murder/suicide.

Who was it who said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? Whoever it was, the quote fits Jones to a T. Reiterman‘s cautionary tale covers it all: from the humble beginnings in Indianapolis through to the tragic denouement in Jonestown. By no means an easy read but lots of lessons to be learned, the main one being: never put your trust in a psychopath with feet of clay.

It probably sounds creepy, but I am interested in any story of Jonestown. I was young when it happened, but it left an impression on me.

This was a very emotional listen. My heart aches for Ms. Layton. One take away (paraphrased)- People do not join a cult. They join a church or an organization or a political movement.

It's easy to point fingers and call people weak or stupid, but all humans want to feel like they belong somewhere. Anywhere.