Ever heard of the expression “drinking the Kool-Aid”? I’ll bet you have at least at some point in your life.
But, what you might not know is where the expression originated – and, do I have a story for you (it’s not a happy one, so get ready for that).
The expression refers to someone who believes in something that has the potential to cause great harm, and it comes from a shockingly dark place – the mass suicides and murders in Jonestown, Guyana.
In 1954, Tim Jones created the Peoples Temple, a religious organization (in actuality, a cult) based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jones was a fervent supporter of communism/socialism and founded the Temple based on that ideology.
As you can imagine, the idea of communism was particularly unpopular with most people in the US after World War II, and those who supported this type of government were subjected to all forms of harassment (there was widespread fear of communist infiltration – called the Red Scare).
However, some US residents did support the idea, and Jones’ religion grew and grew.
Due to legal troubles and media backlash (doing cult-y things will have that effect, Tim, what on earth did you expect?), Jones moved the Peoples Temple to a plot of land he leased near Jonestown in Guyana. Just under 1000 members followed him – men, women, and children.
These people were groomed to follow Jones to the letter – even laying down their lives for the cause – helped by Jones’ extensive knowledge of the same conditioning techniques used in North Korea, and post-revolutionary China.
On November 17, 1978, this grooming was put to the ultimate test when Jones ordered all of the Jonestown residents to drink the concoction of cyanide-laced, grape-flavored Flavor Aid that his aides prepared in an act of ‘revolutionary suicide’.
They complied, and the events that night cost the lives of over 900 people, including Rev. Tim Jones and almost 300 children.
You see, even though the Temple was located in Guyana, it was still under investigation by US authorities due to abuse allegations. Jones saw this as an attack on their freedom by the “evil, fascist, United States”. After a visit from authorities earlier that day (that resulted in several residents requesting to go home), Jones decided to go the nuclear route.
There’s so much more to the story (I didn’t want this to be any darker than it already is) but a quick Google search will reveal the specifics, if you’re interested.
The result is that this single event caused the greatest known number of American civilian lives lost in a deliberate act – until September 11, 2001.
You might be as shocked as I was to learn all of this, and you might be angrily wondering how on earth people could be convinced to end their lives just because someone told them to.
It just proves the power of conditioning and following the crowd. We see it on a smaller scale every day when we make our financial decisions.
We own credit cards that gouge us monthly in interest because ‘we have to’.
We always want something bigger and better (a better house or car) because of what we see on TV and social media.
And, lastly, we panic when there’s trouble in the investment market – causing us to make hasty decisions that cost us big in the long term.
Thank goodness, this kind of ‘following the crowd’ won’t cost you your life, but it can hurt your quality of life as you move into retirement. As a financial advisor, I am trained to learn from the history of investment markets, and level-headedly guide my clients through all phases of life and help them manage their money.
If there is something on your mind regarding your finances, don’t hesitate to get 15 minutes in my calendar to talk about it. Just call 513-563-PLAN (7526) or head here to book a time that works for you.
