Christine Miller & the Jonestown Massacre

Rev. Jim Jones & the People's Temple: The Jonestown «Death Tape» [mp3]

Narcissism, paranoia, delusions of grandeur and overall sociopathy is hardly a good combo, at least not when unleashed upon an impressionable world unequipped to deal with cold, hard truths and grim, meat hook realities. A tired cliché has it that anyone—you too!—could be «brainwashed» by dint of an embracingly inclusive group led by one charismatic, forceful personality, and one day find yourself in a cult wearing matching sneakers and poisoning the food sources of some small town (when not gasing the subway or butchering the rich and famous). Such a sweeping generalisation about the frailty of human psychology would be true when spoken to most people, of course, because if you add up everyone in the world who's either desperate, weak or an idiot (or a combination of any or all of these), you end up with the majority of the planet's inhabitants. Most people (are you one of them?) will happily abandon any kind of mental independence for the pathetic illusion of belonging.

But some individuals are more individualistic than others. When 908 followers of cult leader Jim Jones perished in his sect's Guyanese settlement in 1978—some voluntarily, others (the children) having little choice—only one member openly questioned the idea of collective suicide-infanticide. And though you may well question that person's grip on reality (or even the sharpness of her intellect), seeing as she entertained last hopes of being saved from the increasingly interfering US government (and Jones' insistence on mass suicide) by the Soviets(!), the spirit of critical faculty and independent thought shone through her conditioning.

Although Christine Miller didn't see through conman Jim Jones' transparent techniques of psychopathic manipulation, her survival instinct and what seems like a generally positive outlook on life made her take a kind of stand, however futile and inadequate, against Jones' clinically depressed doomsday fantasies and ludicrous delusions of martyrdom. Which is more than one can say for the other cult members, who happily played the part bestowed upon them by Jones: Like a good pimp who always makes sure that the groomed woman, soon to be turned out, herself first makes the suggestion to hit the streets, Jones doesn't rebuke Miller when she questions his decision to end not only his own life but to take 917 people with him. He lets his most rabid followers do that, while Jones plays the patient, but helpless and exasperated listener as she pleads for him to consider possibilities rather than obsess, like a brat, over imagined impossibilities.

The end for the People's Temple was deeply unhappy, and this recording (curated by the FBI) is heartbreaking. But whenever someone tries to control you—at work, in your home or through your television set—remember Christine Miller. Better to keep her memory alive, than rever Jones as some kind of semi-ironic, Warholian icon of supposedly rebel cool. This recording testifies to his true nature, and it's petty and pathetic.

TAPE TRANSCRIPTION

Jim Jones: I have loved you, how very much I have tried my best to give you the good life. In spite of all that I've tried, a handful of our people, with their lies, have made our life impossible. There's no way to detach ourselves from what's happened today. Not only– We're in a compound situation, not only are there those who have left and committed the betrayal of the century, some have stolen children from others and then seek right now to kill them because they stole their children, and we are sitting here waiting on a powder keg. I don't think it is what we want to do with our babies. I don't think that's what we had in mind to do with our babies. It was said by the greatest of prophets, from time immemorial, «No man takes my life from me, I lay my life down.»

Crowd: Yeah!

Jones: So, to sit here and wait for the catastrophe that's going to happen on that airplane (it's gonna be a catastrophe) … Almost happened here, almost happened, the congressman was nearly killed here… But you can't steal people's children. You can't take off with people's children without expecting a violent reaction. And, that's not so unfamiliar to us, either, even if we were Judeo-Christian, even if we weren't Communists. The worldly kingdom suffers violence and the violence is triggered by force. If we can't live in peace then we must die in peace.

Crowd: [applause]

Jones: We've been so betrayed, we have been so terribly betrayed, but we've tried, and as Jack Beam often said (and I don't know where he's at right this moment, poor Jack), he says if it's only worked one day, it was worthwhile…

Crowd: [cheers]

Jones: Of what's going to happen here in a matter of a few minutes, is that one of the few on that plane is gonna shoot the pilot. I know that. I didn't plan it, but I know it's gonna happen. They're gonna shoot that pilot, and down comes that plane into the jungle and we had better not have any of our children left when it's over, 'cause they'll parachute in here on us. I'm telling you just as plain as I know how to tell you, I've never lied to you… I never have lied to you. I know that's what's gonna happen, that's what he intends to do and he will do it. He'll do it. What's there being so bewildered with many, many pressures on my brain, seeing all these people behave so treasonous, it is just too much for me to put together, but, I now know what he was telling me and it'll happen. If the plane gets in the air even. So my opinion is that we be kind to children and be kind to seniors and take the potion like they used to take in ancient Greece, and step over quietly because we are not committing suicide. It's a revolutionary act. We can't go back. They won't leave us alone. They're now going back to tell more lies which means more congressmen. And there's no way, no way we can survive. Anybody… Anyone that has any dissenting opinion, please speak… Yes… You can have opportunity, but if their children are left we're gonna have them butchered. We can make a strike but we'll be striking against people that we don't want to strike against. And what we'd like to get is the people who caused this stuff and some, there's some people here are prepared to know how to do that… go in town and get Timothy Stoen, but there's no plane, there's no plane, you can't catch a plane in time. He's responsible for it. He brought these people to us. He and Deanna Myrtle. But people in San Francisco will not, not be idle over this. And not take our death in vain, you know… Yes, Christine…

Christine Miller: Is it too late for Russia?

Jones: 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. Otherwise I'd said, «Russia, you bet your life.» But it's too late. I can't control these people. They're out there. They've gone with the guns and it's too late. And once we kill anybody, at least… that's the way I've always… I've always put my lot with you. And when one of my people do something, it's me.… Understand, I don't have to take the blame for this, but I don't live that way. They said deliver up Jjara, who tried to get the man back here. Jjara, whose mother's been lying on him and lying on him and trying to break up this family and they've all agreed to kill us by any means necessary. You think I'm going to deliver them Jjara? Not on your life. No.

Crowd: No! No!

Unidentified Man: Is there any way if I go, that it'll help?

Jones: No, you're not going. You're not going.

Crowd: No! No!

Jones: Not going. I can't live that way. I cannot live that way. I've lived for all and I've died for all.…

Crowd: [applause]

Jones: I've been living on a hope for a long time, Christine, and I appreciate– You've always been a very good agitator. I like agitation because you have to see two sides of one issue, two sides of the question. What's those people gonna get done once they get through? They make our life worse than hell, they'll make the Russians not accept us. When they get through lying… They told so many lies between there and that truck that we are, we are done in as far as any other alternative.

Miller: Well, I say let's make an airlift to Russia, that's what I say. I don't think nothing is impossible, if you believe it.

Jones: But how we gonna air… How' re you going to airlift to Russia?

Miller: Why, I thought they said if we got in an emergency, they gave you a code to let them know.

Jones: No, they didn't. They gave us the code that they'd let us know of an issue, not us create an issue for them. They said if we… if they saw the country coming down, they'd agreed they'd give us the code, they'd give us a code. You can check on there and see if it's on the code. Check with Russia to see if they'll take us in immediately. Otherwise we die. I don't know what else you say to these people. But to me death is not… death is not a fearful thing, it's living that's treacherous…

Crowd: [applause]

Jones: I have never, never, never, never seen anything like this before in my life. I've never seen people take the law… and do… in their own hands, and provoke us and try to purposely agitate and murder of children. There's no use, Christine, it's just not worth living like this… not worth living like this.

Miller: I think that there were too few who left for twelve hundred people to give them their lives, for those people that left.

Jones: Do you know how many left?

Miller: Oooh, twenty odd… that's, that's small…

Jones: … twenty-odd, twenty-odd…

Miller: Compared to what's here.

Jones: … twenty-odd. But what's gonna happen when they don't leave. I hope that they could leave… but what's gonna happen when they don't leave?

Miller: You mean the people here?

Jones: Yeah, what's gonna happen to us when they don't leave? When they get on the plane and the plane goes down?

Miller: I don't think it'll go down.

Jones: You don't think it'll go down?

Crowd: Yes it will…

Jones: I wish I could tell you you were right, but I'm right. There's one man there, who blames, and rightfully so, Eddie Blakey, for the murder, for the murder of his mother and he'll sh… he'll stop that pilot 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.

Miller: I wasn't speaking about that plane. I was speaking about the plane for us to go to Russia.

Jones: How do… To Russia? Do you think Russia's gonna want .. no they're not gonna… Do you think Russia's gonna want us with all this stigma? We had really had some value… but now we don't have any value.

Miller: Well, I don't see it like that. I mean, I feel like as long as there's life, there's hope. That's my faith.

Jones: Well, someday we're gonna die, someplace that hope runs out. 'cause everybody dies.

Crowd: Right, right.

Jones: I haven't seen anybody yet that didn't die. And I'd like to choose my own kind of death for a change. I'm tired of being tormented to hell, that's what I'm tired of.

Crowd: Right, right.

Jones: Tired of it.

Crowd: [applause]

Jones: Tired of people's lives in my hands and I certainly don't want your life in my hands and I'm going to tell you, Christine, without me, life has no meaning.… I'm the best friend you'll ever have. And once, once I have to pay, I'm standing with Jjara, I'm standing with those people. They're part of me. I could detach myself… my attorney says detach myself… no, no, no, no, no, no… I'd never detach myself from any of your troubles. I've always taken your troubles right on my shoulders and I'm not gonna change that now. It's too late. I've been running too long. Not gonna change now.… Maybe the next time you'll get to go to Russia… the next time 'round… This is, what I'm talking about to now is in the dispensation of judgment. This is the revolutionary… this is revolutionary suicide council, I'm not talking about self, self-destruction. I'm talking about what, we have no other road. I will take your call. We 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 and see if they'll take us.

Miller: Not that I'm afraid to die…

Jones: I don't think you are… .

Miller: By no means…

Jones: I don't think you are…

Miller: But I look at all the babies and I think they deserve to live…

Jones: I agree…

Miller: You know…

Jones: But also they deserve… what's more they deserve peace.

Miller: We all came here for peace…

Jones: And we, have we had it?

Miller and crowd: No…

Jones: I tried to give it to you. I've laid down my life, practically, I've practically died every day to give you peace… and you still not have 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 want to give you. The person's a fool who continues to say that you're a winner when you're a loser .. Win one, lose two…. What? I didn't hear you, ma'am, you have to speak up… That's a sweet thought, who said that?… Come on up and speak it again, honey. Stand up and say it about [inaudible]… love… [inaudible] is taking off, no plane is taking off… It's suicide. They have done it… Stoen has done it but somebody ought to live… somebody… can they talk… can they not talk to San Francisco to see that Stoen does not get by with this infamy, with this infamy? He has done the thing he wanted to do, to have us destroyed.

Miller: When you, when you, when we destroy ourselves, we're defeated… you are saying, «Let the enemy defeat us.»

Jones: Did you see, did you see «I Live to Fight No More Forever»?

Miller: Yes, I saw that.

Jones: Did you not have some sense of pride and victory in that man, that he would not subject himself to the will and whim of people who tell that they are gonna come in whenever they please, push into our house, come when they please, take who they want to, talk to who they want to… does this let living… that's not living to me. That's not freedom. That's not the kind of freedom I sought.

Miller: But I think where they made their mistake is when they stopped to rest. If they had gone on, they would have made it. But they stopped to rest…

Unidentified Man: It's over, sister, it's over… we've made that day… we made a beautiful day and let's make it a beautiful day… that's what I say.

Jones: We win, we win when we go down. Tim Stoen has nobody else to hate… He has nobody else to hate. Then he'll destroy himself. I'm speaking here not as the administrator, I'm speaking as a prophet today… I wouldn't sit up in this seat and talk so serious if I did not know what I was talking about. Is there any way to call back… the immense amount of damage that's going to be done? But I cannot separate myself from the pain of my people. And you can't either, Christine, if you stop to think of it. You can't separate yourself. We've walked too long together.

Miller: I know that. But I still think, as an individual, I have a right to…

Jones: You do, I'm listening…

Miller: I think, what I feel, and I think we all have the right to our own destiny as individuals.

Jones: Right…

Miller: And I think I have the right to choose mine and everybody else has the right to choose theirs.

Jones: Mm-hmm…

Miller: You know….

Jones: Mm-hmmm. I'm not criticizing, I'm not governing… What's that?

Unidentified Woman [in background]: She talks like she wants to leave us, well, she can go ahead… they're our individual lives, that's what you're saying.

Miller: That's right.

Jones: That's today, that's what twenty people said today with their lives.

Miller: I think that I still have the right to my own opinion.

Jones: I'm not taking it from you. I'm not taking it from you.

Unidentified Man: Christine, you're only standing here because he was here in the first place. So I don't know what you're talking about having an individual life. Your life has been extended to the day that you're standing there because of him.

Jones: Despite this, she has as much right to speak as anybody else, too. What did you say, Louvie [phonetic]? Well, you will regret that this very day if you don't die. You'll regret it if you don't… that you don't die. You'll regret it.

Miller: [few words inaudible]… A man who saved so many people?

Jones: I saved them, I saved them but I made my example. I made my confession. I made my manifestation and the world was ready… not ready for me. Paul said, «I was a man born out of due season.» I've been born out of due season Just like all we are and the best testimony we can make is to leave this God-damn world.…

Crowd: [cheers]

Unidentified Woman: She must be scared to die.

Miller: I'm not talking to her. Will you let her or let me talk?

Jones: You talk.

Miller: Would you make her sit down and let me talk while I'm on the floor or let her talk?

Jones: … proper to tell your leader what to do. It really isn't. I've listened to you. You asked me about Russia. I'm right now making a call to Russia. What more do you suggest? I'm listening to you. If Russia gives me one slight bit of encouragement, I just now instructed her to go there and do that.

Unidentified Woman: You won't do no fuckin' good in Russia, God-damn it… [pause].

Unidentified Man: All right, now everybody hold it, we didn't come… hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it…

Jones: … much longer to maintain.

Crowd: That's right.

Jones: To lay down your burdens, I'm gonna lay down my burdens, down by the riverside, should we lay them down here… inside of Guyana. What's the difference? No man didn't take our lives, right now, he hadn't taken it, but when they start parachuting out of the air, they'll shoot some of our innocent babies. I'm not… I don't want to see this, Christine. They gotta shoot me to get through to some of these people. I'm not letting it take Jjara. Can you let them take Jjara?

Crowd: No-no!

Miller: You wanna see John die?

Jones: What's that?

Miller: You mean you wanna see John, the little one, who's keep–

Jones: I want to keep–

Crowd: [loud background noises, inaudible]

Jones: … peace, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace.

Unidentified Woman: Christine, are you saying that you think he thinks more of them than other children here?

Jones: John, John…

Unidentified Woman: That's what you're saying–

Jones: Do you actually, do you think I would put John's life above others? If I put John's life above others I wouldn't be standing with Jjara. I'd send John out, he could go out on the driveway tonight.

Miller: He's young… they're young.

Jones: I know, but he's no different to me than any of these children here. He's just one of my children. I don't prefer one above another. I don't prefer him above Jjara. I can't do that. I can't separate myself from your actions or his actions.

Unidentified Woman: No way.

Jones: If you'd done something wrong, I'd stand with you. If they wanted to come and get you they'd have to take me.

Unidentified Man: Well, we're all ready to go. If you tell us we have to give our lives now, we're ready. I'm pretty sure all the rest of sisters and brothers are with me.

Jones: For months I've tried to keep this thing from happening but I now see it's the will… it's the will of Sovereign Being that this happened to us. That we lay down our lives in protest against what's been done. That we lay down our lives to protest in what's being done. The criminality of people, the cruelty of people. Who walked out of here today? Did you notice who walked out? Mostly white people, mostly white people walked. I'm so grateful for the ones that didn't, those who knew who they are. There's, there's no point, there's no point to this. We are born before our time. They won't accept us. And I don't think we should sit here and take any more time for our children to be endangered, for if they come after our children and we give them our children, then our children will suffer forever.

Miller: … different right here.

Jones: I have no quarrel with you coming up, I like you. I personally like you very much.

Miller: People get hostile when you try to…

Jones: Oh well, some people do. But then… some people do. Put it that way. I'm not hostile. You had to be honest and you stayed. If you'd have wanted to run, you'd have had to run with them because anybody coulda run today, they would have wanted to. I know you're not a runner and your life is precious to me. It's as precious as John's. And I don't… what I do, I do with weight and justice and judgment. I've weighed it against all evidence.

Miller: And that's all I've got to say.

Jones: And what comes, folks, what comes now?

Unidentified Man [in background]: Everybody… hold it! Sit down right here… [loud background noises, agitated]… Stay seated…

Jones [incoherent sounds]: Say peace, say peace, say peace, say peace… what comes, don't let… take Dwyer on down to the middle [?] of the east house. Take Dwyer on down…

Unidentified Woman: Everybody be quiet, please.

Unidentified Man: … show you got some respect for our lives.

Unidentified Man: Let me sit down, sit down, sit down.

Jones: I know… Mmmm-mmmm-mmm. I tried so very, very hard. I've been trying over here to see what can, what can happen [inaudible] who is it–

[Unintelligible voices]

Jones: … Get Dwyer out of here before something happens to him… [pause]… Dwyer.

Unidentified Man: Jjara?

Jones: I'm not talking about Jjara, I said Dwyer. Ain't nobody gonna take Jjara, I'm not letting 'em take Jjara… [pause]… Gather in, folks, it's easy, its easy. Yes, my love… [pause]

Unidentified Woman: At one time I felt just like Christine felt. But after today I don't feel anything because the biggest majority of the people that left here were white and I know it really hurt my heart because…

Jones: Broke your heart, didn't it?

Unidentified Woman: It broke my heart to think that all of these years that the white people have been with us and they're not a part of us. So we might as well end it now because I don't see…

Unidentified Man: Quit talking, the Congressman has been murdered… [pause]

[Singing and music]

Unknown voice in background: It's all over…

Jones: It's all over, all over… what a legacy, what a legacy. But the Red Brigade's the only one that's ever made any sense anyway. They invaded our privacy, they came into our home, they followed us 6,000 miles away. The Red Brigade showed them justice, the Congressman's dead… please get us some medication. It's simple, it's simple, there's no convulsions with it, it's just simple, just please get it before it's too late. The GDF will be here. I tell you get moving, get moving, get moving… [unintelligible words]

Voice in background: No, no, no, no…

Jones: Don't be afraid to die… [unintelligible words]… if these people land out here, they'll torture some of our children here. They'll torture our people, they'll torture our seniors. We cannot have this.

Crowd: Right, right.

Jones: Are you gonna separate yourself from whoever shot the Congressman? I don't know who shot him…

Crowd: No, no, no, hell no.

Jones: Speak your piece and those had a right to go and they had a right to… how many are dead? Oh, God almighty, God almighty… Mmmm?

Unidentified Man: Patty Parks is dead.

Jones: Patty Parks is dead?

Unidentified Woman: … you and the others to endure long enough in a safe place, to write about the goodness of Jim Jones…

Jones: I don't know how in the world they're ever gonna write about us. It's just too late, it's too late. The congress is dead, the congress lays dead, many of our traitors are dead, they're all laying out there dead. Mmmm?

Crowd: Good, good.

Jones: I didn't but, but my people did. My people did. They're my people…

Crowd: Right, right.

Jones: … and they've been provoked too much…

Crowd: Right, right.

Jones: … They've been provoked too much. What's happened here's been too… it's been an act of provocation…

Unidentified Woman: They did it themselves… they did it…

Miller: If it's anyways possible to have them to give Ted something to take him, I'm satisfied. OK?

Jones: What's that?

Miller: I said, if it's any way you can do, if you can have them to give Ted something so that he won't have to let him go, too, OK? And I'm satisfied.

Jones: Yes, that's fine… Ted, yes, yes, yes…

Miller: 'Cause I said I never wanted to him to die… and I appreciate you for everything.

Jones: [unintelligible]

Unidentified Woman: You are, you are the only, you're the only and I appreciate… [clapping in background]…

Jones: Please, please. Can we hasten, can we hasten with that medication. You don't know what you've done… [pause]… I've tried. [clapping in background]… [unintelligible words]… They saw it happen and ran in the bush and dropped the machine guns, I never in my life… But there'll be more… [music and humming in background]. You've got to move. Are you gonna get that medication here? You've got to move…

Unidentified Woman: Hurry up!

Jones: Marsha, we got 40 minutes.

Unidentified Woman: You have to move and the people that are standing there in the aisle go stand the [unintelligible words], so everybody get behind the table and back this way, OK? There's nothing to worry about, so everybody keep calm and try and keep your children calm. And the oldest children can help love the little children and reassure them. They're not crying from pain. It's just a little bitter tasting but, they're not crying out of any pain. Annie McGowan, can I please see you back…

Unidentified Man: … have these things to do before I kill you. So let me tell you about it; it might make a lot of you feel a little more comfortable. Sit down and be quiet, please. One of the things that I used to do, I used to be a therapist. And the kind of therapy that I did had to do with reincarnation and past life situations. And every time anybody had the experience of going into a past life, I was fortunate enough to farther, to be able to let them experience it all the way through their death, so to speak. And everybody was so happy when they made that step to the other side.

Jones: When you accept it… you can do but step that way, it's the only way to step.
Sound of babies crying in the background. Music

Jones: Be assured in that choice is not ours now. It's out of our hands.

Unidentified Man: Would you have a body that's been crippled, suddenly you have the kind of body that you want to have–

[Babies crying in the background]

Voice in the background: Calm the children… something to give them a little rest, a little rest. Calm the children.

Unidentified Man: It feels good, it never felt so good, family, I tell yuh… you've never felt so good as how that feels.

[Babies screaming]

Jones: And I do hope that those attorneys will stay where they belong and don't come up here… why they did?

Unidentified Man: What happened?

Jones: What is it?… Did what? Hard. It's hard, it's hard… only first, only at first is it hard. It's hard only at first. Living, you, you're looking at death. It only looks… living is much, much more difficult. Raising up every morning, and not knowing what's going to be the night's bringing. It's much more difficult. It's much more difficult.

Unidentified Woman: I just want to say something to everyone that I see that is standing around and are crying. This is nothing to cry about. This is something we should all rejoice about. We can be happy about this. They always told us that we should cry when you're coming into this world, but when we're leaving and we're leaving it peaceful… I tell you, you should be happy about this. I was just thinking about Jim Jones. He just has suffered and suffered and suffered. He is the only god and he don't even have a chance to enjoy his death here. [clapping and voices in background]… I wanted to say one more thing. This is one thing I want to say. That you that've gone and there's many more here. He's still – the way, that's not all of us, that's not all yet. There's just a few that have died. A chance to get… to the one that they could tell… their lies to. So and I say I'm looking at so many people crying, I wish you would not cry, and just thank Father, just thank him. I tell you about… [clapping and shouting]… I've been here, uh, one year and nine months and I never felt better in my life. Not in San Francisco, but until I came to Jonestown. I enjoy this life. I had a beautiful life. I don't see nothing that I should be crying about. We should be happy. At least I am. Let's all be the same…
Shouting, clapping and music in background

Unidentified Woman: … wouldn't be alive today. I'd just like to thank Dad 'cause he was the only one that stood up for me when I needed him and thank you, Dad.

Unidentified Woman: [unintelligible words] and I'm glad you're my brothers and sisters and I'm glad to be here… OK

Jones: Please… for God's sake, let's get on with that we've lived… we've lived as no other people have lived and loved. We've had as much of this world that you're gonna get. Let's just be done with it. Let's be done with the agony of it… [clapping and shouting in the background]. It's far, far harder to have to watch you every day die slowly and from the time you were a child to the time you get gray you're dying.… dishonest and I'm sure that they'll pay for it, they'll pay for it. This is a revolutionary suicide. This is not a self-destructive suicide. So they'll pay for this. They brought this upon us and they'll pay for that. I leave that destiny to them.

[Children crying in background]

Jones: … who wants to go with their child has a right to go with their child. I think it's humane. I wanna go… I want to see you go, though. They can take me and do with me whatever they want to do. I wanta see you go. I don't wanna see you go through this hell no more. No more, no more, no more.

[Babies crying in background]

Jones: … We're trying. If everybody will relax. The best thing you do to relax and you will have no problems. You'll have no problems with this thing if you just relax.

Unidentified Man: … the children here… a great deal because of Jim Jones. And, the way the children are, laying dead now, I'd rather see them lay like that than to see them have to die like the Jews did, which was pitiful anyhow. And I'd just like to thank Dad for giving us life and also death, and I appreciate the fact the way our children are going because, like Dad said, when they came in, what they're going to do to our children, they're going to massacre our children. And also the ones they take, captive, they're gonna just let them grow up and be dummies like they want them to be and not grow up to be Socialist like the one and only Jim Jones. So I'd like to thank Dad for the opportunity for letting Jonestown be, not what it could be, but what Jonestown is. Thank you, Dad.

Crowd: [clapping]

Jones: It's not to be feared. It is not to be feared. It's a friend, it's a friend. You're sitting there. Show your love for one another… [unintelligible words]… let's get calm, let's get calm, let's get calm.

[Babies screaming in background]

Jones: … to us… we had nothing we could do, we can't, we can't separate ourselves from our own people. [pause, children crying in background]… For twenty years laying in some old rotten nursing home… [pause]… taken us through all these anguished years. They took us and put us in chains and that's nothing.… [stuttering]… there's no comparison to that, to this. They've robbed us of our land, and they've taken us and driven us until we tried to find ourselves… we 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 fired the shot, 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.… [long pause]… die with respect, die with a degree of dignity. Lay down your life with dignity. Don't lay down with tears and agony. It's nothing to death, just like Max said. It's just stepping over into another plane. Don't, don't be this way. Stop this hysterics… This is not the way for people who are socialistic Communists to die… no way for us to die. We must die with some dignity…

Unidentified Man: That's right. [pause]

Jones: … soon we'll have no choice. Now we have some choice. You think they're gonna send, allow this to be done and allow us to get by with this… you must be insane… But children, it's just something to put you to rest… Oh, God…

[Babies crying in background]

Jones: … mother, mother, mother, mother, mother, please, mother, please, please, please, don't, don't do this, don't do this… lay down your life with your child, but don't do this…

Unidentified Woman: … doing all of this for you…

Jones: Free at last.

Crowd: [clapping]

Jones: … please, keep your emotions down, keep your emotions down… children, it will not hurt if you will be, if you'll be quiet, if you'll be quiet.

[Children crying in background, humming, music, pause]

Jones: It's never been done before you say? It's been done by every tribe in history, every tribe facing annihilation. All the Indians in the Amazon are doing it 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. So 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… and the Eskimos, they take death in their stride. Let's, let's be dignified. If you'll quit telling them they're dying, if you adults will stop some of this nonsense… 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 a 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? Now stop this nonsense, don't carry this on any more, you're exciting your children.

Crowd: Right, right.

Jones: All over and it's good. No, no sorrow that it's all over. I'm glad it's over… Hurry, hurry my children, hurry. All I say, let's not fall in the hands of the enemy. Hurry, my children. Hurry… there are seniors out here that I'm concerned about. Hurry, I don't want to leave my seniors to this mess. Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly… sisters, good knowing you… no more pain now… no more pain I said, Al, no more pain. Jim Cobb is laying on the airfield dead at this moment…

Crowd: [cheers, shouting and clapping]

Jones: … remember though this Oliver woman said she, she'd come over and kill me if her son wouldn't have stopped her. These, these are people that are peddlers of hate. All we're doing is laying down our life. We're not letting them take our life. We're laying down our lives…

[Background voices]

Jones: … not taking their lives. We just want peace.

Unidentified Man: All I'd like to say is that my so-called parents are filled with so much hate.

Background voice: OK, stop this, stop this, stop this, children, stop this crying, all of you.

Unidentified Man: … in countries. I think you people out here should think about how your relatives was and be glad about, that the children are being to rest and all I can say is that I thank Dad for making me strong to stand with it all and make me ready for it. Thank you.

Jones: All that's, let me– All they're doing is taking a drink, that takes, to go to sleep… That's what death is, sleep… I know, but I'm tired of it all.

Unidentified Woman: … loving thing we could have ever done, the most loving thing all of us could have done and it's been a pleasure walking with all of you in this revolutionary struggle. No other way I would rather go than to give my life for Socialism, Communism and I thank Dad very, very much.

Unidentified Woman: That, that Dad's love and mercy, goodness and kindness and bring us to this land of freedom, his love, his mother was the advanced, the advanced guide to Socialism and his love, his mercy will go on forever, unto the… [unintelligible word]…

Jones: [unintelligible words]… Where's the vat, the vat, the vat? Where' a the vat with the green C thing? CN.

Unidentified Woman: Love is to go on [unintelligible words]… and thank you, Dad.

Jones: The vat, with the green CN please. Bring it here so the adults can begin… beg you, don't, don't, fail to follow my advice, you'll be sorry… you'll be sorry… [unintelligible word]… that we'll do it than that they do it.

Voices in the background: That's right, that's right.

Jones: … must trust, you have to step across… We used to sing: «This world, this world's not our home.» Well, it sure isn't.… We were saying, it sure wasn't… Really doesn't want, you're telling me. All he's doing is what we'll tell him. Assure these… Can some people assure these children of the relaxation of stepping over to the next plane? That'd set an example for others. You set 1,000 people who say, «We don't like the way the world is…

Crowd: That's right, that's right.

Jones: … [unintelligible words]… take our life from us, we laid it down, we got tired. We didn't commit suicide. We committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world…

[End of Jones' talk, music playing, and then silence.]