Hello readers! We would like to thank you for viewing our blog. We are a group of English 101S students at the University of Maryland. Our class this semester is based on rhetoric and how to analyze the different parts of rhetoric in different texts. Our subject we decided to analyze was texts related to serial killers and cults. After some research, we chose to analyze an episode of Jerry Springer, in which leaders of The Church of Euthanasia were guests, and a transcript of a suicide tape found of the Jonestown Massacre. We chose these texts because they are very different from one another and are appealing enough to keep the audience interested. Even though this topic is not extremely prevalent today, there are still cults convincing people to do, and serial killers doing, horrendous things to themselves or others. Serial killers and cults have had quite an impact on our history that none of us thought to be significant, so we decided to explore that through our blog!
On November 18, 1978, Jim Jones, the leader of the People’s Temple, called for the suicide of over 900 members of his cult. As a pseudo-pastor, many cult members had placed their trust on him, so much as to donate their entire real-estate to the church.
Despite none of the Church of Euthanasia members having credibility, they appealed to the audience by emphasizing an authentic problem backed by scientific facts. They portrayed themselves as concerned citizens, and constantly urged for humans to come together and make an effort to solve the pressing issue.

In both the “Suicide Tape Transcript” and “Jerry Springer vs The Church of Euthanasia” cult leaders primarily preach suicide as their solution to perceived social impurities. Both cults warn the members of a larger issue arising if an immediate resolution is not executed.

Cults are very much prevalent today. Examples of current cults are the Westboro Baptist Church, Raëlism, and The Brethren. Being able to distinguish between radical and normal organizations is necessary to prevent people from the dangers of extremist ideas. These can range from very minute differences, such as the contrast between christian churches and The People’s Temple, or obvious differences, such as the difference between EPA and the Church of Euthanasia. We hope that readers will learn to be cautious when it comes to groupthink organizations.

Our blog begins with side-by-side comparisons of the texts’ modes of persuasion. Placing the posts alongside each other promotes the readers to draw their own comparisons between the texts. We believe the audience's basic understanding of these appeals is an important aspect of interpreting the main themes.

For as long as humans have been alive, so have organizations and there will always be dangerous cults with ill-minded leaders. Thousands of ordinary citizens have been negatively affected by the dangers of cult behavior, and learning the history of cults can prove to be life-saving. Lastly, we want the readers to understand the magnanimous impact of effective rhetoric on the audience.

Ethos is Heaven's Gate sacred texts

The appeal to the audiences ethos in the Heaven's Gate cult's poster is quite successful. Many information is given, although, I presume most audiences when reading this information does not see it as legitimate over another popular belief. In their Last Chance Statement, the authors established their ethos by first explaining the understanding of certain peoples reactions to the information. They state that some people may see the following information as ridiculous end-of-the-world type thinking, but others may be enlightened and open to this way of thinking. Their format follows that of any religion, speaking of the higher power in which they believe, why they believe in this, and what they must do to achieve their true form. The ethos of this cult is quite similar to the of Jim Jones in the fact that both were able to convince large groups of mass suicide through their preaching. It can be argued that The Church of Euthanasia was to aggressive toward their audience and pushed people away by making vulgar statements too quickly in their attempt to persuade, demolishing their ethos. This cult was credible enough; however, to convince 39 people to commit mass suicide.

The Stasis of the “Suicide Tape Transcript”

On November 18, 1978, cult leader Jim Jones preached suicide via poison to members of the People Temple as what he perceived as the solution to social impurity. Pervaded with absolutes, Jones’ words comes across as fact (e.g. Jones at one point bluntly proclaims “I am a prophet”). And by the first step of the stasis theory, conjecture/fact, Jones forces the situation he fabricates to be a reality. Logically speaking, there was no real problem but the shrouded truth that the paranoid Jones unveils - members of the government are out for him and his members. Granted, this was partly true as Jones had indirectly orchestrated the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan and other political leaders but the government sought justice, not the mass death of innocent men, women, and children. Jones, in his delusions, believed that if him and his 918 members did not commit the “revolutionary act” of suicide, armed forces would “start parachuting out of the air” and “shoot some of our innocent babies.” And thereby, by the second step of the stasis theory, definition, Jones instilled a sense of urgency into the nature of the problem and redefined the nightmarish idea of suicide and death, incarnating both cessations as captivating. By the third step of the stasis theory, quality, Jones vehemently underlines the seriousness of the issue by constantly reminding his devotees of the consequences of not acting now. Finally, by the final step of the stasis theory, policy, Jones incessantly resigns to the idea, or his policy, that suicide is the only option for their problem despite the pleas of his followers to consider other solutions. The “Death Tape” is so unique in that we are witness to not only the speaker’s voice but the direct voice of the audience, their explicit and immediate concerns for their leader’s proposal. But alas, Jones is somehow able to assuage their concerns and trigger the willing deaths of almost 1,000 individuals. Tragically, the Jonestown massacre is considered to be the largest single loss of American civilian life until September 11, 2001  (Rapaport, Richard. Do you believe in magic? "Jonestown and City Hall slayings eerily linked in time and memory." San Francisco Chronicle. November 16, 2003.).

Kairos on the Formation of Cults

The 1960s was a very unique decade because of the many different movements, ideologies, and changes that were going on at the same time. The newer generations were beginning to branch out from the conservative lifestyles of their parents. The 60s were a time of contemporary new ideas, and the beginning of the acceptance of these new thoughts, religions, etc. Many youths found comfort in this new trend of questioning old social norms and actively advocating for change without mush fear of consequences. Varies individuals viciously exercised their first amendment rights mainly in response to many controversial issues such as the Vietnam War, Cold War, and fight for civil rights.  This new exploration manifested itself through music, politics, activism, the "4th Great Awakening" and although not necessarily common, cults. Like many other movements, many of the cults mentioned as well others usually began as their personal response to political, environmental, or social situations. Cult leaders such as Jim Jones and the leaders of the Church of Euthanasia based the formation of their denominations as consequences of being "excluded" from society in certain regards. They believed that they had the best solutions to these issues, although in our eyes they were very perverse and deceptive.

Logos of "LAST CHANCE TO ADVANCE BEYOND HUMAN"

The religious organization, Heaven's Gate, uploaded a document on their website which contained information on how to "advance beyond human". Throughout the text, there seemed to be a common theme within all the bullets of information: most of the text was derived from already-established religions. This radical religious organization was able to muster up logos for its cause through the combination of multiple other religious ideas, and twisting them. An instance of this can be seen in the following quote:

"if that animal grows to find pleasure... the human family then provides the body (a human infant) for that soul to enter, allowing it to move up into the human evolutionary kingdom."

The previous quote is very similar to the Hindu concept of reincarnation, which could be the potential source of inspiration. There were many other similar religious inspirations including Christianity, citing that Jesus was indeed the son of god, but that he was misunderstood and his words were manipulated. Overall, this seems to be a common theme throughout many cults. For example, the People's Temple and KKK had both supported their radical ideas with Christianity.

Stasis of Jerry Springer vs. The Church of Euthanasia

            The major type of stasis utilized in the video “Jerry Springer vs The Church of Euthanasia” is the action stasis. Before watching this video, we know that overpopulation is a real issue that needs to be taken seriously. On top of that we also know that the consequences of overpopulation include the destruction of our planet and that this is not a good thing. However, the action we need to take to prevent this catastrophe has not yet been universally decided. In the video, the Church of Euthanasia argues that we should take action through cannibalism and suicide.  They claim that despite the fact that the majority of people believe these methods are unethical, they are simply the most effective approaches towards solving this problem, and that takes priority. This goes against the course of action that most people believe is a viable solution, such as merely not procreating. The video then stops before progressing into the fifth stasis, jurisdiction.

-Hannah Harms

Addressing Logos in the Church of Euthanasia

The main idea behind the teachings of the Church of Euthanasia is there are too many humans on this earth, and it is destroying the environment as well as the proper way of life. They actively promote abortion, suicide, and cannibalism as effective ways to decrease the population of humans on this planet, thus saving it. Although it is very brief and hard to pick up on, one of the main advocates on the Jerry Springer show use logos as a way to reason with the audience with their chosen lifestyle. The total population number of humans is brought up frequently and used almost in a "cause and effect" format to prove that this increasing number is the reason for many problems. These problems range from environmental, social, economic, etc., although the threat of environmental issues is the most emphasized.
The official website for this cult also uses some data to present their argument and eventually recruit more members. The website includes the current human population as well as statistics on the rate in which our current population is growing. Given the scientific and concrete basis that the cult is based on, it makes sense that their most effective mode of persuasion would be through logos. Statement on the effects human procreating has on global warming, water pollution, etc. can only be concluded through actual facts gathered through research, regardless of how far-fetched the conclusion may be.

Church of Euthanasia website:
http://churchofeuthanasia.org/index.html

Jerry Springer v. The Church of Euthanasia Kairos

The Jerry Springer episode aired on August 11th, 1997. The timing of this episode was made in perfect timing. A few months earlier, on March 26th, 39 Heaven’s Gate cult members were found dead in a San Diego mansion. The leaders of the cult preached that suicide would allow them to leave their bodily “containers” and enter an alien spacecraft. This event was shocking to the public because of how rare it was of such a large group to commit suicide in such a manner. It is obvious that The Jerry Springer Show taping was weeks before it aired, when it was the most prevalent. Jerry Springer has quite a political background, so it is not out of the ordinary for him to publicize his views through his show. He wanted his audience to know that the Church of Euthanasia cult is outrageous. By mocking the church, he hoped to persuade people not to join such groups.

Audience Analysis of Jerry Springer vs. The Church of Euthanasia

            The Jerry Springer video, “Jerry Springer vs The Church of Euthanasia”, was created in order to reach people all across the US. The church specifically seeks this publicity so they can spread their message to potential future members in order to recruit them. They can do this one of two ways. First, by creating awareness to those who have not yet heard of their cause or the group itself, or second, by convincing those who have heard about them, that they are legitimate and their arguments are valid. Although most of us would agree that the pushing cannibalism and suicide to compensate for overpopulation is a radical and mislead solution, we can tell by the female guest who wishes to join the cult, that some people do genuinely agree with their beliefs and wish to join. Springer, on the other hand, is targeting people across the US who are interested not only in politics but simply in reality TV drama. The more that people are attracted to his guests and shows, the higher his ratings get. This gives Springer not only fame, but also wealth and success, which can be argued is his ultimate goal.