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.).