#2 Yes... but this was particularly awful - and awful because the People's Temple silenced critical news coverage, bullied local politicians into giving them cover and generally silenced critics by screaming "racism!" and threatening protests, lawsuits and general mayhem.
Sound familiar? No, I guess that kind of faux-religious/social/political nuttery hasn't gone out of style at all.
I remember the pictures, in the weekly news-mags... the sprawled and bloated bodies strewn all over the compound. The father of a neighbor of mine in San Antonio was then a senior Army medic, who went down with the mortuary team to collect them all. My friend says her father was particularly affected by the sight of the small children... and the appalling smell hanging over the compound. They didn't get there until about a week afterward, of course. |
