The first thing that pops into people’s minds when they hear about Jonestown is the unsettling massacre that occurred. It took a little over 900 people from this world far too soon. Even though it’s been decades, for some it never ended after 1978 and it carried over as a family-inherited curse.

My uncle Robert, his wife, and my two cousins were all victims of the massacre. Robert was a strong man and firm in his own individual beliefs, but he was also in a very vulnerable state at the time. That made it a horrible combination with the state of America and his own mindset change.

The state of America at the time was looking grim for African Americans and Jim Jones exploited it. Jones made predictions that seemingly came true right before everyone’s very eyes after the assassination of Martin Luther King and what followed with riots and mass incarceration of people of color.

Jones took advantage of the geopolitical climate and it was enough to unsettle a person like my uncle. A man who had picked up many skills and had a lot to offer. He was always learning something new and was very ambitious.

My uncle was spooked by the sight of America in his own eyes unfolding and going the way Jones predicted. It got to the point that Robert even turned on the family and felt that there was no hope in America anymore.

It really spoke volumes of how the political aspect played a role in determining their loyalty to Jim Jones. He exploited the legitimate hard times and it wasn’t about a better life for other people, it was about a social hierarchy with himself at the top above everyone else.

That was the nail in the coffin in many ways to change our family forever. Robert made a decision to follow out of fear of the dystopian life and the rest of the family became an enemy to him. It showed that his perception of life was clouded by what Jones said and it got to the point that’s all my uncle could see.

It was very uncharacteristic and he became a completely different person. Our family has always been close-knit, so the influence of Jones was clearly enough to push him away. My uncle helped my dad and even got him into trouble a few times too (can only imagine the trouble we would have gotten into together). A relationship like that suddenly deteriorating made zero sense to anyone.

My uncle soon found out that there is a lot worse though. People like to paint the picture that Jim Jones was trying to build a utopian paradise for equality, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Upon their arrival, they were outcasts since they were a whole family in Jonestown, which was unprecedented. They faced inequality that they probably didn’t imagine they would face in Jonestown. It got to the point that my uncle even was condemned openly by Jones himself for speaking out about the abuse they endure.

Robert did not tolerate abuse to his kids, whether it was physical or verbal. He loved his kids, so it was enough for him to wake up for the time being to the reality of the nightmare they have entered. He spoke out against Jim Jones and it seemed like he was ready to break away and even cause Jones to lose control over his own dystopian creation.

That’s the strong will he possessed and he rattled the system and disturbed the peace. Jones has been known for beating people or even death for their insubordination, but Jones seemed to have fear of turning Robert into a martyr.

There have been many to speak out over a period of time till the very end, but the most haunting thing is that when I did my own research, there was eventually silence from my uncle. There were other names like Christine Miller who spoke out on the day of the massacre and others, but my uncle was silent by that point.

A lot of theories as to why my uncle who trusted Jonestown and felt just as alone and scared for his life as much as he felt when living in America. He fell silent most likely because he lost hope. He was isolated by his immediate family because of things he believed about America. So he was isolated in Jonestown and he felt there was nothing left for him in America.

Just like how people can inherit wealth, they can also inherit pain. My family has passed down an inheritance of pain since 1978. It’s conversations about how life could have been if he never followed Jim Jones, that’s how much he meant to my grandma and my father.

My only wish is that my uncle would have come back and realized that our family still loves him. My grandma would talk about him and tell stories about the events that led up to him going to Jonestown. This includes a conversation where she tried to talk him out of going and warning him about his con artist scams that were publicized and exposed, but he didn’t listen.

There have been many times in memory from 1995-2002 when my grandma had problems with certain political and celebrity figures for being liars. It rubbed her the wrong way and would bring that memory all back again. She took extra time to teach me red flags while using Jim Jones as a direct example when looking for red flags and deceivers.

Every single family member has taken that same approach and it has been a bond that kept us together. Our views are similar as well as our outlook when it comes to individuals who utilize politics, religion, or a combination of the two to prop themselves up above everyone else.

The biggest influence that is lasting today is politics and the connections between promises and reality. It took so much away from us, and it seems like there is always a story told that tells a portion of it.

There is yet another movie being made pertaining to Jonestown and all I can hope is that they tell the full story. Over the years, the story of Jim Jones evolved within mainstream media and at one point they tried to make him look untouchable.

The contrasting stories became frustrating because out of those over 900 victims, my family lost four family members. No one in my immediate family will be watching the new movie based on Jonestown upon its release.

The Jonestown story is very important, but it’s very important to remember the victims, survivors, and families. There are many other families who feel the same way and have individual stories of how and what made them join, as well as how it left a lasting mark on the families forever.

It left a lasting mark on me too as a writer and person. Feels like the family is incomplete and things would have been different for the better. Even though I never met the man, it feels like I know everything about him.

I never realized it until recently with studying human behavior during my undergraduate years and writing figures who could be described as having a cult mentality to them. It leads to self-discovery as well as the characters losing something as they look to survive their journey.

Through the years, my father told stories about how much my uncle loved people and how much he just wanted to feel that love and give it back without it being thrown back in his face. I wish he knew me, but I know him, and life feels empty even though I never met him.

There will always be thoughts about what could have happened and how good life can be, but my hope is that any survivors or family members will not be forgotten and their legacy will live on and not just as the cult follower of Jonestown.

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