" Jones operated his cult under the cover of a home for depraved children. He managed to round up more than 300 children, some taken illegally. By the time of the mass suicide Jones had more than 900 followers. .
Many individuals do not understand how so many people could obey one single human being to the point of suicide. In the case of Jim Jones, it becomes quite clear how he recruited and brainwashed his followers. As I previously mentioned, it was entirely uncommon to come across interracial places of worship at that particular place and time. This, to many different races, was a huge stepping stone to the segregated state of Indiana. Jones mainly targeted the minorities, mainly blacks and the elderly. Young Jim Jones crusaded tirelessly on behalf of blacks. These subcultures were most certainly treated unfairly, so having a place where they could all get together and worship made them feel appreciated and valued, as well as thankful and, naturally, more loyal to the Reverend Jim Jones. .
Many of his followers believed that they were meeting at the temple to become closer with God, little did they know that they were only becoming brainwashed. There are many different methods of brainwashing, all being very subtle. The main goals of brainwashing is as follows: (1) to drastically alter a persons sense of reality, (2) to get the potential cult member to accept a new reality, (3) to alter the understanding of the potential cult member's past, (4) to get the potential cult member to accept a new belief system, and (5) to get that person to be a loyal member of the cult (Miller, 1990, 96) The book "Coping with Cults" outlines a very general method of the brainwashing process. "Isolate the person and manipulate his or her environment. Control the channels of information and communication. Wear the person down through inadequate diet and fatigue. Replace uncertainty, fear, and confusion with the promise of joy, but only as part of the group.
