Drinking the Kool-Aid
Actions misguided by Fear
Robert Malone spread awareness of a phenomenon referred to as Mass Formation Psychosis; the hypnotizing of a population. Consider this an exploration of the concept. The title may be new but mass psychosis is something we have seen many times throughout history and in the modern era. Usually it’s localized into smaller groups, although this time the mindset is widespread, affecting people around the world. A result impossible if it were just the hype and the virus itself. A new virus coming out of China is a common event: Swine Flu, Bird Flu, etc. They had hype, but none of them ever picked up steam like Covid-19. Analyzing the past is often useful when understanding the present. The most famous instance of mass psychosis has to be Jonestown, and it’s from here the parallels will be drawn.
In the 1970’s Jim Jones led a cult in San Francisco, eventually they moved to South America and set up an “agricultural settlement” in Guyana. The group considered themselves communists, and it was the middle of the Cold War. Jones used fear to rally the people into moving across continents, claiming persecution from the US Government who were coming to arrest, torture, and kill any remaining members of the commune. After killing a US congressman, the commune of Jonestown carried out a mass suicide wherein 900+ people died of cyanide poisoning.
Having spent years living in fear, running from the specters of their imagination, the people’s temple jumped on Jim’s idea of “Revolutionary Suicide”. In 1978 the commune gathered together one last time with a special elixir: a Kool-Aid type drink spiked with cyanide. Mr. Jones turned on his audio recorder, and began his speech. He urged everyone to take a cup of the juice, and join him in this historic event. Adults and children alike were to consume the drink for the prize of freedom.
When Mr. Jones opened the floor to discussion, a loyal follower named Christine Miller tried to persuade Jim and her fellow members; maybe the evil USA wasn’t going to slaughter everyone, maybe they could evacuate to the Soviet Union. Jim dismissed the concerns and requests, but Christine continued the discussion. While she did not mind dying, she felt the 300 children in attendance deserved a chance at life. This is when the other followers begin to speak up. Everyone had been following Jim Jones for years. They moved across the planet with him. They had faith in their leader and his dream. This great and selfless man was a prophet; they believed it with their hearts and minds. When the other people in attendance speak up, they do so against Christine. They begin to shout her down.
If we look at 2015, during the time of the US Presidential election, we see an event that did not stay within the US but was exported around the world. Leading up to the election the media spent every moment, day after day, releasing articles and videos about Trump. Constantly bombarding anyone who would listen with his evils and how he would destroy not only the country, but the world. Whipping the consumers of their media into emotional frenzy.
When Trump became president, this messaging continued. Piece after piece was about Donald Trump starting WW3. Fear about how he was going to create a war with North Korea. Every faithful watcher of mainstream news living in anxiety, waiting for Trump to institute a police state. All of these things surrounding Trump were highly exaggerated, and none of the hyperbole came to pass. Instead, diplomatic relations were opened with North Korea and they even joined the Olympics in an historic moment, competing alongside their southern brothers. Despite this, the programming never stopped.
When the old unfounded predictions were proven wrong, new equally unfounded predictions were created. For four years half of the world lived in constant anxiety and fear, just waiting for Trump to finally create the hell they had envisioned. Approaching the end of his term, all this anticipation culminated in… nothing. Absolutely nothing happened, Trump did not create a disaster; the most anti-climactic outcome possible.
Emotions are the energy of the spirit. They are absolutely vital components of life. Able to rouse a man to the top of a mountain, or sink him into a pit of despair. Just as the energy contained in gasoline forces the pistons in a car, so too does the energy of fear and anxiety propel the mind and body. As one of the underlying principles of science dictates: energy can be neither created, nor destroyed. The mass of negative energy flooding the planet had to go somewhere. With no cataclysmic war starting, no mass genocide on the home land, or any of the other fears coming to fruition, where was this pressure to go? Luckily, the annual ‘New Virus Discovered’ came out. This time with a great mass of untapped energy behind it. Built up in anticipation of the world’s end.
With the world’s greatest evil proven nothing more than a dud, there was a new villain for this energy to escape into. Everyone knew the apocalypse was coming, and now here it finally was. Half the planet was prepped and ready; years of self-hypnosis resulted in extreme overreaction. Mass panic shut down businesses and locked people in their homes, Regulations were disregarded; the standard vaccine timeline of 10 years was eliminated.
The populace was prepared for war; total war: good vs evil, humanity vs virus. Create a cure and win the war, by any means necessary. Willing to sacrifice liberty, health, and life, for victory; a soldier for the cause. The vaccine is the cure to all problems and makes the evil go away. No longer living under stress and uncertainty. We can stop locking ourselves away from others. We can take off the masks and stop living in fear of the very air that we breathe. The solution is simple: just take this and it’ll be okay.
A lot of the discussion against the vaccines revolves around the character of the people pushing them. The criticisms may be valid, or they may not be. In truth, the character of the people are irrelevant when looking at the bigger picture. It does not matter who is developing the vaccine because the environment alone is enough to poison any outcome. It can be said Jim Jones was a terrible man with evil intentions. The people who had followed him on the other hand did not necessarily share these traits, yet they leaped into ‘revolutionary suicide’ and attacked any who diverged from the path. Not only do they silence Christine; all of a sudden everybody espouses the virtues of mass suicide. Pouring cyanide down the throats of their young children was a good thing. Supportive statements earn rounds of applause while screams and cries fill the background, until these too are phased out.
In their minds, their actions were good. The road to hell is paved with good intentions; and nothing misplaces a person’s intentions quite like desperation. Jonestown displays how negative emotions can create irrational actions, but it also demonstrates the danger of compromising the self to follow the herd. Those not under the spell are in no less danger. Perception and self-segregation are sometimes necessary to avoid Christine’s fate. People drowning in fear will latch on to anybody within reach. Even if you don’t believe this applies to the vaccine itself, it’s all the more reason to stop and change course while it’s possible. Choosing to leave once the drinks are being served is often too late; you’re already in Jonestown.
To mitigate the impact of fear, decisions must come from within. Based upon personal ideologies and beliefs. Outside opinions should be used as ancillary information to increase knowledge, rather than the primary source of decision making. Unintentional or not, anything can be corrupted. Never drink the Kool-Aid. Without even knowing what’s in it; know it isn’t good. Nothing born out of fear and anxiety can be.