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Direct TV has been airing a documentary about Jonestown--you all remember that, I'm sure. In November 18, 1978  Jim Jones was stunned that some of his flock would want to desert his compound in Guyana. Jones could be charismatic and charming. He called himself a minister and probably started out with good intentions.
The San Francisco Examiner says he became seduced by power over his followers and turned into a pill popping dictator who sadistically presided over harsh discipline. At the end, addled with drugs, he determined to end it all with the suicide and murder  of those who had been loyal to him. Almost 1,000 people were given Kool Aid laced with cyanide.
They drank it willingly--or some, under duress--and gave it to their children. Imagine the power one human being can have over another that you would be willing to give your children cyanide because your "minister" asked you to, despite how psychotic and irrational it was. Jones didn't drink it himself--he shot himself, or was shot by one of his enforcers.
You wouldn't think a normal average person would subjugate their will to another like that, but cults over and over prove that it can be done. A psycho like Jones doesn't have horns, spiked tail and a big PSYCHO sign on their forehead. Their beasts live in their souls. They lure in those who have a need to be told what to do, maybe a need for direction, and give up control of their life to someone they think knows what's best for them.
It's been 30 years ago since Jonestown. The jungle has overgrown the site, only a few rusting bits of metal mark the remains of a great American tragedy. No doubt events such as this will recur as long as free will is given over to the Jim Jones and David Koresh's of the world.
susil
What about the one in Ca. now? It may turn out the same way