Clarence Thomas’ Wife Ginni and Her Involvement With Cults

Ginni Thomas belonged to Lifespring and, as a result, became an outspoken anti-cult activist. When Trump was president, though, she got seduced once again by MAGA and QAnon. (flickr creative commons)

Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple

I grew up in the Bay Area during the 1970’s so my views about cults were shaped by the horrific mass murder-suicide of 909 people in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978. They had been followers of the Reverend Jim Jones.

Because 304 of the victims were children, I had nightmares about it for months. I couldn’t comprehend why their parents had joined the Peoples Temple, the group that Jones led, and voluntarily turned over their income and possessions to him.

I couldn’t wrap my brain around why these families had left San Francisco and moved to a primitive, remote commune in South America (Isolating their members is a feature of cults. Jim Jones simply took it to the extreme by relocating his disciples to the jungle).

I couldn’t fathom why these moms and dads seemed more concerned about remaining loyal to this religious leader, who had obviously become mercurial, tyrannical, paranoid, angry, and unhinged, than protecting their own youngsters.

A Mass Murder-Suicide by Drinking Kool Aid

Today, I hear young people innocently use the phrase “I drank the Kool Aid,” not knowing its heinous origins. They make casual remarks such as: “I drank the Kool Aid…