Jim Jones' Son & Grandson Deals With the Legacy of Guyana
January 1, 2008 3:06 PM Subscribe
Life isn't always easy if your father or grandfather was Jim Jones, the legendary founder of the People's Temple. Jones and wife Marcelline adopted seven children of varying ethnicities. Son Jim Jones Jr. lives an upstanding existence as a pharmaceutical sales rep and volunteer basketball coach, but has been hounded by his past throughout his life. Meanwhile, grandson Rob Jones is San Francisco's top high school basketball player. But sometimes the legacy just follows you. (Video)
So, the grandson gets a kool-aid sponsorship, right?
posted by pompomtom at 3:27 PM on January 1, 2008 [8 favorites]
posted by pompomtom at 3:27 PM on January 1, 2008 [8 favorites]
pharmaceutical sales rep
is this irony or merely a coincidence?
posted by logicpunk at 3:28 PM on January 1, 2008
is this irony or merely a coincidence?
posted by logicpunk at 3:28 PM on January 1, 2008
grandson Rob Jones is San Francisco's top high school basketball player.
Was SF's top high school player. He's now the starting small forward for a University of San Diego team that beat Kentucky in Rupp Arena last Saturday.
posted by dw at 3:42 PM on January 1, 2008
Was SF's top high school player. He's now the starting small forward for a University of San Diego team that beat Kentucky in Rupp Arena last Saturday.
posted by dw at 3:42 PM on January 1, 2008
I'm pretty sure someone got paid to write the sentence thinman quoted.
posted by goatdog at 4:14 PM on January 1, 2008
posted by goatdog at 4:14 PM on January 1, 2008
Interesting. I'd never heard anything about Jim Jones beyond the fact that he killed his church members with Kool Aid.
posted by delmoi at 4:47 PM on January 1, 2008
posted by delmoi at 4:47 PM on January 1, 2008
So, the grandson gets a kool-aid sponsorship, right?
You're going to hell.
*giggles, favorites*
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:49 PM on January 1, 2008
You're going to hell.
*giggles, favorites*
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:49 PM on January 1, 2008
Little-known fact: it was Flavor Aid, not Kool-Aid, that was used at Jonestown.
posted by Rangeboy at 4:51 PM on January 1, 2008
posted by Rangeboy at 4:51 PM on January 1, 2008
Why on earth didn't Jim Jones Jr. change his name?
I have a friend named Jim whose wife has kept her maiden name of Jones. People often assume that's his name. And I thought that was an unhappy coincidence.
posted by orange swan at 4:53 PM on January 1, 2008
I have a friend named Jim whose wife has kept her maiden name of Jones. People often assume that's his name. And I thought that was an unhappy coincidence.
posted by orange swan at 4:53 PM on January 1, 2008
Oh come on. It's not like Jim Jones is really that distinctive of a name that this one is hounded any more than the thousands of Jim Jones there must be in the US, just like anyone else with a name associated with something notorious. Plus, yea, why not change it or be a James?
posted by 45moore45 at 6:26 PM on January 1, 2008
posted by 45moore45 at 6:26 PM on January 1, 2008
My heart bleeds. Jim Jones is bad enough, but Jim Jones Junior? That's almost as bad as that evil monkey villain from the Powerpuff Girls.
posted by cytherea at 6:33 PM on January 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by cytherea at 6:33 PM on January 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
There were so many kids at Jonestown (276 dead) and it took quite a bit of coaxing to get all the parents to poison their own children. I can't listen to the audio version because of the crying babies in the background. It's not fair that Jones's children are still alive.
In related news: here's a rare color photo of Hitler hanging out with kids.
posted by mattbucher at 7:04 PM on January 1, 2008
In related news: here's a rare color photo of Hitler hanging out with kids.
posted by mattbucher at 7:04 PM on January 1, 2008
Just the other day I met someone who was telling me that when he was a kid his parents were looking to join a new church in San Francisco. His dad was really into it, and his mother said, "If you join that church, our marriage is over. I don't like the way that pastor looked at me." He remembered it being a huge fight between his parents, and that his father only backed down because he didn't want to lose his wife.
Yeah, it was Jim Jones. Go mom.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:35 PM on January 1, 2008 [8 favorites]
Yeah, it was Jim Jones. Go mom.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:35 PM on January 1, 2008 [8 favorites]
There were so many kids at Jonestown (276 dead) and it took quite a bit of coaxing to get all the parents to poison their own children.
Yeah, maybe. But not that much, since they did it anyway. That's the thing: they did it anyway. That wasn't anyone's fault but their own, and things like that make me wish sometimes that I did believe there was such a place as Hell, just so I could hope theyre rotting in it in eternal agony.
I can't listen to the audio version because of the crying babies in the background. It's not fair that Jones's children are still alive.
Not fair to whom? I dont recall ever hearing that the children of Jim Jones should pay for his crimes. Who did they harm? This is a ridiculous statement. I'd say it's even less fair that they got saddled with that batshit insane turd that walks like a man for a father.
posted by perilous at 9:26 PM on January 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
Yeah, maybe. But not that much, since they did it anyway. That's the thing: they did it anyway. That wasn't anyone's fault but their own, and things like that make me wish sometimes that I did believe there was such a place as Hell, just so I could hope theyre rotting in it in eternal agony.
I can't listen to the audio version because of the crying babies in the background. It's not fair that Jones's children are still alive.
Not fair to whom? I dont recall ever hearing that the children of Jim Jones should pay for his crimes. Who did they harm? This is a ridiculous statement. I'd say it's even less fair that they got saddled with that batshit insane turd that walks like a man for a father.
posted by perilous at 9:26 PM on January 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
OK, how bout hypocritical then? It's hypocritical of Jim Jones to say "Murder your children so they can go to heaven right now! But my kids are going to drive a truck full of gold out of here and back to San Francisco." That is not right or fair.
posted by mattbucher at 5:41 AM on January 2, 2008
posted by mattbucher at 5:41 AM on January 2, 2008
upstanding existence as a pharmaceutical sales rep
these two forms of existence are mutually exclusive
posted by troybob at 8:07 AM on January 2, 2008
these two forms of existence are mutually exclusive
posted by troybob at 8:07 AM on January 2, 2008
Anyone know what Valentine Michael Manson is up to these days?
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:32 AM on January 2, 2008
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:32 AM on January 2, 2008
OK, how bout hypocritical then? It's hypocritical of Jim Jones to say "Murder your children so they can go to heaven right now! But my kids are going to drive a truck full of gold out of here and back to San Francisco." That is not right or fair.
I'm the last person who wants to bring politics into this, but the first thing I thought of was politicians sending kids to war but not their own.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:25 AM on January 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm the last person who wants to bring politics into this, but the first thing I thought of was politicians sending kids to war but not their own.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:25 AM on January 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
OK, how bout hypocritical then? It's hypocritical of Jim Jones to say "Murder your children so they can go to heaven right now! But my kids are going to drive a truck full of gold out of here and back to San Francisco." That is not right or fair.
I think that Jones's kids survived by coincidence: They were on the basketball team, which was many hours away in Georgetown, when they received the order by radio to seek poisons and kill themselves, according to the ESPN article...
posted by bugmuncher at 9:56 AM on January 2, 2008
I think that Jones's kids survived by coincidence: They were on the basketball team, which was many hours away in Georgetown, when they received the order by radio to seek poisons and kill themselves, according to the ESPN article...
posted by bugmuncher at 9:56 AM on January 2, 2008
Yay for brainwashing!
The recent documentary Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People's Temple is quite good. I liked how it was mostly told through the voices of the people involved (or some of them). An interesting glimpse of how things started and gradually progressed into a major tragedy. The ending (spoiler alert) is chilling.
posted by hazel at 7:32 PM on January 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
The recent documentary Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People's Temple is quite good. I liked how it was mostly told through the voices of the people involved (or some of them). An interesting glimpse of how things started and gradually progressed into a major tragedy. The ending (spoiler alert) is chilling.
posted by hazel at 7:32 PM on January 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
i just can't believe that jim jones jr. has no emotion about what his dad did, and that he jokes about jonestown. what the hell?
and perilous, i'm with you. what kind of monster poisons their own child.
posted by gforce414 at 7:44 PM on January 2, 2008
and perilous, i'm with you. what kind of monster poisons their own child.
posted by gforce414 at 7:44 PM on January 2, 2008
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Tell more me.
posted by thinman at 3:18 PM on January 1, 2008 [2 favorites]