Thursday, March 22, 2007

Lack of Communitarianism and its effect on the displaced

The greatest thing about the internet is its perpetual cache. From 1994 and on, when anything is done, there is almost always a presence of it on the web. This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Heavens Gate cult suicide. But unlike Jim Jones (leader of the Jonestown mass suicide which left about 1,000 dead), who left little of his history, Heavens Gate was prominent on the internet, even back in 1996.

In fact, their web site is still up: here

And here is a Google Groups message left by on one of the members here - note the date it was left. The woman who left it was found dead 3 months later, with 5 dollars worth of quarters in her pocket. Why 5 dollars worth of quarters you ask? Because the space ship hidden behind hale-bop comet had vending machines and arcades that she had planned to make use of....naturally. [Bizarre that such an advanced ship would rely on standard issue U.S. currency.]

Of course this is of no surprise, being that the founders of Heavens Gate both met at a psychiatric hospital while being hospitalized for schizophrenia. And yet, even though they managed to get at one point around 200 followers, to me cult suicide speaks nothing of those who partake in it, and everything of a society that allows it to occur. Today there is only one survivor of the Heavens Gate and he is still a firm believer in it. His childhood is described as an abusive mother and a father that left him when he was 3. When asked recently about his first meeting with the DO (the leader of Heavens Gate) he cried and said it was “like finally meeting my father.”

Jim Jones didn't kill a thousand people, and DO didn't kill 39. In my opinion, depression and our societies' reluctance to appreciate mental health did. Calling these people freaks is easy, but offering them mental health, a community of support and a non-profit driven health industry is something American society is wholly incapable of offering. What should be taken away from this 10 year anniversary is how little our society has progressed in this field and how much work still needs to be done. Because of cut backs, HMO's and regressive movements like Scientology (who also pressures former members to commit suicide and are vehemently opposed to psychiatry because L. Ron Hubbard was psychotic and frequently hospitalized) it is very likely that cult suicide will continue well into the future. As a 1st world society, this 10th year anniversary should be a disgrace to us all.

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