"Drank the Kool-aid"

[deer of the dawn]

My daughter asked me about this phrase the other day and I had to think for a minute. How you answer probably depends on how old you are.

[I'm Murrin]

I know it originates from a specific cult-related thing, but couldn't name which one. But then, we don't even have Kool-Aid over here.

[danlo]

I clicked a too fast (need coffee) it's actually b, I'm old enough to remember that it wasn't said until after the mass suicide--meaning: brainwashed and taking the bait

[Savor Dam]

Correct. While the Pranksters did stage concerts / "happenings" at Winterland (and other Bay Area venues) where LSD-laced koolaid was served, the pop culture usage of the phrase "drinking the koolaid" refers to the Jonestown Massacre following the murder of Rep. Leo Ryan when he visited the People's Temple compound in Guyana.

Whether it is significant that both the Merry Pranksters and the People's Temple originated in San Francisco before forming communes elsewhere...is an interesting question, but not the one deer asked.

Not only am I old enough to remember, I lived in the Bay Area back then and remember both movements to the extent that anything from the '60s and '70s can be remembered by those who lived through them.

[ussusimiel]

My daughter asked me about this phrase the other day and I had to think for a minute. How you answer probably depends on how old you are.

I voted b), but there was an option missing:

• - an accusation in the 'Tank which is immediately followed by

u.

[Iolanthe]

Never heard of it. Too old I suppose.

[Avatar]

It was the year after I was born, but it still means Jonestown to me.

--A

[lucimay]

yeah tho i know of the merry pranksters and ken kesey and the like, this phrase is totally jonestown to me. the mark of gullibility, blind obediance.
it makes me vury sad. vury vury sad. i never use the phrase.

[Holsety]

Yes, I thought it was the acid thing, though I didn't know about the groups associated with it. People my age have used the phrase a fair amount around me but I was never really curious

[Vader]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NanRJuz5PY

[deer of the dawn]

Never heard of it. Too old I suppose.

They may be Americanisms as well. Even though the Jonestown suicide happened in Guyana I believe the members were primarily American. And while I am sure it has to do with that, I couldn't help associating it with Electric Kool-Aid, myself.

Not only am I old enough to remember, I lived in the Bay Area back then and remember both movements to the extent that anything from the '60s and '70s can be remembered by those who lived through them.

Which leads to another pop proverb, "If you can remember the 60's, you weren't there."

[Vraith]

Never heard of it. Too old I suppose.

They may be Americanisms as well. Even though the Jonestown suicide happened in Guyana I believe the members were primarily American.

Not only mostly Americans, also the fact that they killed a Congressmen and 4 people traveling with him.

Before this thread, I'd never heard anyone anywhere associate the phrase with anything EXCEPT Jonestown.
[His little cult actually started in the mid-50's BTW. Didn't get to CA till '65.
HEH! And it was the IRS that made them run out of the US! Apparently they dislike Kool-Aid as well as Tea. ]

[Morning]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NanRJuz5PY

You and I must be echoing the same key across the bloody universe. I was going to post this

[Iolanthe]

Never heard of it. Too old I suppose.

They may be Americanisms as well. Even though the Jonestown suicide happened in Guyana I believe the members were primarily American. And while I am sure it has to do with that, I couldn't help associating it with Electric Kool-Aid, myself.

Not only am I old enough to remember, I lived in the Bay Area back then and remember both movements to the extent that anything from the '60s and '70s can be remembered by those who lived through them.

Which leads to another pop proverb, "If you can remember the 60's, you weren't there."

I thought the quote was "If you remember Woodstock you weren't there!". I remember the 60s, but then I was only 17 by 1969 and my social life consisted mostly of after school activities, girl guides, church choir and the occasional disco (discos had just been invented .

[Hashi Lebwohl]

I was 8 when Jonestown happened and I recall seeing aerial footage of the dead bodies on the ground. It was the first major news story that garnered my interest in the news and I began watching the nightly news every day alongside my parents.

It also made me aware of what cults were and how dangerous they are.

[Iolanthe]

I've just read up on this and now I remember it. It was the year I left college and got married and I only have vague memories. I was watching very little television at the time.

[Damelon]

I never heard of the first one and voted Jonestown, although it brings up another meaning to me as well. On reflection, seeing what the first one means, its origin is probably a descendant from it. On the local sports talk radio stations the phrase "drinking the kool-aid" refers to believing overly optimistic statements about a sports team.

[Vraith]

I thought the quote was "If you remember Woodstock you weren't there!".

Heh...it is that one, too.
There's also the variation [less widely known for obvious reasons] that came along [used by real veterans, and significantly more serious and pissed off in tone] in the early-mid '80's:
"If you remember Vietnam, you weren't there."

[aliantha]

Yup, choice B.

I may have used the phrase in a Tank discussion in the past...

[Holsety]

Damn, I read about the original incident, and I feel extremely ignorant for not knowing about this event earlier (though of course it's long before my time).