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Commentary: The Internet and Heaven's Gate Mass Suicide

See also: • Opinion: Technophobe Misses the Mark in Blame for Mass Suicide • Reader' Forum #1

The Heaven's Gate mass suicide this week (March 26, 1997) has spawned a great deal of discussion about cults and the role of the Internet, as well as the (some would say "tasteless") satire that has emerged.

Several people, including ComputerLink editor Robert Hawkins and sandiego.com president Mark Burgess, asked me for my thoughts, not only from a spiritual perspective, but also in terms of the role (if any) the Internet played and how that role is being portrayed. The following is my response.

I see the use of computers, software and the Internet/Web as a logical extension of preceding communications media — tree stumps, soap boxes, street corners, airports, bus stations, books, newsletters, special-interest magazines, radio and television. There will always be a certain percentage of people willing to follow the preachings of articulate, sincere lunatics, even if their message is far beyond the bounds of our cultural belief systems. The Internet offers certain advantages in conveying that message and soliciting converts and money.

Nonetheless, in an event such as the Heaven's Gate suicide pact, the Internet becomes an easy scapegoat because most people (including those in the news media) don't understand, or misunderstand, it. This allows for simplistic, misguided answers to complex questions. Similar to the arguments surfacing about pornography on the Net.

The Internet certainly is not to blame in this tragedy, and, in reality, probably played no direct role. Blaming the Internet for the Heaven's Gate mass suicide is like saying airports are responsible for people joining the Hare Krishna movement or television is responsible for little old ladies being bilked of their life savings by self-proclaimed born-again Christian evangelists. It's blaming the messenger instead of the message.

The Internet is a valuable communications medium. I think it's safe to say we wouldn't be having this interchange if it weren't for the Internet. What's more, humor, particularly gallows humor, historically has been a way for people to deal with tragedy. The Higher Source spoof website — www.highersource.org — is one manifestation of that. I believe that while it may be crass, it has therapeutic value.

Yet, this entire incident also raises this question: How is what these Heaven's Gate people were doing truly different from the evangelical hucksters and flim-flam men and con artists — the Bakkers and Swaggarts of the world — using radio and television for personal gain under the guise of Christianity?

Or, taking it a step a farther, how is it different that our own state government peddles false hopes and get-rich-quick schemes in the form of the Big Spin, lotto and lottery using every medium possible? Don't blame the messenger.

Moreover, I think it's ironic (and perhaps not coincidental) that this mass suicide happened within a week of the Christian holiday of Easter, which is based on the belief that a man rose from the dead and professed to save the souls of all those who followed him. Granted he didn't advocate suicide, but one still must die to attain the "eternal life" he promised.

Christianity, in its infancy, was a reviled cult, too. It gained the respectability it enjoys today only through sheer numbers (and after overcoming the Inquisition, witch trials, and ongoing holy wars).

To me, all these things fall into the same category in that they prey on the fore-lorn hopes of desperate and/or unthinking people.

Granted, the Heaven's Gate folks took it to an extreme in advocating suicide, but let's put that into perspective in terms of news. How many people do you think committed suicide this week in this country? I have no idea, but I'd be willing to bet the number far exceeded 39. But do we hear a whimper about those individual tradegies? No. It's not sexy enough in the ratings-driven news environment through which we suffer each day.

Let me know what you think:
larry@larryedwards.com

— Larry M. Edwards

You can also read some of the comments others have written.

Related Web Links

  •   Higher Source (original - offline)   •  
  •   Opinion: Technophobe Misses the Mark
in Blame for Mass Suicide   •  
  •   Mark Steinbeck's Heaven's Gate site   •  
  •   The New Heaven's Gate site   •  

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