Many people don't realize that he was an anti-suicide activist, too. On Memorial Day in 1977, shortly before going to Jonestown, he held a demonstration in support of an anti-suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge. But there's foreshadowing in some of his remarks...
'Suicide is a symptom of an uncaring society ... The suicide is the victim of conditions we cannot tolerate and ... (pause) ... I guess that was Freudian because I meant to say which he cannot tolerate, which overwhelm him, for which there is no recourse ... I have been in a suicidal mood myself today for perhaps the first time in my life, so I have personal empathy for what we are doing here today. Thank you.'Incidentally, two months ago, the Golden Gate Bridge directors just passed a vote to install a $40-50 million stainless-steel net. They totally ignored the polls and taxpayers' wishes, and held a surprise vote, two weeks early. "Our next big challenge is to come up with the money," [Mary Currie, bridge district spokeswoman] said.
