I would have loved to ask your acquaintance how he proposed we reduce the population by 75% and if his end utopia would be worth doing so through starvation or violence.
I think his game plan was centered around natural disasters.
I once chided him by saying, “You know, some folks would suggest you go first if this is your true belief.” He just smiled unfazed by the prospect.
The guy had a doctorate in his field.
People are a lot more capable of being led astray than most of us would think.
I’d wager there were probably some fairly educated people who bought into the Jim Jones thing too.