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"Drinking the Kool-Aid" is a figure of speech commonly used in North America that refers to a person or group holding an unquestioned belief, argument, or philosophy without critical examination. It could also refer to knowingly going along with a doomed or dangerous idea because of peer pressure. The phrase oftentimes carries a negative connotation when applied to an individual or group. It can also be used ironically or humorously to refer to accepting an idea or changing a preference due to popularity, peer pressure, or persuasion. The phrase derives from the November 1978 Jonestown deaths, in which over 900 members of the Peoples Temple, who were followers of Jim Jones died, many of whom committed suicide by drinking a mixture of a powdered soft drink flavoring agent laced with cyanide (with the remainder, including 89 infants and elderly, killed by forced ingestion of the poison). Although the powder used in the incident included Flavor Aid, it was commonly referred to as Kool-Aid due to the latter's status as a genericized trademark. ==Background== (詳細はRepresentative Leo Ryan's party be killed after several defectors chose to leave with the party. Residents of the commune later committed mass suicide by drinking a flavored beverage laced with potassium cyanide. Despite its reputation as a mass suicide, the events of November 18, 1978 were a murder-suicide. Those unable to comply, such as infants, and those unwilling to comply, received involuntary injections ahead of the main group. One survivor reported: "That man (Jones) was killing us. It was just senseless waste."〔''Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple''〕 Roughly 918 people died. Present-day descriptions of the event often refer to the beverage not as Kool-Aid but as Flavor Aid, a less-expensive product reportedly found at the site. Kraft Foods, the maker of Kool-Aid, has stated the same. Implied by this accounting of events is that the reference to the Kool-Aid brand owes exclusively to its being better-known among Americans. Others are less categorical. Both brands are known to have been among the commune's supplies: Film footage shot inside the compound prior to the events of November shows Jones opening a large chest in which boxes of both Flavor Aid and Kool-Aid are visible. Criminal investigators testifying at the Jonestown inquest spoke of finding packets of "cool aid" (''sic''), and eyewitnesses to the incident are also recorded as speaking of "cool aid" or "Cool Aid."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Guyana inquest )〕 It is unclear whether they intended to refer to the actual Kool-Aid–brand drink or were using the name in a generic sense that might refer to any powdered flavored beverage. It is most likely that both were used in the mass murder-suicide. Jim Jones had previously had many rehearsals for the event in which the drink contained no poison, which led to cult members believing the drink was harmless on the day that it did contain poison. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Drinking the Kool-Aid」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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