Red-Haired Ash Reads

The siege of the Davidian compound in Waco, Texas is an event that I have heard mentioned before, but I knew nothing about. From the very beginning, I was hooked on this cult and the events surrounding the siege against them. 

As someone who had never heard of The Branch Davidians, or even the Seventh-Day Adventists, I was really captivated on how they twisted the bible to their needs. I may not be religious, but I do find it very interesting in how people interpret religious texts, especially zealots. The rise of David Koresh into this position of power was fascinating but also very disturbing because he influenced and manipulated people so easily, much like Trump is doing now. It was especially disturbing to learn how he twisted scripture to manipulate women and girls into having sex with him. 

The events surrounding the siege and how it went from the ATF to the FBI in charge, then how things escalated to the attack and fire on April 19, 1993. This would end up being the deadliest day in FBI history with eighty-six people killed overall. It was fascinating learning about how the negotiators tried working with Koresh to get people out of the commune, and how they were able to get some of the kids and adults out. It was even more fascinating to learn that the higher ups in the FBI were not working with the negotiators and making their own plans, and lying to get the outcome they wanted. This whole siege was just a fascinating but horrifying piece of history, even if the fall out from it has led to terrible things. 

Not only was learning about this piece of history fascinating, but learning about the aftereffects was even more eye opening. This event led to a major increase in modern militias and homegrown terrorism and a mistrust in the government. It’s always fascinating to me to learn how one event can affect so much, and is still affecting the United States today with events like January 6th and the rise of the Proud Boys militias. 

Overall, this was a fascinating but devastating piece of history that affected so much more than this religious group. I never expected to be so captivated by a story about a religious cult, but here we are. 

TW: teen pregnancy; child abuse (verbal and physical); use of the r word; rape; child molestation; child marriage and pregnancy; desecration of the dead; animal deaths; death and suicide, including of children; fire and fire injuries; 

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