Waco Inncodent

My name is Jim, just Jim it's easier this way, and I was one of the nine survivors in the Waco compound standoff. Before I go into what I think went wrong to our religious sanctuary, let me tell you how I met David and a little about our great deciple.

Back in the early 90's I had been drumming in a nowhere rock band when I met and befriended David Koresh. I needed some new drum sticks, and on the way to a gig stopped in at a local music shop. Seeing the sticks in my hand the two strangers introduced themselves and asked if I was playing in a band right now. The two were David Koresh and his right man Steve Schneider. They gave their card and I promptly handed it back. The backside was full of Bible verses. "You guys are a Christian rock band," and I really don't get into the whole god thing, really never have. Which was true, I had never been religious in my life, and though I sometimes found myself asking God for a little, I couldn't remember the last time I had been in a church, let alone seriously prayed. But I did have a spiritual curiosity; there were questions I had and answers that I wanted to know. Neither of them tried to push me into coming and praying with mainly they were looking for some one to beat the skins so that they could jam. Since my band was in the dumps I took back his card and said that I would call him.

Over the next couple weeks I hung out with them. I got to know Koresh and some of the other musicians in the band and all and all I was impressed. The more I hung out with them the more things I did with them I even sat in on one of their church sessions. I couldn't believe how much of the stuff that David was talking about had relevance to my life. I finally went out to their community to play a live concert; I couldn't believe my eyes. All people of all ages were extremely enthused about the scripture. I was fascinated with their spiritual search, and I began, for the first time in my life, to really read the bible and understand the words in it. I really liked listening to Koresh's way of explaining the scriptures. He was clearly a serious religious scholar and I wanted to understand what he was saying. So I stayed.

One of the other things I loved about the "community" was the fact that all the people in the community came from many backgrounds. I met folks who hadn't finished high school and others with degrees from places like Harvard Law school. I spent time with African Americans, Australians, Black Britons, Mexican Americans, and many others. One irony of the Waco disaster, is that the right wing extremists and racists looked to Mount Caramel as a beacon; if they realized that so many of us were Black, Asian, and Latino, and that we despised their hateful politics and anger, they would probably feel bitterly betrayed. It was as if the community was an isolated bubble of a perfect world, where all races, colors, and creeds, lived and worshiped God together in perfect harmony, and I was glad to be a part of it.

Now that is how I met my best friend, and the man who turned my life around and directed me toward God. Many a times he told me stories of his life before, his talks with God, and before becoming a deciphile of Jesus Christ. David was born in 1955 in a small town on the outskirts of Houston, Texas, to a single mother. Never knowing his father and his mother not wanting the responsibility he was mainly raised by his grandparents. He said his childhood was lonely, greatly contributed from the fact that he dropped out of high school at a very early age. Most of his days were of studying music and the Bible by himself. At the age of 20, he started going to different churches speaking his mind, which was slightly different than what these churches were used to, and was eventually asked to leave. After this he roamed, taking spot jobs for cash to get him to Hollywood so that he could become a rock star, but this also failed. He drifted back to Texas, where he became a Branch Davidian, a religious sect, which settled 10 miles outside of Waco, Texas. There, Koresh had and affair with then-prophetess Lois Roden who was in her sixties. She took him to Israel and other religious cities, teaching him the word of God. When she died the throne as head prophet became a power struggle between Koresh and Lois's son George. Koresh left with his followers but soon returned and brought with him a gunfight. Once David won the battle, a trial for attempted murder was brought up and was later acquitted to a mistrial. David told me, that George was suspected of corpse abuse, and that his shots were aimed at a tree. So of course I believed him, he could not hurt a soul; he was a kind, God fearing man if I ever met one. David later became the leader of the Branch Davidians, and this is when he changed his name to David Koresh. Koresh is Hebrew meaning Cyrus, the name of the Persian king who allowed the Jews held captive in Babylon to return to Israel. How could you not follow this man, he made so much sense to everyday problems and he had helped me so much. Plus he was a prophet, how much plainer could it be, just compare David to Jesus.

Both had fathers who were carpenters, both had fathers who left at very early stages in their lives, both showed remarkable knowledge of the scriptures at a very early age. Both preached their messages in an area called Palestine, both had their messages rejected by religious leaders of the day. Also they both were betrayed by Judas; prosecuted, imprisoned, and killed. Both had authorities come to arrest them, and they both were wounded in the hands and the side. Both were 33 when they died, and both believed in coming back. Maybe Jesus could not come back but God sent us David, the second prophet, a god within himself. And I loved spending everyday with him and our community.

I have read the justice department reports of what happened in Waco, and this is what they say, and I quote,

"At about 9:30 a.m. agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms attempt to execute, arrest, and search warrants against David Koresh and the Branch Davidian compound. Gunfire erupts. Four ATF agents are killed and 16 are wounded. An undetermined number of Davidians are killed and injured. Within a few hours the FBI becomes the lead agency for resolving the standoff. Jeff Jamar is named the on site commander. By the afternoon, advance units of the FBI's hostage rescue team(HRT) arrive, and telephone conversations are under way between Koresh, Steve Schneider, and Wayne Martin on one side, and the ATF's Jim Savanaugh and Waco police Lt. Larry Lynch on the other. Koresh disclose that he has been wounded in the hip and left wrist, Koresh is allowed to broadcast his religious teachings on Dallas radio, KLRD, and does