A Progressive Conscientious Objector Meets the Branch Davidian Compound

Gayle and I were in no hurry to get up and rush out of Dallas.  We decided we didn't want to leave until traffic eased and the rain lessened.  Again we awoke to the smell of a hot breakfast.  We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with Moana and Kyle and left at 10 a.m.  After I misdirected Gayle and she righted us again, we headed towards Austin with a planned stop in Waco.

When Gayle and I think of Waco our only knowledge is of the "Waco Seige" of the Branch Davidian compound in 1993, which lasted 51 days.  It began when the ATF and Texas Law Enforcement attempted to serve warrants due to suspicion that David Koresh and his followers were stockpiling illegal weapons.  However, a reporter had been tipped off about the "raid".  He got lost and asked a mail carrier for directions to the compound.  The postal worker was Koresh's brother-in-law and alerted the group that law enforcement was on the way.  The group was armed and ready.  Violence erupted.  A subsequent siege, led by the FBI, attempted to negotiate a compromise but after 51 days the FBI launched a tear gas attack hoping to flush the members of the cult out of their buildings.  The compound became engulfed in flames.  Once the siege ended after 51 days, the result was the death of 4 Federal agents and 82 Branch Davidians (28 of them were children.)  Only nine people survived, four of them were the biological children of Koresh.

I had asked Gayle what she thought about visiting the compound, now run by The Branch, the Lord of Righteousness under the leadership of Charles Pace.  She was interested.  Whenever we mentioned to people that we were considering stopping there we either received surprised looks or warnings.  We decided that we would go anyway.  However, as we neared the place, I got nervous.  Timothy McVeigh used to come to this compound to sell bumperstickers that said:  "A man with a gun is a citizen.  A man without a gun is a subject."  On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh drove a Ryder truck packed with explosives to Oklahoma City and parked it outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Buildering.  After he detonated the explosives one third of the federal building was destroyed, 168 people were dead, 680 people were injured and  324 buildings in a 16 block radius were damaged.  He planned his act of terrorism specifically to coincide with the anniversary of the end of the Waco Siege.  I got nervous that I would have to interact with Timothy McVeigh/David Koresh sympathizers.  I worried that something about me would easily ID me as a progressive, peace-loving supporter of gay rights and a woman's right over her own body.  Gayle told me she would be brave for both of us and drove us to the gate of the compound.

The gate was open when we arrived.  It is now called the Mt. Carmel Center.  There were 82 crepe myrtle trees planted in memory of the Branch Davidian members who died.  The current pastor of The Branch, the Lord of Righteousness, Charles Pace, personally chopped down the tree planted in memory of David Koresh.  

There is also a memorial stone in honor of the Branch Davidians who lost their lives and another one for the four ATF members who lost their lives.

We pulled up to the chapel.  The door was open and we joined other visitors as we explored what was on the walls of the chapel.

There was a T-shirt for sale with the photo of David Koresh holding a gun with the words "I will meet you at my door anytime".  It was almost enough to scare me right back out the door.

The Clintons and Jeb Bush were named as enemies but Donald Trump is considered a friend.

I learned so much about the history of this group.  I did not know they were a break off from the Seventh Day Adventists.  However, when I tried to find confirmation of some of the things I read on the walls of their chapel I struck out.  For example, it said that they broke off from the Seventh Day Adventists over a difference of opinion concerning conscientious objection.  I couldn't find anything about that history but then Google doesn't know everything.  It said that the leader of the Branch Davidians when David Koresh got involved was a woman named Lois Roden.  The timeline claimed that Lois and David began a physical relationship and that she became pregnant and then lost the child.  But when I looked up the birthdate of Lois Roden and checked that with the timeline that David Koresh could have impregnated her, she would have been 67.  Huh?  I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that possibility.  We didn't buy a T-shirt or a DVD.  Gayle did get a postcard.  

We headed back towards the gates of the center and passed this memorial to the "Seven Shepherds of the Advent Movement".

When we told people we were going to Waco everyone assumed we were going to "the silos."  I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.  Magnolia Market at the Silos is a shopping complex that encompasses two city blocks in Waco.  It is visible from a distance by its two silos.  The complex is owned by Chip and Joanna Gaines known for their HGTV series called "Fixer Upper."  We decided we had to see the place.

We poked our heads in a couple of the stores. There is a baseball field, a large grassy area where you can play corn hole and about a dozen food trucks.  Non-shoppers can play and eat while their shop-a-holic family members spend $30 on a Christmas ornament.

We didn't stay long.  We headed down the road to Magnolia Table, the Gaines' restaurant. They said the wait would be 35-40 minutes.  We were eager to get back on the road so we opted for Health Burger next door.  They do serve an amazing burger with good onion rings. I'm flummoxed on what is healthy about it.

We got to Austin at 4:30 p.m.  We are staying at an AirBnB near Zilker Park.  It isn't a place to write home about.  We agreed that it looked like the kind of place we lived in when we were poor and newly married.  None of the cabinets close, the laundry room is outside and the door is swollen so much it is hard to open and the whole place has a bit of mildew smell to it.  As Gayle got ready to crawl onto her bed she discovered it was hard as a rock.  It is very different from the incredible accommodations provided for us by our cousins.  

We got settled, worked on our blogs and then headed out to find dinner.  We ended up at Muse Fusion+Sushi.  We left having enjoyed some good sushi and edamame.  We plan on going to bed early and catching up on rest.  Tomorrow is another day of adventure.