Friday, April 5, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Branch Davidian Quote
“There are three crucial points to understanding the Branch Davidian brand of religion.
First, God can appear in the flesh as a man. Second, that man doesn't have to
be a good person. Third, if you question whether that man is God, then
you are questioning God. In other words, the devil is responsible for
your doubt.” -- Shelia Martin, A Branch Davidian
Conspiracy
Please discuss in this section whether you believe this event was part of a conspiracy theory or if it was a separate event?
We believe that this event was part of a conspiracy theory, but the conspiracy is "who started the explosion or fire." We believe that the explosion of the warehouse was started unintentionally by the FBI, SWAT, and ATF agents, who were rapidly firing at the building for hours on end.
Causes of the Event
Question : What caused this event? Explain the history behind the event and what may have led up to this event occurring.
A UPS driver was delivering a package to the warehouse and discovered that it had broken open, revealing illegal guns, black powder, and grenades. The driver reported it to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. They issued a warrant to search and seize any illegal weapons.
Impact of the Event
Discuss the impact from the event. What were the immediate repercussions and what is the impact upon society today? How are our lives different because of this event?
This event impacted society today by making us more aware of different religious and social groups. One repercussion of the Waco Texas Combine is gun regulation and rules in the United States. The government is becoming more strict about gun control due to incidents that have happened in the past, including the Waco Texas Combine. The Davidians gained possession of many illegal firearms, and the government is trying to stop people from gaining illegal weapons again. Our lives are becoming more safe through gun control and safety laws the government is administrating.
Main Facts
Question : Research your topic to discover what happened during your
event. What are the main facts and story lines?
A man by the name of David Koresh created a cult, the Branch Davidians, who had their own society in a warehouse. A UPS delivery man discovered a mail container that had busted open, revealing illegal firearms. He then reported it to the police and ATF agents got involved, who then received a search warrant to seize the illegal firearms and to discover if there were more. The Davidians refused to let the agents inside Mt. Carmel (the warehouse the cult was hiding/living), causing a 51 day gun standoff, ending in a disastrous fire or explosion, killing 82 Davidians and 4 ATF agents.
Differing Opinions
Emma- I believe that the ATF/FBI agents started the fire in Waco, Texas unintentionally after firing upon the combine or Mount Carmel containing the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh. Investigations of the Mount Carmel ashes show evidence of tear gas bullets which were used by the FBI, along with the ATF, and were commonly known to cause fires. The FBI agents tried to convince the Branch Davidians to come out of Mount Carmel and weren’t trying to cause them harm. They were trying to keep others in Waco, Texas safe. On the fifty-first day of the standoff, the FBI agents were allowing women and children to exit the building for their safety. Many women chose to stay and follow who they believed was their “God”, David Koresh. The Branch Davidians were believed to have a barricade inside Mount Carmel, which could have been one cause of the fire. If the Davidians were firing along with the FBI, then either side could have easily hit the barricade and cause the gunpowder to explode. Also, the Davidians had been collecting illegal firearms and seemed to have much more ammunition then the FBI and the FBI could have hit a storage of the Davidians firearms as well.
Hanna- I agree with the conspiracy that we, the US, started the confrontation between the Davidian Branch. When finding an opened package in the mail of gunpowder, grenades, and illegal firearms, we became concerned with what the Davidians had planned and also not being able to get access to the inside of the building. The ATF and the FBI did whatever it was going to take to get the people out. They yelled through megaphones, used strobe lights, and used other obnoxious techniques to force them out. When the Davidians held their ground and remained inside, the FBI and ATF fired the first shot at the Davidians. In self-defense, they fought back. Without warning or knowing of the use of tear gas, a flammable substance, played a factor in the building blowing up. We were not suppose to use tear gas, however. With the amount of ammunition and explosives the Davidians had, any shot a could have started a fire. The building was not intended to be blown up. We believe it was a freak accident.
Alexis- I agree with the conspiracy that WE unwittingly started the fire in the Waco, Texas Combine incident because most of the evidence that we as a group have found points to the fact that the FBI door teams started shooting first. I believe that the fire was started unintentionally by the use of firearms shooting into the building, striking an explosive material barricading the doors of the warehouse. Also, the FBI was unaware of the fact of the use of tear gas, which is very flammable. Our group believes that the tear gas, the barricades, and the firing of the guns all contributed to the fire.
Celia - I agree with the fact that our (FBI, SWAT, and ATF) agents were the people to start the explosion of the WACO Combine or Mt. Carmel building with all the Branch Davidians inside. I agree with this conspiracy because when researching the topic, most of the facts we found were in support of the fact the all the FBI, ATF, and SWAT agents fired the first shot that eventually lead to the explosion of the building. Also, we were the ones who used tear gases on the building and Branch Davidians inside, which helped create the massive fire. However, I do not think that the fire was started intentionally. I think that as we kept firing, all the barricades the Branch Davidians had set up containing weapons, gunpowder, and grenades, which began to explode and created a chain reaction, eventually causing the massive explosion.
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