When History Is Re-Written Through Memes
I recently browsing my Facebook feed when I've encountered the following meme:
Now a meme of this type demands examination. It has to be noted that the claim propelled by this meme is technically true, both in the specifics to Wounded Knee and in the general treatment of Native Americans by our government. The U.S. government carried out the forced removal of the Native Americans throughout the history of the country. The Native Americans lost their land and countless thousands were killed in the process.
However, this meme leaves out a very important detail: the reason why our government carried out their actions was because they had popular support from the general population. Did one selectively forgot Lincoln's Gettysburg quote "and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.". In a democracy, the government is essentially the collective representation of the general population that formed it. Where did the government's power to removal the Native Americans came from?
What a meme like this attempts to do is treat the quote "government" as a separate entity so that the general population (or their ancestors) remain blameless of their actions, both past and present, by passing the buck somewhere else. "It wasn't ME (or my ancestors), it was the GOVERNMENT!!!". Does one see the problem with this logic when one encounters a system of government where elected officials assume their powers from the general population? As much as I trash big money and its effect on modern politics; politicians, both past and present, were elected by the people (ie. us). Our ancestors were as much responsible for the policies that called for the removal of Native Americans because they supported their removal as a collective entity, and the government simply complied with that popular request.
Of course what a meme like this is designed to do is manifest unjustified fears not based on reality by misrepresenting a real-world event for its own selfish purpose. It just doesn't end their.
Waco
These memes frequent my Facebook feed all the time. What's troubling about them is that like the Wounded Knee meme, a real-world event is misrepresented for selfish reasons. Anyone who knew nothing about the Waco Siege would walk away from these memes thinking that the incident was a result of a proud American who suffered horrible because they stood up to a government that was trying to take away their guns.
For the uniformed, millennials, or adults who were alive at the time who developed a selective memory lapse, the Waco Siege becomes a battle for gun rights. David Koresh becomes an unfortunate victim turned hero as he died standing up to the mean-ole government who was trying to rob him of his guns. People who know nothing about the siege would be mistaken into believing that the horrific, toxic monster that is David Koresh was actually a hero and a martyr.
I can't live in a world where people in mass start to accept this rancid and pathetic excuse of a human being as a admirable and commendable personality who became an victim of unfortunate circumstance. As a result, David Koresh (among those who are repainting him and the incident) will be exposed for their absurd shenanigans. This should have already be a given considering the appalling and cruel actions of his crimes brought on by his cruel manipulation. Yet, many years after Waco, one had to retread painful ground because random nobody's who know nothing about history chose to misrepresent this painful event for politicized reasons.
Now, before I continue, one thing had to be acknowledged; massive mistakes were made on both side. I've seen various documentaries over the years (actual documentaries and not conspiracy bait from crackpots passing itself off as documentaries). Through various books, articles, and documentaries; one starts to get a very clear picture of David Koresh, and it's not a very positive one either I might add. Koresh was a manipulator who brainwashed people to his will.
Koresh manipulated the works of Biblical prophecy for his own purpose while fusing is own interpretation of social commentary into it as well. Koresh built a congregation based on fear. The fear that "they" are coming for you. Like any cult leader, Koresh exercised total control. He just didn't want people's material possessions and their money. He wanted their souls. Koresh exploited people's vulnerabilities for his own purpose and ego.
Through the instrument of fear, David Koresh crafted a very violent and destructive interpretation of Armageddon. However, not to be perceived as a fool in the eyes of his believers (he was already one among everybody else), Koresh needed to validate his beliefs. His whole belief system would come crashing down if his bloody interpretations weren't fulfilled. As such, his vision of Hell would have to be achieved at any cost, even if he forced the hands of others and at the cost of innocent children as well. For Koresh, their deaths were completely acceptable (since he never valued their lives in the first place. This is evident of his selfish and self-serving actions throughout the siege). He wouldn’t have it any other way. For those who embraced Koresh as the Messiah and savior who would rescue them, he became their destroyer instead. His vision of the Apocalypse would become a reality, much to their regret.
As mentioned. mistakes were made by both sides. The ATF and FBI made many colossal mistakes (The biggest was that they thought that they could actually reason with this insane, pathetic madman). However, with David Koresh, their never was going to be a happy ending regardless of circumstance. The persecution complex took hold among Koresh's followers.
The idea of the persecution complex isn't that persecution isn't inflicted to validate faith, but to provide that quote “I told you so” moment. As such, horrific pain must occur in order for a person’s faith to be validated. Koresh used prophecy as a weapon to control his followers. The works of prophecy were abused by a man who committed an atrocity. His corrupted beliefs would demand no less.
What makes this situation more depressing was that no one needed to die. The beliefs of the followers were never compromised and they weren't being asked to surrender their faith or die because of it However, Koresh had such a powerful grip on his followers and he was determined to lead them to a violent end. The strongest of false prophets will have that powerful grip on those who follow them. Men, women, and children died as a result of someone who manipulated God’s word for his own will. David Koresh is no martyr. He went from madman to monster, taking many with him. At the end of the day, Koresh, many of his followers, among many innocent children; died because of fateful decisions that was of Koresh's own making.
When The Waco Siege
Becomes Something That It Isn't
Before the siege, it was widely suspected that Koresh was engaging in polygamy and was married to multiple women, which is illegal here in the US. Koresh was an open advocate of it, taking many wives for his own. Their were allegations of sexual misconduct which started with claims of statutory rape occurring from underage brides. These were the allegations that set the wheels into motion. Because of these allegations, it was suspected that Koresh started to stockpile illegal weapons. For Koresh, Armageddon had been set into motion as the ATF began an investigation. This investigation was spurred when a UPS driver reported that a package heading towards the Compound broke open, revealing firearms, black powder, and inert grenade casings. It was also reported that the Branch Davidians were modifying guns to give them automatic fire capability.
No one is denying that Koresh, along with his followers, had a right to bear arms. However, those rights only exist when one buys guns lawfully though legal channels. Also, even when one exercises their Second Amendment right, that right only includes firearms that can be lawfully owned and whether that person has the permit to own that gun.
One could compare this to driving a car. Anyone has the right to drive a car. However, in order to exercise that right, one has to meet certain criteria and regulations. One can't just randomly hop into any random car and burn rubber. Their are laws that have to be followed and its no different with gun ownership. Also, while it's legal to own semi-automatic weapons, it's illegal to modify or convert them to fully-automatic use.
Koresh did not follow those laws. Their were numerous gun rights violations from Koresh's end. He abused his Second Amendment right by buying anything to his hearts content without restriction and not going through lawful channels, making a mockery of his Constitutional Right. After the raid, it was discovered that Koresh unlawfully accumulated a lot of firearms, a lot of them which were illegal to own. They include AK-47's and fully automatic AR-15's (Before the assault weapon ban expiration, one could still legally buy a AR-15 as long as it modified to be semi-automatic). Their were 46 semi-automatic firearms that were modified for fully-automatic use. As noted previously, while owning semi-automatic guns are legally, modifying them for full-automatic use isn't. A much-more complete list of inventory found is linked here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_siege#Branch_Davidians). Koresh was breaking the law and abusing the very right that many claimed that he was upholding. Koresh is not a victim.
One can only speculate where the meme came from. However, the fact that the Waco Siege was re-casted as a fight for gun rights is a massive disservice for history as the Waco Siege wasn't about that at all. Also, by recasting the Waco Siege as such, Koresh, a monster who used fear as a tool to manipulate people, now becomes hero who stood up to the government. This is the part that I took the most offense too. Koresh is not a hero. The irony is that this meme is used to stoke fear in the same manner that Koresh used fear to control his followers.
On late January, I did a article covering the topic of the NRA's demise. The NRA was a once-proud organization that destroyed it's credibility because they became very politized and engaged in polarization and violent rhetoric. The NRA used fear as an tool to control and exploit the most gullible off their members. They stoked polarized views that weren't based on reality. The NRA's demise was of their own making. However, the NRA was reformed as "Project Freedom". After looking at the demise of the NRA, one would be concluded that the new organization wouldn't repeat the same mistakes as its predecessor (using fear, polarization, violent rhetoric, and engaging in extreme pollicization). However, it looks as if anything Project Freedom is going to double down on these destructive attributes. I can make the safe assumption that these memes came from intense supporters who misrepresented this event for their own purpose.
I'm ending the article with this; David Koresh is a monster. Calling him a vile, disturbing piece of crap is about the least controversial thing anyone could say about him. He isn't a martyr, hero, or victim, and he shouldn't be painted as such either. The Waco Siege wasn't about gun rights. Anyone who picks up a actual history book would know this. The Waco Siege was brought on by a madman criminal who was intent to build a compound where he would become both Messiah and thought police simultaneously. While mistakes were made on both sides, at the end of the day, their wouldn't be a happy ending as Koresh was intent on making his vision of Hell a reality. His cult personality was so strong that he would drag his followers, and many innocent children, to their horrible demise. This is the Koresh that people need to know. This is the Waco Siege that people need to know.
FRONTLINE : Waco: The Inside Story - https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/waco/
Wikipedia : Waco Siege - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_siege
Wikipedia : Branch Davidians : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_Davidians
Wikipedia : David Koresh - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh
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