WACO

I was shocked to hear in lecture that 93 people commited suicide under the influence of Vernon Howell or his adopted name David Koresh. I think that Koresh must have been a very charasmatic leader to be able to persuade the whole group of 92 members and himself to commit suicide. Reading reports from the WACO incident I learnt that it might not have been a suicide. The reports say that the doors were barricaded from the inside when the explosion went off and the bodies of the group were layed down in a ritualised position . This to me suggests a suicide however; it is not conclusive evidence. So this means that nobody really knows what happened at the WACO building.

There is evidence from surviving group members who left the group before the disaster happened which says that Koresh claimed all the women members as his own. In my opinion this act by Koresh is absurd as he has no right to claim the women members. I find it hard to understand why all the members didn't leave instead of just Marc Breunt (male member) and Robyn Bunds (a wife of a group member).

When looking at this cult I have concluded that although David Koresh had a individually deviant character there is not enough information to conclude whether the group acted upon individual or group deviance.

For more information visit the links below

http://www.serendipity.li/waco.html

http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=37

Daniel Lloyd 0600618