Educated

The bell rang. The auditorium emptied. I went to the computer lab. I
hesitated for a moment over the keyboard—struck by a premonition that this
was information I might regret knowing—then typed “Ruby Ridge” into the
browser. According to Wikipedia, Ruby Ridge was the site of a deadly
standoff between Randy Weaver and a number of Federal agencies, including
the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI.
The name Randy Weaver was familiar, and even as I read it I heard it
falling from my father’s lips. Then the story as it had lived in my imagination
for thirteen years began replaying in my mind: the shooting of a boy, then of
his father, then of his mother. The Government had murdered the entire
family, parents and children, to cover up what they had done.
I scrolled past the backstory to the first shooting. Federal agents had
surrounded the Weaver cabin. The mission was surveillance only, and the
Weavers were unaware of the agents until a dog began to bark. Believing the
dog had sensed a wild animal, Randy’s fourteen-year-old son, Sammy,
charged into the woods. The agents shot the dog, and Sammy, who was
carrying a gun, opened fire. The resulting conflict left two dead: a federal
agent and Sammy, who was retreating, running up the hill toward the cabin,
when he was shot in the back.
I read on. The next day, Randy Weaver was shot, also in the back, while
trying to visit his son’s body. The corpse was in the shed, and Randy was
lifting the latch on the door, when a sniper took aim at his spine and missed.
His wife, Vicki, moved toward the door to help her husband and again the
sniper opened fire. The bullet struck her in the head, killing her instantly as
she held their ten-month-old daughter. For nine days the family huddled in
the cabin with their mother’s body, until finally negotiators ended the
standoff and Randy Weaver was arrested.
I read this last line several times before I understood it. Randy Weaver was
alive? Did Dad know?
I kept reading. The nation had been outraged. Articles had appeared in
nearly every major newspaper blasting the government’s callous disregard for
life. The Department of Justice had opened an investigation, and the Senate
had held hearings. Both had recommended reforms to the rules of
engagement, particularly concerning the use of deadly force.
The Weavers had filed a wrongful death suit for $200 million but settled
out of court when the government offered Vicki’s three daughters $1 million
each. Randy Weaver was awarded $100,000 and all charges, except two