Excellent. Thank you Asha. I learned a lot. My friend, Dr. Erroll Southers wrote Homegrown Violent Extremism, which may be of interest to you and your readers.
Thanks Asha - important information connecting the dots. The Toobin and Belew books are key references. I read “Bring The War Home” by Belew recently and was sadly enlightened on how much recruiting for white nationalists causes happens via the US Military and first responders.
The article outlines a good rationale to remove Fox “news” from military bases. Fox TV acts as a Trojan horse of brainwashing and radicalization. It’s an immediate and easy thing to do to ban Fox on bases and other govt sites as a disinformation source that puts American security at risk.
Well done and comprehensive in drawing a line of connective tissues from the Oklahoma City bombing by Tim Mcveigh to Jan 6 thugs rioting to prevent the peaceful transition of power in the USA. I will add one more disturbing ingredient. Rush Limbaugh began his AM Radio Talk Show on a nationwide basis in 1989. It lasted till his death in 2020. About 31 years of three hours per day, every weekday Mondays through Fridays broadcast in most major cities and small towns across the USA. Talk about indoctrination and brainwashing!! But wait, there’s more. The people behind Rush Limbaugh including successfully negotiated the the US military to have it broadcast on every military base worldwide. In every PX. Asha your scholarship is as always, top notch. The race war theme is huge and it goes back to the mass murderer Charles Manson. The so called coming race war was something he preached to his people as well. It’s such total and complete BS but many white men seem to have this fear and belief in their DNA. We have made much progress in breaking down racism in my own lifetime, but we have many more Miles to trudge before we get home. Onwards.
I was working in a screen print shop in Lewisville, TX when news of the OKC bombing dropped. We overrode our very conservative manager and changed his Christian radio over to NPR so we could listen to what was happening. Suddenly, our warehouse manager charges in screaming out Islamic terror and Iran. His son worked with us and had to talk him down. Warehouse manager was a Vietnam vet, big time PTSD, and extremely vocal about conspiracy theories. It was sad having to keep some of the jerks I worked with from pranking him with fireworks and loud bangs. Not long after that, I learned what a Rush Limbaugh was. I look at the whole period working there during that time in a *very* different light these days. Fantastic read!
Sobering & thought-provoking article. It feels like this real-time confluence of elements (bolder racists / anti-semitism, anti-LGBTQ legislation, culturizing of misinformation, mass-shootings + the attendant 'thoughts & prayers' from GOP, defeat of Roe) shows no sign of relenting. The cockroaches are becoming more resilient to sunlight that would have chased them back into the dark only 20 years ago; the comparatively analog era of McVeigh was the only thing that left him much less capable of finding / networking w/ a larger pool of like-minded individuals, in comparison to today's social media market. As the parent of a trans teen, I am weekly demoralized by reports from states like Florida. I encourage unregistered colleagues (especially younger ones) to get signed-up to vote, and attend equal rights rallies whenever I can. I wish there was more I could do. Asha, do you have any suggestions? Best regards, big fan of your work / writing....
My goodness. Talk about a trip down memory lane. Thanks to you and Jeffrey Toobin I have a much clearer picture of the events I lived through.
And I actually watched some of that subcommittee hearing recently and was horrified by the complete lack of decorum, let alone common sense. I was glad for the articulate women who attempted to set the record straight about the “witnesses.”But bullying bluster seemed to be the rule of the day. And the spectators wearing political slogans should not have been allowed into the room.
Thanks for an excellent connection of dots. I'd appreciate your thoughts on "stochastic terrorism" which seems to be what you are talking about. I have always been a First Amendment advocate--I agree with the Skokie court--but the rise of hate speech to the degree it engulfs American is causing me some doubts. Do you think there will ever be a way to sue the propagator of hate speech for instigating a "lone wolf" to violence where the lone wolf specifically admits to (or otherwise be shown to ) having been inspired by that speech (as several 1/6 defendants seem to have done.)
There would obviously have to be strict burden of proof requirements and a way to link the violent to the propagator that relies on more than the violent's words (which might be said to prompt a plea deal or the mercy of the court). Do you think that will ever be possible, though we might have to wait for a different balance in the supremes to get to it.
Man, this was well-done. I think it took me 8 minutes to read on my phone yet there was so much connective tissue effectively connected.
Bravo, Asha (and Jeff Toobin)!
Excellent. Thank you Asha. I learned a lot. My friend, Dr. Erroll Southers wrote Homegrown Violent Extremism, which may be of interest to you and your readers.
https://books.google.com/books/about/Homegrown_Violent_Extremism.html?id=cyagBAAAQBAJ
A podcast that shows the links between events in far-right extremism in the US is Long Shadow: Rise of the American Right.
Thanks Asha - important information connecting the dots. The Toobin and Belew books are key references. I read “Bring The War Home” by Belew recently and was sadly enlightened on how much recruiting for white nationalists causes happens via the US Military and first responders.
Thank you, Asha.
You have created an awesome piece of work!
The article outlines a good rationale to remove Fox “news” from military bases. Fox TV acts as a Trojan horse of brainwashing and radicalization. It’s an immediate and easy thing to do to ban Fox on bases and other govt sites as a disinformation source that puts American security at risk.
Well done and comprehensive in drawing a line of connective tissues from the Oklahoma City bombing by Tim Mcveigh to Jan 6 thugs rioting to prevent the peaceful transition of power in the USA. I will add one more disturbing ingredient. Rush Limbaugh began his AM Radio Talk Show on a nationwide basis in 1989. It lasted till his death in 2020. About 31 years of three hours per day, every weekday Mondays through Fridays broadcast in most major cities and small towns across the USA. Talk about indoctrination and brainwashing!! But wait, there’s more. The people behind Rush Limbaugh including successfully negotiated the the US military to have it broadcast on every military base worldwide. In every PX. Asha your scholarship is as always, top notch. The race war theme is huge and it goes back to the mass murderer Charles Manson. The so called coming race war was something he preached to his people as well. It’s such total and complete BS but many white men seem to have this fear and belief in their DNA. We have made much progress in breaking down racism in my own lifetime, but we have many more Miles to trudge before we get home. Onwards.
I spent 20 years in federal law enforcement. This is the best synopsis of Timothy McVeigh and the connections to today. Amazing work! Thank You!
I was working in a screen print shop in Lewisville, TX when news of the OKC bombing dropped. We overrode our very conservative manager and changed his Christian radio over to NPR so we could listen to what was happening. Suddenly, our warehouse manager charges in screaming out Islamic terror and Iran. His son worked with us and had to talk him down. Warehouse manager was a Vietnam vet, big time PTSD, and extremely vocal about conspiracy theories. It was sad having to keep some of the jerks I worked with from pranking him with fireworks and loud bangs. Not long after that, I learned what a Rush Limbaugh was. I look at the whole period working there during that time in a *very* different light these days. Fantastic read!
Asha etal,
ICYMI Tonight (28 May) 60 Minutes lead with a short but interesting article on Radio Free Europe.
Excellent read, thank you
My father was in the military. He is pro-Trump. You are right with the extremists
Toobin lacks any credibility since his public masturbation on a zoom call with his publisher.
Sobering & thought-provoking article. It feels like this real-time confluence of elements (bolder racists / anti-semitism, anti-LGBTQ legislation, culturizing of misinformation, mass-shootings + the attendant 'thoughts & prayers' from GOP, defeat of Roe) shows no sign of relenting. The cockroaches are becoming more resilient to sunlight that would have chased them back into the dark only 20 years ago; the comparatively analog era of McVeigh was the only thing that left him much less capable of finding / networking w/ a larger pool of like-minded individuals, in comparison to today's social media market. As the parent of a trans teen, I am weekly demoralized by reports from states like Florida. I encourage unregistered colleagues (especially younger ones) to get signed-up to vote, and attend equal rights rallies whenever I can. I wish there was more I could do. Asha, do you have any suggestions? Best regards, big fan of your work / writing....
My goodness. Talk about a trip down memory lane. Thanks to you and Jeffrey Toobin I have a much clearer picture of the events I lived through.
And I actually watched some of that subcommittee hearing recently and was horrified by the complete lack of decorum, let alone common sense. I was glad for the articulate women who attempted to set the record straight about the “witnesses.”But bullying bluster seemed to be the rule of the day. And the spectators wearing political slogans should not have been allowed into the room.
Please continue trying to hold the fort!
Thanks for an excellent connection of dots. I'd appreciate your thoughts on "stochastic terrorism" which seems to be what you are talking about. I have always been a First Amendment advocate--I agree with the Skokie court--but the rise of hate speech to the degree it engulfs American is causing me some doubts. Do you think there will ever be a way to sue the propagator of hate speech for instigating a "lone wolf" to violence where the lone wolf specifically admits to (or otherwise be shown to ) having been inspired by that speech (as several 1/6 defendants seem to have done.)
There would obviously have to be strict burden of proof requirements and a way to link the violent to the propagator that relies on more than the violent's words (which might be said to prompt a plea deal or the mercy of the court). Do you think that will ever be possible, though we might have to wait for a different balance in the supremes to get to it.