BONUS: ‘An American Bombing’ Delivers A Potent Warning About Right-Wing Extremism
Check out my review at Primetimer!
I reviewed the HBO documentary An American Bombing: The Road To April 19th for Primetimer. It’s important viewing, even if dispiriting. Head over there to read my thoughts in full and let me know what you think.
Here’s an excerpt:
When [Timothy] McVeigh ignited a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City, he murdered 168 people, including 19 children, and injured 680 others. The immediate response was horror and disbelief: This couldn’t happen “here.” People assumed the culprits were Middle Eastern terrorists, specifically individuals who looked nothing like the very middle American McVeigh. Former President Bill Clinton, who’s interviewed at length, urged against jumping to conclusions, and he recounts here how he came to believe this was a homegrown attack. In 1995, that seemed inconceivable, but 30 years later, violent right-wing extremism is an escalating threat.
An American Bombing features clips of the late Rush Limbaugh lamenting that America is no longer “your country.” There was never any doubt that his definition of “your” was more racially exclusive than the most restrictive country club. The documentary directly links Limbaugh’s rhetoric to the growing radicalization of men like McVeigh.
An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th premiered Tuesday on HBO and Max
Follow Stephen Robinson on Bluesky and Threads.
Subscribe to his YouTube channel for more fun content.
Just finished watching it. On a macro level, it serves as a warning. I agree with this, from your review: “disturbingly like something commonly heard on today’s right-wing media.” Or from the current GOP candidate. I’ve spoken to conservative friends who’ve fallen for the Fox talking points about Antifa and tourists and a divisive Joe Biden. My arguments fall on deaf ears.
On a micro level, the stories of empathy and forgiveness could also be a lesson too. As one family member noted, Nichols became the son of a friend instead of JUST the bomber. Maybe we just need to see each other as people.
To quote Hemingway- isn’t it pretty to think so
If you haven’t seen “The Unsocial Network” I highly recommend you do. Shows the seeds of Qanon and how it all started mainly by a lot of geeky hackers just having inside jokes and turned to something very malevolent that we see today.