NCJ Number
207083
Journal
Theoretical Criminology Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2004 Pages: 323-339
Date Published
August 2004
Length
17 pages
Annotation
As a contribution to a cultural criminology of terrorism, this study summarizes the social histories of some 40 neo-Nazi men.
Abstract
This study draws on survey research, trial transcripts, court records, original interviews, a secret diary, journalistic accounts, and the author's own ethnography. In addition to committing a number of violent hate crime, some of the men included in this study were involved in a series of well-executed bank robberies in order to fund terrorist attacks that included sabotaging public utilities, derailing trains, assassinations, and bombings, including the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. These men also have used subcultural products of literature, music, and film to promote their ideology and inspire a new generation of home-grown terrorists in the United States. Through such media, these men are committed to creating a subculture of religiously and politically inspired violence. The stimuli of cultural conditioning forge attitudes and behaviors designed to gain praise, acceptance, and a sense of self-worth within that cultural context. The development of a cultural criminology of terrorism and its ideology of apocalyptic violence is essential for understanding and countering this worldwide phenomenon. 2 case studies and 30 references