NCJ Number
167816
Date Published
1996
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was inspired by the rhetoric of the growing radical right movement; the views of this movement, which include racist ideologies, are shared by many mainstream conservatives.
Abstract
Virulent strains of right-wing thought have always been present in American life, but reactionary propaganda has found an especially appreciative audience in the last 10 to 15 years, particularly since the Democrats recaptured the White House in 1992. Two events -- the fiery end to the Branch Davidian compound in 1993 and the siege of Randy Weaver's home in 1992 -- have heightened the anxieties of right-wingers about an imminent government confiscation of firearms and private property. The radical right consists of an embattled subculture of conspiracists who believe their way of life and their ideology is under attack from the Federal Government. Most conservatives broadly sympathize with many of their concerns but disavow their new world order paranoia and malevolent rhetoric. At the local level, there are a number of causes that blur the distinction between conservatism and right-wing radicalism. One is the anti- gun control movement led by the National Rifle Association, and another is the Wise Use movement, which views private property as sacred and opposes all forms of land-use planning. The most significant, perhaps, is the anti-abortion movement. Placed in the context of escalating levels of anti-abortion clinic violence and the emergence of a militia movement that has tapped into the politics of vengeance, the Oklahoma City bombing shows the capacity of right-wing ideology to fuel acts of barbarism.