A review by enchantingreads_rosyreviews
Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism by Jeffrey Toobin

challenging informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

"... these acts of terror were not random lightning strikes by demented individuals; they were targeted political acts of right against left."

(Gonna do my best to keep this within the guidelines, but the topic makes it hard.) Alright, first, let me say, I am a total geek for political & “bad guy” communication. I literally have a degree in Communication Studies to match my passion of analyzing speech & its motivating power. And my dream job is to be a speech writer, work on a political communications team, or be an analyst at a federal 3-letter agency (FBI, CIA, DHS, DoD, DoS, etc.). So, this book really brought my inner nerd out because Jeffrey clearly laid out how Timothy McVeigh viewed the state of the country before taking matters into his own hands with his devastating action & how communication from right-wing figures like Rush Limbaugh, or publications like The Spotlight & The Turner Diaries, impacted his views on the state of the country.

"McVeigh understood the potential of his right-wing compatriots for joining him in violent action. “I believe there is an army out there, ready to rise up, even though I never found it,” McVeigh told his attorney Jones. But that doesn’t mean his army wasn’t there. McVeigh failed to find his army because he had no efficient way to locate and mobilize potential allies; in other words, McVeigh didn’t have the internet, in particular social media. As it turned out, there was an army of McVeigh’s heirs out there, but it took the invention of cyberspace for the soldiers to find one another."

Although he's definitely a villain in the American story, McVeigh is one example of a much larger beast lurking in the shadows. (Well, not so much in the shadows anymore.) And I really don't want to get into a political debate, because this is not that. This is about communication & how it's been used to radicalize individuals to take action against their government. This is also not just an American problem. There have been similar right-wing/conservative movements in other nations across the world. One side has been using inflammatory language to stoke an increase in violence & they have only grown since McVeigh's time in the 90s. These homegrown threats must be called out as such & held accountable for their actions: not just the actions of the violent actors, but the actions of those who used language to fuel the spark of rebellion until it became a devastating inferno.

"McVeigh told Jones, the “kill ratio” of child-to-adult victims was 1:5 in Waco, whereas in Oklahoma City it was 1:10, so his actions were not as “inhumane” as those of the federal government. McVeigh’s rationalization for murdering the children in the Murrah building provided a useful reminder of his soulless fanaticism."

"...complaining that no one had criticized Truman when he dropped the bomb on innocent women and children. He said that there was no point in bombing the Oklahoma building at night, because then all the damage would just be to property, and the government would just build it again. He said this is the nineties, and you ‘can’t make a statement without a body count.’"

Again, as a political, history & communication nerd, this book completely fascinated me. The argument that McVeigh could’ve been more dangerous if he’d found & connected to others who shared his viewpoints, immediately proves how dangerous the current right-wing extremist movement is. Today’s figures have social media, strong internet connection, etc. to strengthen their networks & plan events. McVeigh didn’t & he knew, at the time, his act was limited but he hoped to inspire others to rise up. In a way, he did… it just took a couple of decades. This book is firstly about McVeigh, a villain in the American story, but it’s clear his & the extremist views he held, remain a prominent part of society & it’s important to recognize it, name it, & work against it to smother the flame before vital institutions burn to the ground. 
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