Pondering Timothy McVeigh's Lethal Legacy

I watched with more than a passing interest news coverage of Monday's ceremony at the Oklahoma City National Memorial commemorating the 15th anniversary of the bombing of a federal building that killed 168 people because I've had a constant reminder of it for the past two-and-a-half years. And I felt a sense of uneasiness as I wondered if we've learned any lessons from it.

The reminder is a dark blue coffee mug that sits on my desk, in my office and at home, which bears a large oval made from Oklahoma's ubiquitous red clay that is etched with the words "Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum." Inside the oval is an impressionistic outline of a tree, called the Survivor Tree.

The Survivor Tree is a scraggly 90-year-old American elm that stands on the highest point of the three-acre site in downtown Oklahoma City that was, until Sept. 11, 2001, the worst act of terrorism on American soil. It was badly damaged, but survived, and is now surrounded by a circular granite inscribed with the words, "The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us."

You cannot go there, as I did many times while teaching at the University of Oklahoma in the fall of 2007, without being profoundly moved.

You think about how a 27-year-old anti-government fanatic named Timothy McVeigh loaded a truck with 4,800 pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil and detonated it in directly in front of the nine-story Alfred P. Murragh Federal Building at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995. The explosion, which was felt 40 miles away, created a 30-foot crater and blew away the front of the building, collapsing its floors and trapping victims inside.

And if you tour the Memorial's museum, located in a former newspaper building facing the Murragh Building, which also was badly damaged, as were some 300 other surrounding buildings, you will be even more moved. It's a stunning museum, but the most stunning thing is sitting in a darkened room and listening to an audio of a routine hearing underway at the nearby Oklahoma Water Resources Board, and then hearing the actual explosion and confusion that followed.

Equally unforgettable is the news footage taken minutes after the explosion and the video of the chaos that followed as rescue workers tried to dig victims out of the rubble. Especially chilling is the footage from a security camera that captured McVeigh driving his truck past a nearby apartment building just before reaching his target. The axle housing of his truck, which was found 575 feet away from the explosion, is also on display, along with hundreds of personal items and artifacts.

There's much more to see and hear at this incredibly moving Memorial, including the 168 metal chairs arrayed alongside a 318-foot reflecting pool that represents the people who died that terrible day. But perhaps the most moving sights, especially if you go there at night, are the illuminated metal chairs bearing the names of the victims, especially the small chairs with the names of the 19 children who were in the building's day care center that fateful morning.

And then, as you proceed around the Memorial grounds, you encounter hundreds of hand-painted ceramic tiles from children, one of which asks the impossible question: "Can't we all just get along?" And along the wall outside the Memorial are hundreds of personal messages and notes, including teddy bears and children's toys. And just across the street is an arresting statue of a Christ figure holding its hands over its eyes as though unable to comprehend the senseless violence before it.

Ironically, my initial visit took place shortly after I arrived in Oklahoma on the same day that hundreds of people gathered in Littleton, Colo., to dedicate a memorial to the victims of the Columbine High School massacre, and only a few months after I drove from Washington to Oklahoma and passed by Blacksburg, Va., where 32 students were murdered by a crazed gunman on April 16, 2007, and Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., the scene of an historic desegregation battle half a century ago.

When I was teaching at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, 30 miles south of Oklahoma City, I often took the journalists, politicians, authors and newspaper publishers I'd invited to speak to my students to see the Oklahoma City National Memorial before driving them to Norman. Often it was in the late afternoon and early evening, and they were silent and usually speechless after viewing the illuminated chairs of the victims arrayed around the reflecting pool.

I've been there at least a half dozen time since, as recently as last fall, and each time, I came away convinced that history constantly confronts us with haunting reminders of the good and evil that human beings are capable of. Oklahoma City, it seemed to me, still bears many scars, physical and emotional, from that terrible day 15 years ago. But I was always comforted by the feeling that it had found strength and solace in a place where compassion and kindness overcame an evil act of terrorism.

Now, however, I'm not so sure. I hear the expressions of rage and hatred directed towards Washington and the Obama administration from the Tea Partiers and those who see the federal government as oppressors and enemies of the people. And I see those who insist on carrying loaded weapons to public rallies, as they did in Virginia today, and I wonder if there are more Oklahoma Cities in our future. I certainly hope not, but I suspect there are more Timothy McVeighs out there, waiting to imitate his crazed impulses.

 

Comments

[GorBud]

01:08 PM on 04/21/2010

The Tea Party this the Tea Party that give it up already. Tim McVeigh was a crazy person who was pushed over the line NOT by words and political thought. If I remember right he set his bomb on the same date as the Waco massacre of men, women and CHILDREN after actions taken by Bill Clinton. David Kursh was crazy. No one carried on and blamed Clinton. But this Tea Party peaceful protest group has had to bear the burden of reckless charges of racism, being red necks, dumb and on and on. Now the narrative of the left and its useful idiots is that their MIGHT be a POTENTIAL for some kind of violence hidden in their protest language. Well there was ACTUAL violence brought on by ACTUAL ACTIONS taken by Janet Reno where children really were killed. Not much wringing of hands over that was there. I am not a Tea Party person but for goodness sake stop trying to kill a fly with a shotgun. These people only pose a threat to the left at the next election. But apparently a threat is all that is needed to put the Sol Alinski crowd into overdrive.

[AnotherunhappyDemocrat]

02:59 PM on 04/21/2010

And apparently having to deal with reality and the consequences of your rhetoric and actions is a big threat to the Faux Noise crowd, and any mention of that puts you people into overdrive.

[GorBud]

07:32 PM on 04/21/2010

Oh! Oh! that other bogeyman Fox News. Not a big fan. But at least they kick up a little dust at the administration rather then getting tingles up their collective legs when Pres. Obama reads from the teleprompter. The press seems to service (yeah you know) this administration rather then report on or about them. Who is watching the government you?http://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-eisele/pondering-timothy-mcveigh_b_543807.html?show_comment_id=45182363#

[Al Eisele]

10:32 AM on 04/21/2010

SageontheHudson: You might at least have spelled my name right. Al Eisele

[Backspace2525]

09:46 AM on 04/21/2010

"Finally, as he was about to be sentenced, the court asked him if he would like to speak. He did. He rose and said, “I wish to use the words of Justice Brandeis dissenting in Olmstead to speak for me. He wrote, ‘Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or ill, it teaches the whole people by its example.’” Then McVeigh was sentenced to death by the government."
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2001/09/mcveigh200109?currentPage=1

‘Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or ill, it teaches the whole people by its example.’

Then McVeigh was sentenced to death by the government.

[Backspace2525]

11:13 AM on 04/21/2010

McVeigh quotes again from Justice Brandeis: “Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or ill it teaches the whole people by its example.”
He stops there. But Brandeis goes on to write in his dissent,
“Crime is contagious. If the government becomes the law breaker, it breeds contempt for laws; it invites every man to become a law unto himself.” Thus the straight-arrow model soldier unleashed his terrible swift sword and the innocent died. But then a lawless government, Brandeis writes, “invites anarchy. To declare that in the administration of the criminal law the end justifies the means—to declare that the government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a private criminal—would bring terrible retribution.”
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2001/09/mcveigh200109?currentPage=4

[Enock Zamora]

09:37 AM on 04/21/2010

Will another kind of Oklahoma city bombing happen again? Google (Charlotte Iserbyt), she was the top senior advisor on education for President Reagan and wrote a book called, "The Dumbing down of America"). If you asked the (think tanks) of the Republican party if school was for education, they would laugh in your face. She will tell you how it is done.
Now the "tea party", you make the (fatal) mistake like others to not seperate the tea party, from the tea party express, a Republican movement to confuse the people from what is the good party and the bad tea party. In the "Gospel of Philip", per batum: "They took the name of those that are good, and gave it to those that are not good, so that throgh the names they might deceive him and bind them to those that are not good". In this same book, it tells you how your DNA was changed (the two trees of life in the garden), and dumbed you down to not figure all this out. Link: www.thereluctantmessenger.com

[normathumb]

08:07 AM on 04/21/2010

To some, McVeigh is a modern day John Brown, no less noble for having jumped the gun. The crackpot coalition has it's own heros.

[Zonie]

08:55 AM on 04/21/2010

Who did?

ME? Because I answered a question with a smartarse response and a great painting?

McVey was no John Brown.

[Stephen Herrington]

03:26 AM on 04/21/2010

McVeigh is easily understood. The tapes he made just prior to his death are revealing. In the telling of his story on his terms only, there is a recurrent theme. It is that, in his own words, he made no mistakes, ever. He constructed a brittle cocoon of delusion in which he alone was competent. There is no way to edit out or hide psychosis, it colors every answer to every question. He conversed in a language different on the level of a difference in species.

Is there more than one Tim McVeigh out there? Of course there is. What he thought and with whom he associated is less important than what he was, a sociopath who broke the plane into psychosis. His fixation on Waco is indicative of a clinical paranoia. There was no lesson to be learned from Waco other than the fact that law enforcement does not often have to deal with full goose bozo crazys like Koresh. The law did not know how to deal with Jim Jones in Guyana. It did not know how to deal with Charlie Manson until Vincent Bugliosi opened the crack through which we could view the total unrepentant classically evil insanity of fable.

Would 4/19 have happened without Waco and Ruby ridge? There is no way of knowing. Would McVeigh have killed eventually? Likely. Just ask if a political goal is worth unleashing another McVeigh through validating his darkest paranoid fantasies. For the GOP it obviously is.

[Zonie]

04:52 AM on 04/21/2010

You're missing something really important.
The trick about psychopaths is they are self inciting. They don't live on the same plane the rest of us do...

It is likely they wouldn't even understand the rationale of these so called inciters....

They don't like Mondays.....so they kill. OR the Catcher in the Rye and TAXI DRIVER told them to aill. Or a dog named Sam did......

Whatchu gonna do about THAT? Thing is.....YOU CAN'T PREDICT PSYCHOPATHIC BEHAVIOR.

Why? Well....they're psychopathic.....

Antisocials on the other hand......are a whole 'nother ball of wax.....

[ewilder]

06:32 AM on 04/21/2010

" (T)here is a recurrent theme. It is that, in his own words, he made no mistakes, ever. He constructed a brittle cocoon of delusion in which he alone was competent. There is no way to edit out or hide psychosis, it colors every answer to every question. He conversed in a language different on the level of a difference in species." - myou are also describing George W. Bush - and he got into the White House. The McVeigh sickness runs deep in American soil. One can understand mob anger as a kind of groupthink, but this notion of the individual so certain he is right that he can disregard the rights of others and even destroy them if they stand in his way is a peculiarly American form of paranoid schizophrenia, so virulent that we hardly notice it until it erupts in violence, or drags us down into illegal wars overseas.. So sad in a nation with a Constitution dedicated to the spirit of compromise.

[GorBud]

01:32 PM on 04/21/2010

This is by no means an American "thing." The lone wolf nut has been around since forever. Hitler turned an entire country into mass murders. The human heart can unleash much misery or joy. Unless you have lived in many countries and studied their cultures, mores and how metal illness manifests itself your observations on America are just a reflection of your negative view of your country. Why not ask yourself why you felt it necessary to pick out of thin air this horribly profile of America and what prism you see the world through. There are many countries much worse then America. Ever hear of bride burning, slavery or religious mass killings? They go on everyday as normal practices the world over. At least here our nuts are aberration not the norm.

[Jefferson78]

03:22 AM on 04/21/2010

Violence, like Obama's friend Bill Ayers blowing up public buildings as part of his Weather Underground movement? Two police officers were killed by his group. Violence like the radical liberal Students for a Democratic Society who rioted on many college campuses? Surely you are not referring to the businessmen, grandparents, taxpaying honest citizens who want their government to stop taking from the working class and giving to the refuse-to-work class. Oh, and that Right to Carry a Weapon is a Constitutional right. A right all members of Congress and the President swore to defend.

[ewilder]

06:40 AM on 04/21/2010

Your "tit-for-tat" argument is repulsively irrelevant. To condemn one act of violence hardly condones another, as you seem to imply. Anti-social violence is not be condoned for any political reason and your suggestion that the author would do so is insulting.
Your comment on carrying guns is also irrelevant since it misses the point, well summarized by a previous commentator (Montymarie): "Carrying around a gun of any sort, loaded or unloaded, at a public meeting, is a sign of serious mental instability. If you don't agree with that, then you are looney also."

[bill15]

07:55 AM on 04/21/2010

I believe you are missing his point. He is pointing out acts of violence done against the government by the "left". I dont get where he condones any violence, just points out the tendency to blame acts of violence done by right wing leaning individuals on the right wing, whereas acts of violence done by left wing leaning individuals does not seem to be blamed on the left wing. As for carrying guns, amend the constitution or repeal the second admendment, otherwise its the law.

[AnotherunhappyDemocrat]

08:40 AM on 04/21/2010

You really need to wake up and realize that this is no longer 1970. The violent anti-socials are now on the right. Deal with it and stop bringing up a time that is long gone.

[GorBud]

01:43 PM on 04/21/2010

The enviro-terroists, violent protests at World Monetary Conf., can they be considered right-wing. Finger pointing and adding up the score solves very little.

[SageOnTheHudson]

12:51 AM on 04/21/2010

Mr Eisle might at least have spelled the site of Tim McVeigh's obscene act of terrorism correctly: it was the Alfred P. MURRAH Building, NOT "Murragh."

[Montymarie]

12:45 AM on 04/21/2010

Carrying around a gun of any sort, loaded or unloaded, at a public meeting, is a sign of serious mental instability. If you don't agree with that, then you are looney also.
Why am I having to explain this to any of you? Are you totally devoid of any stable, practical thinking? What are the guns for? If they are unloaded, aren't you just showing off? Who are they meant to intimidate? Me? The police? The Secret Service?
If you want to be a part of some sort of armed insurrection, what makes you think you'll be facing trained officials?
You know, you aren't the only "patriots" with guns. Maybe the trained officials won't even have to show up. You just might find yourselves facing (or not facing) citizens just like you, but believe you to be a real threat to this country, and find your morals despicable.
I know I do.
Be careful. You showoffs might stir up something you don't like the looks of.

[Zonie]

04:57 AM on 04/21/2010

Hmmmmm....this guy did:

http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/pierce/john_brown_painting.jpg

hahahaha.....

IBTW I've seen that painting...hangs in Topeka.....it's magnificent.....

[johnhuffy]

12:32 AM on 04/21/2010

We need to be afraid now because the man told a scary story.

[Backspace2525]

08:43 AM on 04/21/2010

I am afraid now but not of the subject of his story. I am afraid of where these scary stories are driving the masses.
"Today Americans would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful. This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead with world leaders to deliver them from this evil." Henry Kissinger
The people are being pushed in the direction of surrendering civil rights for the illusion of safety.

[Gerald Price]

11:26 PM on 04/20/2010

Rise and Strike.

[Indra]

10:55 PM on 04/20/2010

Yes, I think you may be right. There probably are quite a few like him out there waiting to pounce. It is sad but there are people out there who disagree with the government on how to do things appropriately. One thing for sure is that it will all work out somehow one way or the other. What should concern people at the moment is the increasing ties between the Christian right wing and the Moslem extremist types who have similar strict religious views and thus make good partners in crime for a common cause. A lot of people are not aware of this forming partnership and they should be aware that this is a real threat to the security of this country.

[roboman]

11:54 PM on 04/20/2010

Indra, why is it sad that there are people out there who disagree with the government "on how to do things appropriately." Isn't that called dissent? I believe those leading us today are making huge mistakes. If we disagree with the government, are we supposed to shut up and take it or can we protest and speak out, as is our right as free citizens? If there were a right wing president and government in office what would you do? Would you have the same point of view? Probably not.

As for ties between the Christian Right and Muslim extremists, that seems rather dubious. Yes they both have strict religious views but therein lies the problem...wouldn't they view each other as infidels? I'm skeptical to say the least. Have a link?

[TakeSake]

12:17 AM on 04/21/2010

With guns?

[Zonie]

08:57 PM on 04/20/2010

Tell you this.....hating each other will never build the nation we thought we were.

How many of you think we've really changed our direction? By mandating that we patronize the very corporations that lead to sky high health care? By increasing troops in Afghanistan? By rattling our saber louder against Iran? By foreclosing millions and kicking them outa their homes while bailing out the morally and fiscally bankrupt bankers? The fact that they are racking up billions while there are hungry people in America and families on the street?

We should be united against our own demise....not hating one another.

[John7878]

06:29 AM on 04/21/2010

Your right Zonie, McVeigh's problem and usually all the nuts is that they go out and kill people, just not the ones really responsible for whatever they think their problems are.

Waco WAS a mass murder by our government, but by going out and killing innocent people that had nothing to do with it McVeigh assured that no investigation would ever happen.

So how DO we deal with the people that are oppressing us?? No one holding four aces is going to call misdeal....

[Zonie]

09:02 AM on 04/21/2010

Tou know what the strange thing is.....is McVey killed the very folks that were likely the very folks being vilified here. Heartland. Oklahoma. Red State Central.

Always thought that it was strange....Everyone says he was a right winger...so.......why did he kill those closest to his ideology if he was against the Clinton White House and the left?

Psychopath. I don't even see how anyone can pin any real ideology on him. He was nuts.

[nofanofheliumman]

07:56 PM on 04/20/2010

Always wondered if we knew all there was to know about Oklahoma City.

Obviously the deaths were horrible, but I do not think this event was fully investigated. Sort of like 9/11. To much evidence leaving the scene with no independent oversight.

Also, Timothy McVeigh seemed almost like a remote-controlled individual throughout the ordeal. He did a few things that are difficult to believe someone pulling this off would ever do. All these things are in the public record.

[Heikkila]

07:52 PM on 04/20/2010

Is it just me or does anyone else find it ironic that all these GI Joe wannabees defend their 'right' to walk the streets with weapons of all makes and models...these same idiots scream that we are having our 'freedoms' taken from us. I seem to recall that if you wore an anti Bush T shirt to a Bush rally, you were escorted out. If you attended a Bush rally you had to confirm your support for the Republican party. If you attended a Bush rally you could not display signage that was disparaging to Bush. Whose freedoms were being violated then? Where was the outrage then? I smell double standard! Barack Obama was elected president of the United States...some need to get over it.

[creasedemon]

10:01 PM on 04/20/2010

If you wore an anti-Bush t-shirt to a bush rally, you'd be escorted out. Just as you would at an Obama rally if you were wearing an anti Obama t-shirt.. There's no difference there. No one needs to get over Barack Obama being president either, people can protest him just as people protested Bush when he was in office. It is, afterall, a free country.

[SeriousBlack]

12:31 AM on 04/21/2010

Are you kidding me? Find me ONE SINGLE EXAMPLE of someone who wore an anti-Obama t-shirt (AND did NOTHING ELSE - no disruption, nothing else WHAT. SO. EVER) and got expelled from an Obama rally.

JUST ONE. Go ahead, knock yourself out.

[deepseas]

02:56 PM on 04/21/2010

Tapping fingers...any examples? One?

[dim]

02:31 AM on 04/21/2010

If you arrived in a car with an anti-war bumper sticker you were escorted out.