What We Can Learn From Oklahoma City Bombing in Age of Trump
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/what-we-can-learn-from-oklahoma-city-bombing-in-age-of-trump-w464625
The morning after President Trump stood in the rain to take his oath of office, Barak Goodman debuted his documentary Oklahoma City at the Sundance Film Festival. On the surface, one had little to do with the other – in 1995, when Timothy McVeigh set off a bomb in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building that killed 168 people, Trump was just a run-of-the-mill New York City real estate mogul. Yet 22 years later, his position is a lot more relevant.
In the documentary, which premieres at select theaters Friday and will air on PBS February 7th, Goodman dives deep into the events leading up to McVeigh's brutal assault against the federal government.
WGBH American Experience . Oklahoma City
The film explores the formation of the Aryan Nations, the violent sieges of Ruby Ridge and Waco – government raids on fringe groups that fueled a backlash from far-right militias – and McVeigh's interest in them, as well as his own complicated relationship with guns and the government. Goodman, a longtime PBS documentarian, says that he and his team intentionally "avoided making any connection" between the rise of white supremacy in the 1980s and 1990s and the version seen in our news today.
But given how the far right has become increasingly emboldened since Trump's election, it seems eerily relevant. Goodman tells Rolling Stone that in spite of Trump's ascendance over the 18 months it took to research, film and edit the documentary, "We didn't want to make facile comparisons with what's happening now. That said, we hope people will take away from this film a deeper understanding of this movement and of the historical roots of the white supremacist movement and the radical right in general."
Here, four takeaways from Oklahoma City to keep in mind at Trump continues his presidency.
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