Timothy McVeigh: An American anomie

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

6 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

04/01/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

Social sciences

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Summary :

Introduction
Emile Durkheim and the concept of 'moral malaise'
Background of Timothy McVeigh
1. Place of birth
2. Interest in survival mechanisms
3. Joining the army
4. The Branch Davidians
His view of the radical action of bombing a building
Why Timothy McVeigh became an 'American Anomie'
A paranoid personality and vulnerability
The most remarkable facet of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
Conclusion
Works cited

Abstract

One could ask any american citizen old enough to remember the year 1995, and they will undoubtedly be able to recall the incident of the Oklahoma City Bombing. Most would be able to identify the man responsible for the devastation: an unremarkable, young, middle class white man named timothy mcveigh. The Oklahoma City Bombing on April 19, 1995 was the most damaging and deadly terrorist attack on american soil, besides the World Trade Center bombings (Ottley). Everyone was even more surprised to find out that it was not another Al Qaeda strike, but the working of a 27-year-old male from New York. Questions flooded in from the public: why would an american citizen commit such an atrocity, what was mentally wrong with him, and where did he come from? A close examination of the life of timothy mcveigh unravels the upbringings, experiences, and internal resentment that lead to the devastating explosion that wounded hundreds of men, women, and children for seemingly no reason. Equally importantly, mcveigh's motives are exposed as well as why he considered such an act of violence to be a heroic act of martyrdom.