19 years ago today: Oklahoma City bombing

[Kondor3]

I must confess to not being overly-affected by this event.

I was, of course, appalled by the loss of human life, for no good reason, and I, too, was - at the time- stricken by the imagery coming out of Oklahoma City.

But it was perpetrated by a Crazy Person.

A Crazy Person who subscribed to extreme right-wing political views.

But it could just as easily have been a Crazy Person who subscribed to extreme left-wing political views.

They're both out there... in numbers far greater than either side of the political aisle is comfortable with.

It seems best, therefore, to leave the goddamned politics out of the discussion at such a time, and to simply memorialize the victims, if one so desires, without all the message-board drama.

Not that I believe for one moment that some of our colleagues are capable of doing that, but one can always hope for a pleasant surprise in that regard.

 

[DriftingSand]

I believe that any person (regardless of ideology) who would bomb a building without knowing who was inside is a coward.

But I will also say that I'm distrustful of any "official" report or story offered by the government or the mainstream media. We've all been lied to SO many times that I am always left with this sense of wonderment as to what really happened or who was really involved. I know that may sound "tin hat" but I'm just being honest.

The "official" story concerning this event may very well be 100% factual but I have a feeling that there may very well be more to it than what we've been told.

Whatever the case may be, I'm always sorry for the loss of innocent lives regardless of the manner by which those lives are taken.

 

[pacer]

The baby’s name was Baylee Almon. She would have turned 20 years old today. This photo was taken the day after her first birthday.

I remember that photo and I remember crying openly in a group meeting with some parents at a school that day.

Is probably my strongest memory from the bombing.

So heart-wrenching.

 

[Foxfyre]

The magnitude of the OKC bombing wasn't immediately obvious to us so I can't specify exactly where I was or what I was doing when I first heard about it. But later when I saw the first news coverage on TV. . . . .

Shortly after McVeigh was arrested and identified as the bomber, I was on the phone to the F.B.I. here in Albuquerque to report that I had been in political chatrooms with him on AOL. He used his own name as a screen name in all capital letters MCVEIGH and also went by the screen name The Wanderer, but in both personas was pretty angry, hostile and belligerent and said really outrageous and irrational anti-government things and ws so combative with anybody who challenged his views which is one reason I was aware of him and remembered him. Shortly after reporting his chatroom activity, his screen names disappeared from AOL--I'm sure the government obtained whatever logs etc. were available there.. One thing I remember from his AOL profile was that he listed as one of his interest/hobbies 'agribombs'. The significance of that never occurred to us at the time of course.

Another event in the 'small world' category is that my sister and brother-in-law, recently retired from the NM School System, were supplementing their retirement income by being co-owners (with their contractor son) and managers of a Super 8 Motel in Moriarty NM. And for some reason, after McVeigh was arrested, they remembered the name as a motel guest and also reported that to the authorities. This was when McVeigh was traveling back and forth between Oklahoma and Kingman, Arizona--he was friends with a guy who was I believe implicated as one of the co-conspirators in Kingman. Anyhow, the feds confiscated that page of registry from the motel for whatever reason.

And we helped a friend in Oklahoma City mourn the loss of a beloved cousin in the bombing and felt the bitter anger of so much senseless carnage and how irrational, hateful ideology acted out can cause such pain and suffering and hurts us all.

 

[Wolfsister77]

My brother was going to school in Oklahoma and I remember visiting him a few years after the tragedy.

 

[Wolfsister77]

What bothers me the most about this is that the daycare center was hit and all those kids were hurt or killed. Innocent lives. I can't even imagine the horror the parents must have felt and the grief they endured. And the fact that McVeigh justified this in such a cold hearted manner showed his truly sick mind. And the photo already shown in this thread of the firefighter carrying the dying infant, yeah I'll never forget that.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Hard to believe it is 19 years already. It seems like only yesterday, I was watching t.v. and breaking news cut into the programming. I was shocked at the news and overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of the devastation. The images I have of the bombing are as vivid today as they were back then. I will devote 168 seconds of silence in remembrance of the 168 victims who lost their lives in the bombing.

Good idea.

 

[Statistikhengst]

I must confess to not being overly-affected by this event.

I was, of course, appalled by the loss of human life, for no good reason, and I, too, was - at the time- stricken by the imagery coming out of Oklahoma City.

But it was perpetrated by a Crazy Person.

A Crazy Person who subscribed to extreme right-wing political views.

But it could just as easily have been a Crazy Person who subscribed to extreme left-wing political views.

They're both out there... in numbers far greater than either side of the political aisle is comfortable with.

It seems best, therefore, to leave the goddamned politics out of the discussion at such a time, and to simply memorialize the victims, if one so desires, without all the message-board drama.

Not that I believe for one moment that some of our colleagues are capable of doing that, but one can always hope for a pleasant surprise in that regard.

I agree with your posting. Not trying to over-emotionalize. Just to remember. An act of human decency, nothing less, nothing more.

Glad you stopped by.

 

[Statistikhengst]

I believe that any person (regardless of ideology) who would bomb a building without knowing who was inside is a coward.

But I will also say that I'm distrustful of any "official" report or story offered by the government or the mainstream media. We've all been lied to SO many times that I am always left with this sence of wonderment as to what really happened or who was really involved. I know that may sound "tin hat" but I'm just being honest.

The "official" story concerning this event may very well be 100% factual but I have a feeling that there may very well be more to it than what we've been told.

Whatever the case may be, I'm always sorry for the loss of innocent lives regardless of the manner by which those lives are taken.

I can also understand and somewhat respect this sentiment.

But I am going to keep my feelings about this out of this thread, at least today.

 

[Statistikhengst]

The magnitude of the OKC bombing wasn't immediately obvious to us so I can't specify exactly where I was or what I was doing when I first heard about it. But later when I saw the first news coverage on TV. . . . .

Shortly after McVeigh was arrested and identified as the bomber, I was on the phone to the F.B.I. here in Albuquerque to report that I had been in political chatrooms with him on AOL. He used his own name as a screen name in all capital letters MCVEIGH and also went by the screen name The Wanderer, but in both personas was pretty angry, hostile and belligerent and said really outrageous and irrational anti-government things and ws so combative with anybody who challenged his views which is one reason I was aware of him and remembered him. Shortly after reporting his chatroom activity, his screen names disappeared from AOL--I'm sure the government obtained whatever logs etc. were available there.. One thing I remember from his AOL profile was that he listed as one of his interest/hobbies 'agribombs'. The significance of that never occurred to us at the time of course.

Another event in the 'small world' category is that my sister and brother-in-law, recently retired from the NM School System, were supplementing their retirement income by being co-owners (with their contractor son) and managers of a Super 8 Motel in Moriarty NM. And for some reason, after McVeigh was arrested, they remembered the name as a motel guest and also reported that to the authorities. This was when McVeigh was traveling back and forth between Oklahoma and Kingman, Arizona--he was friends with a guy who was I believe implicated as one of the co-conspirators in Kingman. Anyhow, the feds confiscated that page of registry from the motel for whatever reason.

And we helped a friend in Oklahoma City mourn the loss of a beloved cousin in the bombing and felt the bitter anger of so much senseless carnage and how irrational, hateful ideology acted out can cause such pain and suffering and hurts us all.

That's pretty deep. You did a good thing there, Foxfyre.

 

[westwall]

I was deep in the Great Sandy Desert of Australia when the bombing occurred. I didn't hear of it till I think a week or two after it had happened. Then what is there to do but mourn the innocent victims of such a heinous act.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

Wow. I don't know why, but I thought that it took place the same year that O.J. Simpson made the headlines which will be 20 years ago on June 13th of this year.

God bless you and every impacted family always!!!

Holly

 

[Moonglow]

I went to visit my old home town a year after the blast and could do nothing but weep as I walked around the fenced off area adorned with flowers, cards, balloons and stuffed toys in remembrance of those that lost their lives in that horrible event...
How heartless and cruel....

 

[Derideo_Te]

A senseless act that changed nothing at all except the lives of the innocent victims and their families. The grief, the mourning, the pain and anguish did not help any cause. The subsequent demolition of the building did not prevent a new one being built.

Why anyone would believe that an act of violence perpetrated against innocent civilians will make a difference is beyond my comprehension. If we are going to make those lost lives meaningful in any way at all it must be by standing up against senseless acts of violence.

So let's honor the victims by setting aside our differences and finding a peaceful and prosperous future that We the People can share together.

 

[CaféAuLait]

I can't imagine:

Doctors Who Saved Woman in Oklahoma City Bombing Visit Clinton

http://crashtestmommy.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/okc-09.jpg

 

[NYcarbineer]

Did a right-wing asshole blow up the FBI building or not? You want to remember the victims but not the piece of shit coward who killed them? You don't want to ask the very simple question, "Why would he do that?"

Actually, Tim McVeigh never made a statement or uttered a single word as to why he blew up the building in OKC.

In reality, no one knows his motives or motivation for the attack.

So your idiotic screaming about right wing nut doing this and that doesn't hold water.

Because he could have committed the bombing for left wing reasons or no reason at all.

Now be a nice chap an vacate this memorial thread.

And quit looking like a complete fool. ...

You tell an outright lie and 3 retards thank you for it.

Timothy McVeigh's Letter to Rita Cosby April 27 2001

I explain herein why I bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. I explain this not for publicity, nor seeking to win an argument of right or wrong. I explain so that the record is clear as to my thinking and motivations in bombing a government installation.

I chose to bomb a federal building because such an action served more purposes than other options. Foremost, the bombing was a retaliatory strike; a counter attack, for the cumulative raids (and subsequent violence and damage) that federal agents had participated in over the preceding years (including, but not limited to, Waco.) From the formation of such units as the FBI's "Hostage Rescue" and other assault teams amongst federal agencies during the '80's; culminating in the Waco incident, federal actions grew increasingly militaristic and violent, to the point where at Waco, our government - like the Chinese - was deploying tanks against its own citizens.

Knowledge of these multiple and ever-more aggressive raids across the country constituted an identifiable pattern of conduct within and by the federal government and amongst its various agencies. (see enclosed) For all intents and purposes, federal agents had become "soldiers" (using military training, tactics, techniques, equipment, language, dress, organization, and mindset) and they were escalating their behavior. Therefore, this bombing was also meant as a pre-emptive (or pro-active) strike against these forces and their command and control centers within the federal building. When an aggressor force continually launches attacks from a particular base of operation, it is sound military strategy to take the fight to the enemy.

Additionally, borrowing a page from U.S. foreign policy, I decided to send a message to a government that was becoming increasingly hostile, by bombing a government building and the government employees within that building who represent that government. Bombing the Murrah Federal Building was morally and strategically equivalent to the U.S. hitting a government building in Serbia, Iraq, or other nations. (see enclosed) Based on observations of the policies of my own government, I viewed this action as an acceptable option. From this perspective, what occurred in Oklahoma City was no different than what Americans rain on the heads of others all the time, and subsequently, my mindset was and is one of clinical detachment. (The bombing of the Murrah building was not personal , no more than when Air Force, Army, Navy, or Marine personnel bomb or launch cruise missiles against government installations and their personnel.)

I hope that this clarification amply addresses your question.

Sincerely,

Timothy J. McVeigh

USP Terre Haute (IN)

Don't fail to note the chilling similarity to what is expressed above and the current day rhetoric we are hearing all over the American Right.

McVeigh Letter

...and PS, could you please vacate this thread?

 

[TemplarKormac]

My story:

I was 8 years old when it happened. But I saw it on the news when my grandmother was watching it at our previous residence. Then I saw the carnage in the pictures they showed. I was a child and was oblivious to the political complexities of our country, nor did I know that people could be driven to commit such terrible acts of violence and destruction. It never really sunk in until 9/11... which was on an order of magnitude more heinous. It brought back those images I saw as a young boy. I had never seen such a wide array of death and destruction, and it invoked fear.

Even I asked, "why do people do such bad things to each other?" My grandmother was unprepared to give me a straight answer, because I was too young and too inexperienced in life to comprehend it. "Perhaps I'll tell you when you're older, Andrew." I eventually did research on it in my teenage years, and the answer came to me. Terrorism. People motivated by twisted ideologies of the world, who want to shape it to their will by murdering innocent people.

There is no place for the wanton killing of the innocent in this world, violence never solved anything, but alas here we are. It breeds contempt, and it does nothing but leave scars on our souls. I'll never forget the first time I saw that human beings were capable of such evil. I soon learned that life is pockmarked with reminders of our mortality, our fallibility, and our propensity to commit heinous acts.

I can remember the OKC bombing occupying the news in some sort of way for the next few years, until the fateful day of 9/11/01 came along.


Remembering the 168 men, women, and children who were killed that day, April 19, 1995; at 9:02 am.

 

[TemplarKormac]

my wife had an appointment at that building that morning

had she not be so lousy at directions

she would have been there

You are extremely blessed. The Lord Almighty was watching over you that day.

 

[Barb]

Anyone who would purposefully target a building for bombing that has a day care center in it is a monster. The why of it becomes irrelevant as soon as "it" targets children.