On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, an Iraq War veteran, parked a truck loaded with explosives in front of a federal government building in Oklahoma. He lit the fuse and walked away. The story of the attack, which killed 167 people, including 15 children from a daycare center, is told by writer and political commentator Jeffrey Toobin in the book “Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of RightWing Extremism.” Extremism).
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The author claims that McVeigh was not a mad sniper, but the product of an emerging farright culture. Decades later, it would fuel violent fantasies among Donald Trump's supporters and they would invade the Capitol in his name in 2021. Long before social networks spread them in real time, their defining elements were already there: the cult of guns and the complete freedom to carry them; white suprematism; the horror of the federal government; a primitive version of nationalism; religious fanaticism; Politics as a conspiracy.
Here, a year after the invasion of the Praça dos Três Poderes by Bolsonarist hordes on the infamous August 1, two excellent documentaries, journalistic articles, information from the investigation launched at the Federal Court and scientific studies have revealed the nature of the Tupiniquim extreme right, their polyclassistic character , their forms of sociability and sedimentation of shared values, fears and passions.
As in the United States, rightwing extremism has recognized social media as an important tool for identity formation and political mobilization. But unlike the North American original, its emergence into the national public arena is contemporary with the overwhelming predominance of interaction through virtual means. Nevertheless, the structures that support extremist political culture are more numerous, more diverse and rooted in social life. These include radio stations, television stations, newspapers and magazines of various coverage, churches, private clubs, clubs and all types of community organizations.
Therefore, it is an illusion to believe that the containment of domestic extremism and the stability of democracy can be ensured through the regulation of social networks, as some of our authorities seem to believe. The definition of what is tolerable on networks, which is so important for civilized coexistence, requires a subtle balance that guarantees freedom of expression.
In short, it requires a calm discussion that is incompatible with the idea that the survival of democracy depends on this definition.
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