Last week, April 19, marked 30 years since the Oklahoma City bombing, which before 9/11 was the deadliest act of terrorism in the US, costing 168 individuals their lives.
It brought to national attention a book that since the late 1970s had been inspiring right-wing extremists: The Turner Diaries.
Just a week before the anniversary, I watched “The Order,” a new film about the murder in Denver of radio host Alan Berg in 1984.
Based on a book by former Rocky Mountain News reporter and today Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn, “The Order” follows law enforcement’s attempts to uncover the perpetrators.
One of the keys that finally solves the puzzle: A red-covered book titled The Turner Diaries that essentially plots out a white retaking of the US using acts of terror. The book leads them to The Order, a group of white supremacists who rob banks to supply its arsenal in its attempts to live out the book’s vision.
Berg, an argumentative and often reviled talk show radio host who (verbally) went after white supremacists, was notorious in their circles, becoming a target. He was gunned down outside his Denver home.
The film spends very little time on Berg himself; a viewer who isn’t particularly interested in the topic may be confused.
Perpetrators often garner more attention than victims. Maybe we believe that understanding the mindset of those who do harm helps us protect ourselves from others who mean to do harm. Or maybe it’s because we glamorize bad guys. The mafia is just one example.
Some months ago, I started the TV series, “Say Nothing,” based on an incredible non-fiction book of the same name. Soon into it I realized I’d completely forgotten about the IRA terrorist and remembered only the story of the victim, a mother of 10 who was murdered.
We all know the name Timothy McVeigh, but how many of us (myself included) know the full name of even one of his victims?
Forty years after Berg, 30 years after McVeigh, and domestic terrorism hasn’t gone away. The firebombing of Gov. Shapiro’s house was just that.
The rise of anti-Semitism on both the right and left demonstrates that a movie like “The Order” is still all too relevant. That alone justifies the focus on the criminals. To prevent more victims, we need to understand how individuals are radicalized and try to reverse that before they become perpetrators.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com
© IJN 2025
