Often when one person sees a villain another person sees a hero. However, there are some individuals whose actions are so heinous that most if not all of society views them as evil. One example of this is Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh was the mastermind behind the Oklahoma City bombing, which was one of the worst terrorist attacks in the United States of America.
McVeigh was a withdrawn child. He was frequently bullied in school and had only one girlfriend his entire life. He struggled academically although he did show promise in computer programming. McVeigh joined the army at the age of twenty. He served during the first Gulf War and was honorably discharged in 1992. McVeigh had a strong interest in guns, which had lead him into the army. He would write letters to local newspapers and congressman opposing firearm regulations. He would also rail against taxes and the government in general. These ideas would later surface and be the main catalyst for his attacks.
As time progressed McVeigh's ideas about firearms became more and more radical. He quit the National Rifle Association, the nation's premier gun lobby, because he felt their stance was too weak. He also traveled out to Arizona to look for property that would be safe from nuclear attacks. McVeigh started to learn how to make rudimentary explosive devices with the chemicals found in common household products. As his paranoia toward the government increased so did his rhetoric. It was only a matter of time before he would take action against what he thought was a tyrannical government.
On April 19, 1995 McVeigh shifted from words to actions. He attacked a federal office building in Oklahoma City because he saw federal officials as soldier trampling the Constitution. He loaded a truck full of 5,000 pounds of explosives and drove it to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. McVeigh set the fuse and fled. The bomb exploded about five minutes later. The explosion killed 168 people and injured 450, including 19 children who were at a day care in the building.
Perhaps beyond the devastation that McVeigh caused was his cold and often callous attitude toward the victims and their families. He stated "To these people in Oklahoma who have lost a loved one, I’m sorry but it happens every day€¦.I’m not going to go into that courtroom, curl into a fetal ball and cry just because the victims want me to do that." McVeigh was sentenced to execution for his crimes but he still showed no interest in repenting. He seemed to welcome death saying that even with his execution the score would be "168 to 1″, meaning this his kill count would be higher. McVeigh is truly evil and a prime example of a villain. He was cold, calculating, and ruthless. Not only did he cause the death of over one hundred innocent people, but he continued to justify is actions up until his death. You would be hard pressed to find many who do not see him as villain.
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I would definitely agree that there is absolutely no potential for any sort of heroic redemption when looking at Timothy McVeigh. He was bad to the very core – and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone that views him as anything but a villain.
He’s a perfect example of a ‘true’ villain. He really does deserve the label.
McVeigh’s inability to show remorse certainly makes him evil. Part of an evil action is intending harm to your victims with full knowledge of the pain your causing them. The self satisfaction McVeigh shows with his kill count is truly chilling and speaks to his ‘afore thought malice’.