Open AccessAn Invitation to Understand Oklahomans' Experience of the Bombing
Author(s) -
David N. Aspy,
Cheryl B. Aspy
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of invitational theory and practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1060-6041
DOI - 10.26522/jitp.v5i1.3863
Subject(s) - immediacy , tragedy (event) , terrorism , bridge (graph theory) , population , history , media studies , sociology , psychology , medicine , social science , surgery , archaeology , philosophy , demography , epistemology
On April 19,1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, was struck by a terrorist bomb that destroyed the structure and killed 168 people. Most Americans learned about the catastrophe from television and other media. But, the experience of Oklahomans was more immediate and more traumatic. Thus, as the local population moves through rehabilitation it needs empathic understanding from outsiders. This piece describes the experiences of four locals in the hope it will help to bridge the gap between the immediacy of the bombing situation and the remote consequences of that tragedy.