Introduction
The Turner Legacy, a research paper by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism author J.M. Berger, reviews The Turner Diaries, a highly controversial book considered by many a White Supremacist Bible. Written by William Luther Pierce, a prominent figure within the American White Nationalist movement, The Turner Diaries tells a fictional story of a great racial war waged by the White resistance against the U.S. government.
Book Summary
Earl Turner, the book’s protagonist, joins The Organization, a secret insurgent group fighting to save America and the whole world from the clutches of the Jewish conspiracy. Through sheer brutality, fanatical devotion, and careful strategic planning, The Organization takes over the United States. It leads the world into the New Era, where the White master race reigns supreme (Berger, 2016). After reading this plot summary, one might have laughed and dismissed The Turner Diaries as a ridiculous White Supremacist power fantasy. However, the reality is much darker — Pierce’s book inspired many real-life hate crimes and terrorist attacks.
The Turner Legacy delves deep into The Turner Diaries‘ ideological background and literary features to explain how a poorly written book with a far-fetched plot effectively conveys White Supremacist ideas. Berger (2016) listed three primary reasons that make The Turner Diaries stand out among other racist propaganda materials. Firstly, Pierce set the narrative in a generic dystopian near future. As a result, real-life historical events cannot be used to make the message of The Turner Diaries obsolete (Berger, 2016).
On the contrary, a reader may draw a parallel between modern-day America and the anti-White dystopia described in the book. Secondly, Pierce has avoided the pitfall of bringing ideology into the narrative. The Turner Diaries is full of racism and hatred of non-Whites and “race traitors,” but it does not contain direct advocacy for Nazism. Consequently, casual racist readers can conveniently distance themselves from unpleasant ideological labels. Lastly, Pierce emphasized the power of direct action, repeatedly showing contempt for conservative “talkers” (Berger, 2016). The book screams that America and the whole world are in danger, and one must act decisively to save the White race.
Ultimately, The Turner Diaries are remarkably effective at pushing White Supremacist readers toward becoming terrorists. In their mind, these individuals perceive themselves as crusaders for the noble cause, the people who dare to resist a government full of Jews and race traitors. According to Berger (2016), Pierce’s narrative is remarkably compelling at presenting violent extremism as a rational choice. The book inspires its audience to fight the system without holding anything back; otherwise, the anti-White dystopia described on its pages will become real. The Turner Diaries readers have a disturbing history of answering the call to arms from the 1980s to the 2010s.
For example, in 1994, the Aryan Republican Army gang committed at least 22 successful bank robberies across seven U.S. states, emulating economic warfare against the establishment described by Pierce. However, the worst homage to The Turner Diaries was paid on April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma, where Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb, killing 168 people (Berger, 2016). McVeigh’s act of terror was inspired by the scene of the destruction of the FBI headquarters from Pierce’s book. In that regard, one can call The Turner Diaries a blueprint for terrorists.
Conclusion
Overall, The Turner Legacy does an outstanding job of explaining the link between the infamous book and the violent right-wing extremism it inspires. Berger demonstrated how a well-crafted narrative and setting prompt lone White supremacists into real action. Five years after Berger’s review was published, The Turner Diaries became relevant again. Amazon removed Pierce’s novel from its website following the 2021 U.S. Capitol Riot (Alter, 2021). While this decision is understandable, it may not be right in the long term. Instead of turning The Turner Diaries into a forbidden fruit, the book should be published with editorial comments that reveal its dangers and debunk Pierce’s mythology.
References
Alter, A. (2021). How ‘The Turner Diaries’ incites white supremacists. The New York Times. Web.
Berger, J. M. (2016). The Turner Legacy: The storied origins and enduring impact of white nationalism’s deadly Bible. International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague, 7(8). Web.