美国国家公共电台 NPR--Weaver and the Ruby Ridge standoff contributed to the evolution of the radical right

Weaver¹ and the Ruby² Ridge³ standoff contributed to the evolution of the radical⁴ right

Transcript⁵

Randy Weaver, who was at the center of a standoff with federal agents decades ago that continues to inspire antigovernment and paramilitary sentiment on the far right, has died at age 74.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

A man at the center of an 11-day standoff with federal authorities in the '90s, Randy Weaver, has died. His family announced his death on social media this week. He's known for what unfolded in the remote area of Idaho called Ruby Ridge. Ever since then, that name and Weaver's have been rallying cries on the radical right. Here to walk us through the legacy⁶ of this is NPR's domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef. Odette, Randy Weaver had taken his family to live in an isolated⁷, mountainous place to really just retreat from society. So quickly walk us through the events as they unfolded.

ODETTE YOUSEF, BYLINE⁸: Well, back in 1992, a - federal authorities were looking at a neo-Nazi organization in Idaho called Aryan Nations. The Weavers⁹ had gone to some meetings of that group, and federal authorities tried to recruit Randy Weaver as an undercover agent. He said no, and so they alleged¹⁰ that he had illegally sold firearms, and they charged him with this. He said that he was set up. So then Weaver didn't show up for a scheduled court hearing. It turns out he'd been given the wrong date. And so law enforcement ended up circling his house that August, and things quickly got out of hand. The Weavers were heavily armed, and to this day it's disputed a - you know, who fired first? But a federal marshal and Weaver's 14-year-old son were shot dead. And then the next day, Weaver's wife was killed. The standoff ended with Weaver surrendering, but he was acquitted¹¹ of everything except for failing to appear in court for that original firearms charge. And the Weaver family ended up getting over $3 million in compensation from the government.

MART?NEZ: Why was this such an important moment in the evolution of the radical right?

YOUSEF: Well, here's how Heidi Beirich explains it. She's with the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.

HEIDI BEIRICH: It powered the anti-government movement, the kinds of militias¹² that we think of - paramilitary organizations who believe that the government is involved in conspiracies¹⁴. They're going to come take your guns. They're going to round you up, your family up. It sparked that movement. And actually, in the 1990s, they hit the highest number of these kinds of organizations in 1996, with a count of 858 of them. We didn't hit a high of those kinds of numbers again until during the Obama administration.

YOUSEF: So A, this really was a key moment in the growth of the anti-government militia¹³ movement.

MART?NEZ: And Odette, as I recall, didn't the Waco siege happen not long after Ruby Ridge?

YOUSEF: That's right - you know, another standoff with federal authorities, this time in Texas, where 76 Branch Davidians ultimately died in a fire. Both of these really fed a paranoia¹⁵ on the far right about a tyrannical government, and they both provided inspiration to Timothy McVeigh, for example, who bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City just a couple of years later. Today, we see that kind of anti-government conspiratorial¹⁶ thinking has really extended into a much more mainstream¹⁷ part of the right. You know, we see it with QAnon. We saw it at the Capitol on January 6. And in many ways, that thinking really took off with Ruby Ridge.

MART?NEZ: And what has the legacy of Ruby Ridge done for federal authorities?

YOUSEF: Well, they've become much more sensitive to how quickly things can escalate¹⁸ with these heavily armed groups. Heidi Beirich said we don't really see them circle compounds anymore. You know, instead, they try to catch people off of those properties, and they're just much more patient in their approach to these groups. But, you know, we're seeing that distrust of government has only grown despite that. And Beirich says this distrust in some ways is more dangerous today because it threatens to erode¹⁹ our democratic institutions.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Odette Yousef. Odette, thanks a lot.

YOUSEF: Thank you.

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1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

6 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 weavers   

织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Navajo are noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths. 纳瓦霍人以豢养家禽，技术熟练的纺织者，制陶者和银匠而著名。
• They made out they were weavers. 他们假装是织布工人。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

12 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

13 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

14 conspiracies   

n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was still alive and hatching his conspiracies. 他还活着，策划着阴谋诡计。 来自辞典例句
• It appeared that they had engaged in fresh conspiracies from the very moment of their release. 看上去他们刚给释放，立刻开始新一轮的阴谋活动。 来自英汉文学

15 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。

16 conspiratorial   

adj.阴谋的，阴谋者的

参考例句：

• She handed the note to me with a conspiratorial air. 她鬼鬼祟祟地把字条交给了我。 来自辞典例句
• It was enough to win a gap-toothed, conspiratorial grin. 这赢得对方咧嘴一笑。 来自互联网

17 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

18 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

19 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。