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flag Historian Heather Ann Thompson links the 1984 Bernie Goetz subway shooting to rising white rage, shaping U.S. attitudes on self-defense and race.

flag In her 2023 book *Fear and Fury*, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Heather Ann Thompson traces the 1984 Bernie Goetz subway shooting to the broader rise of white rage in America, linking it to Ronald Reagan’s racially charged rhetoric and political symbolism. flag She argues the incident became a turning point in normalizing white violence, influencing later events like the Kyle Rittenhouse and Charlottesville cases, and helping advance Stand Your Ground laws. flag Thompson highlights how media, political figures, and institutions shaped public perception, legitimizing self-defense claims and fueling racialized anger among white working-class Americans.

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