I recently watched the 2024 documentary Suburban Fury. With “suburban” in the title and promising an interesting story, I wanted to see the documentary.

Sara Jane Moore, the woman behind an assassination attempt, had a strange life. She changed names, worked for the FBI, was married multiple times, and tried to kill a president.

But I think the use of “suburban” may not mean what people expect. Moore lived in the suburbs. She had family life with children. She worked office jobs.

From what I saw in the documentary, this suburban life is not what prompted her to act. She does not explain that she was frustrated with a humdrum suburban existence.

Rather, the suburban in the title refers more to how people would not have suspected a suburban women to try to assassinate the president. As Moore recounts the steps in the day of her assassination attempt, she notes that she dressed like any suburban matron so as not to draw attention. She does not stand out in the crowd that gathers to see Ford.

There is some footage of the neighbor who sold her the gun she uses in the assassination attempt. He describes how Moore appeared to be in her right mind and he did not suspect any foul play. I have seen numerous similar news stories where neighbors can’t believe a community resident could commit such acts.

Is the “Suburban Fury” then that Americans would not expect a resident of the suburbs – places where the American Dream is to be found – to shoot a president? Moore’s story was convoluted but the suburbs are not supposed to produce violent criminals, let alone people who try to take out the leader of the free world.