Six Years Since 9/11

[Kevy Baby]

And I still can't talk about it.

[Snowflake]

and they still can't seem to find Bin Laden, either.

My thoughts go to the poeple who lost their lives and the firefighters and policemen and women who tried to save them.

[tracilicious]

How timely it is that I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns last night. I totally didn't plan that. And how frustrating that all the signs were there, and our government ignored them. My thoughts go out to all of the Americans that lost their lives on 9/11 and after. And to all the people of the countries that have been affected much more than we have.

[innerSpaceman]

I can talk about it day and night. It really doesn't phase me all that much.

I love how George Bush spins bin Laden's recent taped message as a justification for the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq simply because bin Laden mentioned Iraq ... when of course the fact of bin Laden leaving a 6th anniversary nine eleven message is one of the great nose-thumbings the U.S. has ever received.

I hate to agee with the madman bin Laden (though almost dread more agreeing with the madman Bush) ... but he has a certain point when he points out that the acts of 19 men (and their supporting cohorts) pulled the mightiest military and world state like a puppet on a string to a self-destructive course change against its uber-alis will.


As for the 9/11 tragedy itself ... it's both tough and fascinating for me, because I have memories of living through the day ... and so many personal memories of New York in general and the Trade Center in particular.

But I try to put the tragedy into perspective, and not fall into the Americomorphic trap of believing it was any worse or more awful than any other tragedy of mass civilian death ... whether caused by bands of terror fuctards or by powerful warlords of "legitimate" governments.

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by Snowflake

and they still can't seem to find Bin Laden, either.

It's hard to find what your not even looking for.

[katiesue]

I missed 9/11. Seriously. It's a whole weird void for me.

I knew a little of what happened in the morning. I was at my best friends ranch preparing for three funerals that day. Her mom hates tv on a good day but the day of her husband, son and daughter-in-laws funerals, no tv in the house.

We got a few phone calls from people, but the ringing phone was freaking her out a bit as well so we only took a few calls before we shut the ringers off. The ranch foreman was freaking out because his wife was in Texas and there were rumors of bombs going off there and he couldn't reach her.

After the funeral I packed up and started driving home. The ranch is on the north side of Mt. Shasta so I had quite a long ride. Once I got down into cell phone reception Maddy's dad started calling, fliping out. Ugh. So a long drive pepperd by insane paranoid phone calls. That was my 9/11 day. I didn't see any tv coverage until late that night. And by that time I think a lot had been edited down.

So I just have this huge disconnect for 9/11.

[€uroMeinke]

I wonder if it’s been long enough. I feel bad for the family members that have to troop out once again for this annual ceremony where they have to endure the endless reading of names, anonymizing their loved ones in a flawed attempt to call them out. Losing someone to tragedy and terrorism is bad enough, loosing them to the public good must be maddening. Grief never comes on a set schedule and yet each there they must be there, expressing their love, their grief, while the world steals yet another piece of their lives in order to promote some other agenda be it radical Islam or the American way.

My thoughts are to the families, and their losses far beyond the Loved ones taken in the towers.

[FEJ]

I remember it happening, seeing the second plane hit the tower on TV live, and the weird experiences that enveloped the surrounding days. It had a great impact on my job at the time since the FedEx planes could not fly. I als o remember how weird it felt with nothing flying overhead. It was kind of peaceful in a weird way. I don't get weirded out by "September 11th." It is another day. In a few years it will be like Pearl Harbor Day or other war tragedies. One could argue that The Crusades were a form of terrorism that lasted many years, yet I could argue that there may be some Americans who do not know of this period of history. There are many "terrorist" activities that are now long forgotten. Granted, they did not result in the amount of same day loss of life, but they did result in loss of life none the less. Whether one or two thousand or more, should not change the significance. I agree with iSM, you can bunch war and terrorism in the same pile.

This is not to dismiss the tragic loss of life, because it was a tragic loss.
But is also not a reason to shy away from the day.

It is a day on the calendar that something tragic happened. It is also a day where great things have happened. As is every day of the year. We happen to know personally someone who was born on the same date. Happy Birthday Alex.

For me, it is not a day to wince, or take lightly. It is a marker on the journey.

[BarTopDancer]

I remember seeing video of the first plane and wondering what kind of crap B movie Fox was showing. Then I turned to NBC and saw the smoking tower and 2nd plane. And Matt Lauer basically going WTF is going on.

I had a friend in that area who I haven't heard from since that day. I think about him and wonder if he took that opportunity to start a new life or if he was one of the victims.

[innerSpaceman]

Not to speak for him, but zapppop is loathe to talk about 9/11. He says it's because he's sick of hearing about it (and I don't doubt that's true), but I think there may be something deeper to it.

I remember taking him to see United 93 and being angry at him for playing video games on his cell phone thru the whole movie. So he confessed to me that, as well as his famous phonographic memory, he also has a photographic memory with little control over the replay of disturbing imagery. And he did not want to watch United 93. He'll watch gory horror films, so I think he classifies 9/11 as disturbing as well as tiresome.


But he's not reluctant to make light of the event with tasteless t-shirts.