9/11 still haunts me

[Maxmars]

I remember.  And I am still angry.

September 11th, will figure in my mind, as a tragedy forever.

I am wondering about how for future generations, it will be a historical blip... a thing that they hear stories about... like the Holocaust and Pearl Harbor. 

For me it's not just exemplars of evil intent, but as a social 'gut sucker-punch.'  Something that was rightly, and squarely considered one of those "no one would ever do that!" things.

It seems to repeat in my life, as a thing which always calls me to become troubled and agitated - every year on its anniversary.

It is kind of weird, since I was not 'on the scene' as it happened... although I was closer than most.  Even where I was, some 50 miles away, on Long Island, it felt like my very home had been attacked...  I had several close friends who worked at the Pentagon at the time, so as the local news reported it too had been struck, my heart sank even further.  I had just been talking with my wife about the Pentagon's "missing" trillions which had been publicly acknowledged... and then this happened.

I can't explain it.  But the anniversary always brings me back to the monstrous extremes that some misguided souls will resort to, morality be damned.

I will always remember the smell in the air for days after the attack.  That much steel and concrete turned to dust and carried around...   My family were among those hopeful 'rescue' volunteers who suffered terrible respiratory damage, in the aftermath.  They too, can't ever let it go.

But it will become a stale story for our grandchildren...  I pray that is all it ever will be for them.  The loss in lives was staggering, the damage to our nation was only just beginning... as the "response and reaction" caused further damage... as is usual when the "government" is involved.  It was the 'crisis taken advantage of'... the first in my experience that was so egregious that it persisted well past the event.  The media, CNN in particular, kept a continuous clip of the towers being struck and then later crumbling into their footprints... as if to deliberately keep the pain seething in the public.  What followed was even more tragic considering what we were forced to surrender... and forced to endure.

Now, even the media doesn't commemorate the event.  The politicians du jour want it not mentioned... The public is being led to forget it because "it's history... it doesn't matter today."

Oi... I didn't want to post another TLDR, so I'll leave it there...

I'm just sharing some ancient grief... grief that I seem unable to shake even now...

[FlyersFan]

I remember.  And I am still angry.

I saw a discussion thread on YAHOO yesterday in which people were laughing about 9/11 and talking about 9/11 memes.  They actually think it's joke material.   The young people on TikTok apparently have zero respect for what happened and the suffering, and they think that people who tell them they are wrong to laugh about it are weird.

I was dismayed and disgusted.

[xpert11]

Where were you when you found out about 9/11 is a generational question. Anybody old enough to recall that horrific event will never forget their answer to that question. Older generations shared that sentiment and point around Pearl Harbor and JFK's assassination. 

Such awful memories aren't comparable to those who lost loved ones on 9/11, but they form a vital part of our collective memories. Eventually, like Pearl Harbor, 9-11 will fade from living memory and is consigned to holding the interest of historians and other people interested in historical events.

[Tecate]

I remember being in the middle of unit checks (Ambulance) at the fire hall at shift change, and everyone being called in to the lounge where people were standing around watching the television.

As Canadians, and fellow North Americans we were horrified, shocked and angry. I remember thinking “oh fuck, what have they done…”, not knowing who did it, but knowing that this was going to change our perception of the world and that what would follow would definitely not be for the good.

The fact that the seemingly impenetrable bastion of power of the western world was attacked in such a dramatic and direct manner was unbelievable to me. I always felt that it couldn’t have happened how it was depicted in media and by the talking heads.

I felt sorrow for my brother and sister first responders, the families who lost loved ones and all others affected…

We may never know the truth of the matter, but it was obvious to me that there would be a “Warren Commission” type inquiry that would place blame upon a patsy of sorts, and that some very bad reparations would follow.

I may not have direct skin in the game, but I feel your sentiment…

Tecate

[Raptured]

I was thiniking about this last night along the lines of...

Since that day, how have things changed for our everyday life?   Do the changes made that impact our daily lives result in positive or negative?

For me, being someone who travels quite often, it's pretty evident, at least at airports.  I remember the days of being able to enter an airport and go to the gate where one of my kids was arriving.   I also remember being able to take a bottle of water from outside a terminal and on to an airplane.

[Sakiale]

i was almost 8 years old, just starting my school day in queens when the planes struck. our 2nd grade teachers didnt tell us what had happened, but i remember a fearful mood and hushed whispers all day. i remember a dark cloud of dust over lower manhattan for an entire year after it happened. my dad couldnt make it home that night because all public transportation was shut down, and this was before cell phones so we werent sure he was okay until later that evening. 

the younger generation, those who were not yet alive and those who were not personally affected, meme and joke about it nowadays. i find that extremely disrespectful but, what are you gonna do...

[Maxmars]

I saw a discussion thread on YAHOO yesterday in which people were laughing about 9/11 and talking about 9/11 memes.  They actually think it's joke material.   The young people on TikTok apparently have zero respect for what happened and the suffering, and they think that people who tell them they are wrong to laugh about it are weird.

I was dismayed and disgusted.

It is disheartening. 

But I know that feeling judgmental about those who are ready to laugh and joke about it are not 'exactly' in the wrong.  I'm sure there are many things that I find funny, or 'got over' that are just as likely to offend others... I suppose it's a human nature thing.

But it does make me believe that some of these people might suffer another event like 9/11 in their lifetime, and be "surprised" and offended when others aren't as affected as they are.

"Respect".... that is a strange animal in virtual society.  Inconstant and unpredictable... and we like to 'pretend' that it has a cost... when it is as simple a thing as 'good will.'

---

Where were you when you found out about 9/11 is a generational question. Anybody old enough to recall that horrific event will never forget their answer to that question. Older generations shared that sentiment and point around Pearl Harbor and JFK's assassination. 

Such awful memories aren't comparable to those who lost loved ones on 9/11, but they form a vital part of our collective memories. Eventually, like Pearl Harbor, 9-11 will fade from living memory and is consigned to holding the interest of historians and other people interested in historical events.

It's a hard lesson. (At least for me.)

The disconnect between generations seems like something that would be smoothed out by intergenerational social interaction... but it's squelched... I wonder if that effect is exacerbated by the "social media" mindset?  (Not to mention the dishonor and dishonesty of industrial media productions... said to be "fair and true," but in the final analysis, they're not really.)

---

I remember being in the middle of unit checks (Ambulance) at the fire hall at shift change, and everyone being called in to the lounge where people were standing around watching the television.

As Canadians, and fellow North Americans we were horrified, shocked and angry. I remember thinking “oh fuck, what have they done…”, not knowing who did it, but knowing that this was going to change our perception of the world and that what would follow would definitely not be for the good.

The fact that the seemingly impenetrable bastion of power of the western world was attacked in such a dramatic and direct manner was unbelievable to me. I always felt that it couldn’t have happened how it was depicted in media and by the talking heads.

I felt sorrow for my brother and sister first responders, the families who lost loved ones and all others affected…

We may never know the truth of the matter, but it was obvious to me that there would be a “Warren Commission” type inquiry that would place blame upon a patsy of sorts, and that some very bad reparations would follow.

I may not have direct skin in the game, but I feel your sentiment…

Tecate

I caught the news when it was still a rumor... the radio jockey said there were reports of some airplane hitting the tower... not specifying which... but that it was not known if it was a smaller private aircraft or 'something else.'  By the time I reached my office we knew... and while I was there, the second plane struck... and then we "really" knew.

I can feel my blood pressure rising just recounting the event.

When the Pentagon was struck I had to leave my office to make a few phone calls... thankfully I lost no friends... but sadly they did.

The "Warren Commission" effect was in full swing thereafter... sequestering evidence (then sending it to China,) planting bogus 'evidence,' spewing forth a platoon of know-nothing talking-heads, and vilifying those who theoretically fall into the category "You ain't with us, you're against us."  It was a 'project' executed almost as if they had known it was coming... next thing you know we have a new "department" of government... "Homeland Security" - which neither secures the homeland, nor improves any operation anywhere... but there are many new contracts, and government political appointees... an army of them.

I should stop... I'm not helping my emotional state with all this....

[l0st]

I was thiniking about this last night along the lines of...

Since that day, how have things changed for our everyday life?   Do the changes made that impact our daily lives result in positive or negative?

For me, being someone who travels quite often, it's pretty evident, at least at airports.  I remember the days of being able to enter an airport and go to the gate where one of my kids was arriving.   I also remember being able to take a bottle of water from outside a terminal and on to an airplane.

There's no reason this shouldn't be the case today. The security theatre they put in is just that.

I had a micro-leatherman keychain confiscated before my last flight. It wasn't even on me, it was in a carry-on bag and had been there since before I set off to foreign lands- meaning it had been through multiple security gates, scanners, searches, blah blah blah. This thing technically has a built in knife and scissors, that are about 1" long, among other tools. It's been on my keychain for ohhhh... 23 or 24 years. This thing has been in my pocket on numerous flights.. probably at least 20 of them, without issue.

Absolutely retarded. Nobody is taking down a plane with a keychain. Meanwhile, I had a 12' extension cord in my carry-on for my laptop - could easily strangle multiple people with that thing- but hey perfectly okay! The keychain had them searching the entirety of my carry-on bags and they had absolutely no issue with the extension cord.

The guy right behind me got pulled by security as well. They searched his bag from some alleged contraband which turned out to be pieces of some baby toy (he had kids with him) that were in his bag. Yep! Way to keep the skies safe!

Oh yeah, I once had a DHS employee refuse me at the gate and call the police on me claiming I had given her a fake ID. The "fake ID" I'd allegedly given her was a bonafide 100% real state issued drivers license. 6 police officers showed up, ran my ID, told them it was real, then stood around like larry, curly, and moe trying to figure out what they could arrest me for, since the DHS bitch's claims were 100% false. Needless to say, I was released and used the exact same ID to go through the line a second time without issue and got on the plane. I did report her to DHS who took up the complaint but made no disciplinary action. Surprise, surprise.

The fish rots from the head.

[k0rn]

It was an awful thing and it created awful legislation called the Patriot Act. Ever since the legislation never stopped and the constitution was shredded. More and more legislation and it didn’t matter if it was a r or a d as president. It was used as a power grab to erode our liberties and destroy the constitution for many years to come and the trend continues to this day.

[xpert11]

It's a hard lesson. (At least for me.)

The disconnect between generations seems like something that would be smoothed out by intergenerational social interaction... but it's squelched... I wonder if that effect is exacerbated by the "social media" mindset?  (Not to mention the dishonor and dishonesty of industrial media productions... said to be "fair and true," but in the final analysis, they're not really.)

---

Echoes of the generational change in societal values in the 1960s: The younger people born after WW2 had no memories of that conflict and didn't share their parent's generation's values. The vast gap between those people contributed to turbulent times and the scars left by the Vietnam War.

Interestingly, unlike Vietnam, people's stance on post 9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq didn't divide family and friends to anywhere near the same extent. Note that it is a brief, broader historical and social commentary and doesn't take away from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans' experiences.