9/11

[Lemur]

I was in NYC on the day. I lost people I knew personally. I lived through the panic, the chaos, the dead phone lines, the disinformation, the choking smoke, the wandering crowds of the displaced, and the near-total confusion. I was two buildings away when anthrax was showing up by mail. I watched my friends and neighbors go through every stage of grief, anger, confusion, paranoia, heroism, hope, and triumph.

And two years later I drove past the gaping pits on the way to deliver my first child on 9/11/03.

I watched every politician of every persuasion try to grab onto what was—among other things—our local tragedy as their personal mantle to do whatever the hell they wanted to do in the first place.

I watched tourists flock into NYC for years after, to view the pits where our buildings used to be. (Strangely, no New Yorker wanted to go look, but people from out of town made it their first stop. I think maybe it felt unreal to people who weren't there on the day, or something like that.)

You want to know how New Yorkers got along in the immediate aftermath? Grit, anger, and humor. You want to know how outsiders exploited the tragedy to their personal benefit? Calls for reverence and obedience.

So the hell with your demand for decorum and silence. The hell with people who weren't there telling those who were how to deal with trauma.

[rvg]

So the hell with your demand for decorum and silence. The hell with people who weren't there telling those who were how to deal with trauma.

Why "to hell"? Just because someone wasn't there doesn't make their grief less genuine.

[CountArach]

Why "to hell"? Just because someone wasn't there doesn't make their grief less genuine.

Grief is a personal thing which each person deals with in a different way. If Lemur uses humour to deal with it then why should he be made to stop?

[rvg]

Grief is a personal thing which each person deals with in a different way. If Lemur uses humour to deal with it then why should he be made to stop?

He doesn't have to stop, but why does it have to be "to hell" with Vuk's way of dealing with it?

[Major Robert Dump]

The souls of the dead cannot rest unless this thread continues unmolested.

It is not yet noon and I have observed 8 moments of silence in ourt anniversary-happy, overpriced-monument happy country.

Rather than learning lessons, we build a monument and have a yearly event and that gives us an excuse to forget.

And in a really fuinny twist, a local, high fallutin gun club came to a Ft Sam wounded warrior assembly,a couple of weeks ag,o to announce they would hold a Veterans Shooting Day at their very expensive club with very expensive food and drinks and entertainment and very expensive hotel rooms. Nice, we all thought, supporting the wounded Veterans, and many raised their hands and asked for the appropriate forms to fill out.

Then, the man giving us the presentation mentioned that everyone should dress casual and semi-formal, no hillbilly or sleaze attire, because the press would be there taking photographs and there is a dress code at the club. Hmmmm, we thought, this may just be a tax write off-pat on the back dog and pony show for publicity.

Then, the man giving the presentation, announced this would occur on Sept 11. The vast majority of soldiers handed the forms back unfilled. He left very unhappy. Last I heard, the event had only a couple of volunteers (out of 300 of us) and they had to fill the seats by going and pulling kids out of AIT who will do anything to get away from a drill seargent for a day.

People like this can kiss our asses

[Vuk]

Grief is a personal thing which each person deals with in a different way. If Lemur uses humour to deal with it then why should he be made to stop?

I was under the impression that this thread was for showing respect, and not 'dealing with personal grief'.

So the hell with your demand for decorum and silence. The hell with people who weren't there telling those who were how to deal with trauma.

I am not telling you how to deal with trauma Lemur. I am simply saying that in a thread dedicated to showing respect to the dead, joking is not always the best way to do that. Its a lot like cracking jokes at someone's funeral.

[Lemur]

I am simply saying that in a thread dedicated to showing respect to the dead, joking is not always the best way to do that. Its a lot like cracking jokes at someone's funeral.

I sincerely hope someone has the presence of mind and fortitude to crack some jokes at my funeral.

[Vladimir]

I sincerely hope someone has the presence of mind and fortitude to crack some jokes at my funeral.

Just for you Lemur, I will give the ultimate hot box.

[Beskar]

I am not telling you how to deal with trauma Lemur. I am simply saying that in a thread dedicated to showing respect to the dead, joking is not always the best way to do that. Its a lot like cracking jokes at someone's funeral.

There are such things as "Happy Funerals". Where people celebrate the life of the person who has departed. Singing praises, raising glasses and wishing them the best in the next life and a lot of jokes are in fact cracked at these.

Lemur got a little silly about his sons plans for world domination but he wasn't insulting or trying to disrespect the dead.

[rajpoot]

but he wasn't insulting or trying to disrespect the dead.

This.
I'm sure no one here is callous enough to make jokes about terrorist attacks where so many lives were lost.

Either way I'm sure a thread like this would go better without finding faults.

[HoreTore]

There are such things as "Happy Funerals". Where people celebrate the life of the person who has departed. Singing praises, raising glasses and wishing them the best in the next life and a lot of jokes are in fact cracked at these.

Lemur got a little silly about his sons plans for world domination but he wasn't insulting or trying to disrespect the dead.

Graham Chapman, anyone?

[Kadagar_AV]

battle of marathon was either sep 12th... Or a date in August...

I havent seen anyone think it was 9/11...

source?

[Lemur]

battle of marathon was either sep 12th... Or a date in August...

I havent seen anyone think it was 9/11...

source?

Yep. 9/12 is the commonly accepted date. I think they were off by 24 hours!

[gaelic cowboy]

I sincerely hope someone has the presence of mind and fortitude to crack some jokes at my funeral.

We had a party for 2 days for granny's wake, and it was mighty craic.

[Goofball]

Quite honestly, I'm sick of hearing about 9/11, and of seeing the overblown impact everyone lets it have on their lives. No, it should not be forgotten. But some of the things I see on TV actually look like it is being celebrated. Everyone is basking in this sickly, warm glow of self-pity and self-righteousness. And then there are the small things. I have a very common name. Apparently my name has been used by some terrorist as an alias at one time or another. Now, everytime I try to board a plane, I am taken aside and subjected to 20 to 30 minutes of idiocy before the security agents say, "Okay, sorry about that sir. 9/11, you know. You can get on the plane."

The real kicker for me was two years ago when I was doing a road trip from Seattle to Houston. I was almost out of gas in Washington, so I stopped in the next small town I saw. I then realized I was out of cash, so I went to a local bank (the only available one in this small town) to cash a few American Express travellers cheques. I had a passport and drivers license, so I assumed the process would go smoothly. Wrong. I was told by the slack-jawed yokel who passed as a bank manager in this pisspot town that they no longer honored travellers cheques for "foreigners" because of what had happened on Sep 11. Jesus wept. Who else but a foreigner would need to cash a travellers cheque in the first place?

Get over it.

[Strike For The South]

I refuse to wrap myself in the flag.

I feel bad for those who lost their lives, I do.

But do not pervert my sadness for your endgame

I refuse