Comments on: Remembering September 11th, 2001

By: Me - Not Jill

Me - Not Jill — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 11:23:24 +0000

What a tool

By: Brooklyn Born

Brooklyn Born — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 18:20:12 +0000

Wow lot’s of emotion here from a broad sprectrum of folks, nothing fell on me that day… but it still changed my whole outlook on life… I, somehow, am still unable to take the thing in nor is that my intention to take it “all” in, really I don’t think that’s at all possible but I’m grateful that others can still offer perspective. At least the sane ones!

I am not ashamed that this has been a topic of some hours in therapy and in this i’m not alone. For me I still dwell on the finality of it all, no more chances to set things straight, what of the fight the night before? no kiss to make up, no chance to say a kind word, the parents with whom there had been things left unsaid?

I have a gut wrenching ache inside that does overwhelm me over all this, not only for my family member, his children and wife that get no second chances but for all the voices that were silenced. Damn even the voices of those who worked there in the days and months after have been forever changed.

Forgive me if I digress if that’s what I’m doing but in five years I’ve never really talked about it openly.

So just to sum this up, while I don’t know all of the nearly 3000 voices silenced that day, knowing one fireman was more than enough, I don’t know all of the wokers who dug through the ruins, but knowing some them is more than enough, I don’t know all of the cop’s in manhattan that day, knowing some of them is enough.

For all of the brave national guard, my son and his wife who went there that day, who saw things that no one should see and have been forever changed.

If a nation feels as one with them, I’m all for it.

woodlawn
ditto on zuzu’s comments in #40

By: zuzu

zuzu — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 01:31:41 +0000

But you are wrong in blaming us for the tourist trap it has become. Those are New York vendors selling the t-shirts, selling the kitsch.

Sure. But somebody’s buying them.

By: Eowyn

Eowyn — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 22:42:51 +0000

I live in the upper mid-west. I have spent quite a few hours reading the short bios of the people murdered on 9/11 in NYC, DC, and PA. Those of us distanced from these murders either geographically or without friends and relatives among the victims will never know the depth of despair that those who witnessed it first hand have felt. The towers were the work place of thousands of people from across the country and around the world. All we could do was watch as the firefighters went into the buildings and the victims came out of the buildings. We were completely helpless and many of us wish to go to NYC to pay our respects. But you are wrong in blaming us for the tourist trap it has become. Those are New York vendors selling the t-shirts, selling the kitsch. Perhaps there should be laws in the city that prohibits the selling of all 9/11 memorabalia within Manhattan. As far as the “I heart NY t-shirts,” they were around for years prior to the attack and they will be around for many many more years. It was a publicity/tourism conception that goes way back and has nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11. You do not have to live in the five buroughs to be fond of NY. When I go to DC/Arlington/Bethesda- the Penagon is on my ‘tourist’ list along with the museums and other landmarks. I’ve never been to NYC but when I do eventually get there, the gravesite of thousands will be on my list along with the Empire State Building. Auschwitz is also on my list. Pearl Harbor is another place I wish to visit before I die. Historically, the places which mean the most to all people are those which represent either great tragedy or great triumph. We cannot ignore that fact. If you were on vacation in, say, Texas, would you go check out the wheat field in the panhandle or the Alamo? If in Georgia, would you be interested in the peach trees or the path that brought down Atlanta? If in Montana, would it be a rye field or the Little Big Hole Battlefield?

This post is long enough

By: piny

piny — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:55:57 +0000

“Disaster territorialism.” Right. Sure, the tornado destroyed your house, but didn’t the tornado really destroy every house?

Some feelings, you should keep to yourself.

By: zuzu

zuzu — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:54:11 +0000

Oh, yes. It was very, very ugly.

And a lot of what Nora above was doing.

And one guy who went off on an extended fantasy about how he wished he were there, so he could rush into the burning buildings so he could feel alive. This guy was no idiot, either — he’s a physicist. I found that incredibly offensive, and told him so. And got accused (by other posters) of disaster territorialism, and trying to tell people that they couldn’t feel anything.

By: Jill

Jill — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:52:35 +0000

Can we actually read the post, people? Nowhere do I say that only NYC residents are allowed to grieve or to feel attached to the event. From what I wrote:

I hope that all Americans do feel some ownership over September 11th. I hope we all think about it today. I hope that we all grieve.

I’m not sure how much clearer I can possibly be.

By: piny

piny — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:49:37 +0000

There were a lot of accusations of “disaster territorialism.”

Holy shit. Is that verbatim?

By: zuzu

zuzu — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:42:47 +0000

So much for taking it all in stride.

By: Elena

Elena — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:38:44 +0000

Your trackback is disabled.
http://mydomesticchurch.blogspot.com/2006/09/taking-it-all-in-stride.html