9/11: was it recognized enough this year?

[Mjolnir The Hammer]

I may not be the only one that was truly troubled by this this last tuesday. I definitely felt that the 6th anniversary of September 11th was overlooked. I saw very few/short stories on the news about it, I never saw a re-run of the ceremony at ground zero where they called out the victims' names (because I was at school), and when I thought people heard, "Oh hey, it's nine/eleven!", I thought it would spark a moving conversation that we would take a moment and reflect on what happened on that unbelieveable day. Instead, it seemed less relevant and recieved less of a response than people would give me on my birthday. I didn't see any love that day for those that lost their lives.

It couldn't have possibly have been because of where I live; I live near L.A. (Pasadena to be exact), one of the largest and most diverse communities in the country, if not the world. How could something as deeply impacting as this tragedy be so easily redirected from our attention? Nay, our NEED for attention? It deserves better than what I witnessed. Can anyone relate to me?

 

[misayukim]

I feel like no one really noticed. The plane that crashed was the same exact plane&time I took to come to California from New York. I came to California exactly a week earlier. But unfortunately, a few of my friends' dads were there in the TwinTowers and they died. So it's like a BIG thing to me, but everyone at school was totally oblivious. I thought I should do something, but I didn't even get support from my friends. I wrote stuff about 911 on my blogs and stuff... but not many replies as I had expected. ;;  

[Mjolnir The Hammer]

I KNEW IT!!! I'M NOT ALONE!!!!! mrgreen

Seriously, the way you describe how everyone was oblivious is the precisely what happened at my school. No one looked different; they weren't mourning, they didn't look like they were thinking or looked concerned; they were like mechanized ignorants with flesh and blood walking around school without a care in the world. xp
This saddened me immensely. We didn't even have a quiet time to honor those who were involved. I need to speak up about that at my school, or at least within my small arts academy. We're the only ones who care about being enlightened individuals, or staying informed on these kinds of things and I still saw what you did.......Wow, we need to change something because whatever it may be, it's definitely wrong. sad  

[Bane Ad Vitam]

To me it seemed like it was a bigger deal than last year or the year before that, so I don't know what you guys are talking about.

 

[Duroonsia]

We took a moment to honer those that fell in 9/11 at my school. So I am happy.  

[sunshinehearttrob]

i totally agree with you. i mean, i could vaguely remember standing up in school last year for a moment of silence to honor those that scarified their lives for us. but this year, none of that !!! i was horrified and deeply confused. this should be one of those days that we remember these things, the people who were on those planes, in the towers, in the pentagon. one of those days that changes us forever. and yet...it doesnt get as much remembrance and honor that it should.

so here, i say we remember those of our loves ones that died, of strangers that we spill tears for.  

[Nekkid Glomper]

On the one hand, I do tend to agree...not much around here (that I noticed) was really said or done...on the other hand, if we live solely in the past, we'll never move forward. Now, I'm not saying we should forget it all together, not by any means...

I think 9/11 holds/means a great deal more to those who lost family /friends, so they're the ones who will always keep 9/11 close. Others will show their respect to those who lost their lives, even if it's only a moment of silence. Others still will simply are/become oblivios...maybe because they get busy with their schedule, were too young to know what had happened that day...who knows...

It's kind of like yor B-Day...everyone you know wishes you a happy birthday, and you see them all the time, so it only seems like you get a lot of notice then...but in reality, how many hundreds/thousands of people have you met throughout your life who to this day wish you a happy birthday? The people who wish you a happy B-Day are like those who were directly affected...the people you've met and didn't wish you a happy B-day are like the ones who give a moment of respect, and everyone who doesn't know you would be like those who were too young to know what was going on at that time...  

[D i v i n i t y]

At school, the school's choir sang out loud and everyone had to be quiet. Also, the American flag was only half raised plus there was also a moment of silence when school started. I'm not saying that this is enough but Im just saying that at LEAST we remembered the ones that died from the tragedy.  

[Tarrou]

'December 7th, a date which will live in infamy...' And yet most of my generation have trouble recalling what, exactly, happened on December 7th. The fact of the matter is, every tragedy will eventually pass into memory. For the first few years after September 11th, we grieved loudly; but as time goes on, fewer and fewer people have come to the ceremonies, and the networks have devoted less time to covering the ever-dwindling turnout. A decade out, the only people still actively marking the anniversary will be those who were directly affected by it.

11 September 2001, I'm sorry to say, didn't change everything—certainly it was less profound than Pearl Harbor, which launched the United States into a war that would cost it 418,500 lives and mobilize the entire nation's resources. After 9/11 we were exhorted to change nothing, lest we allow the terrorists to win. Instead, the specter of the collapsing Twin Towers was held over us as the implicit casus belli for the War on Terror, a mismanaged enterprise that has bitterly divided this country, while at the same time asking absolutely nothing of the vast majority of Americans other than armchair loyalty to the plan for victory that the president assures us he has.

9/11 happened, we grieved; we went shopping, bought airline tickets and went on vacation. We went to war, and and a tiny group of Americans were asked to sacrifice everything while the rest sacrificed nothing; we bickered an argued and impugned each other's patriotism and intelligence while good men died in a desert thousands of miles away. Is it any wonder that we don't hold massive vigils for those who died that Tuesday in September? They were murdered, and in facing that profoundly evil act, we opted for platitudes, consumerism, and fear.

Most of us watched 9/11 on the television, were shocked, railed against the insanity of it all, and then went back to our jobs and our educations and everyday life. For those who lost loved ones, that day will never be forgotten, but for most of us, it was just an inconvenient hiccup in this American life—one that let us stick Chinese-made flags on our cars and beat our chests and declare how proud we were to be Americans, yes, but a minor episode nonetheless. And given that its collective legacy is primarily one of paranoia and partisan rancor, it should hardly come as a surprise that the average American just doesn't care any more.  

[divineseraph]

Comparatively, it was nothing.


And I like how nobody knows WHY it happened. It's not so much a coverup as it is a simple lack of information. Bu this lack of information works. It causes paranoia, it lets people who have money to make from war persuade you into thinking you NEED to go to war. The actual reason the terrorists were motivated is completely ignored and is intead turned into revenue for General Electric and Cheney's building companies.  

[White Dog Poo]

Im sorry but yea it was tragic but the world does go on.. people just stop to care, you can pray for those families. but to make it a huge thing each year with video clips and that will just breed violence old wounds and More anger..

People need to be heald and the only way is through Jesus Christ  

[Zher]

o.O

i was thinking the same thing. i didnt even hear ANYBODY mention it... in school we didnt even have the moment of silence...