I’ve written some controversial articles here in the past. Some have gotten me cheered, some have led to angry vituperation. Some have had people try to look up my home address so they could “thank” me in person.
This entry should transcend all others, although in which direction I have no idea. Only time, and restraining orders, will tell.
Let me start by saying that I am in no way diminishing the amount of human suffering caused by the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. I lived through the day just like (nearly) everyone reading this did. I remember the shock and horror, and I grieve for the 3,000 people who died between the WTC, Pentagon, and UA93. It was a tragic and senseless day.
But really, for Christ’s sake, people, enough is fucking enough!
Here’s what I’ve got against 9/11, and what is making me piss fuzzy worms this morning.
Enough with the “never forget” shit already.
I hate to tell you this, but you saying “never forget” isn’t going to make people never forget. You want to know what will decide whether people forget or not? What happen(ed/s) after the event itself.
We remember Pearl Harbor because it led to what some historians like to refer to as “the last good war.” It led to our entry into World War II, marked the end of imperialism, and helped lead to the eventual defeat of Fascism in Europe. That’s why we remember Pearl Harbor.
We don’t, however, “Remember the Maine!” any more (outside of history classes) because it marked the beginning of a war for all the wrong reasons (territory and newspaper sales), which later turned out to have been artificially created. Saying “Remember the Maine!” today is like saying “Remember the Gulf of Tonkin!” Bullshit war ginned up by overreaction to a bullshit event, and people will not remember, nor care, no matter how much you scream at them to “never forget.”
The real question becomes, what do you want to happen by people never forgetting? Remember the innocents who lost their lives? Fine. Realize that our throwing our muscle around indiscriminately will lead to desperate people doing stupid shit? Worth remembering. But if you want to use it as an excuse to fight more stupid wars just because some people share the same religion as the guy who caused 9/11, or keep giving up the civil rights and freedoms we enjoy, then fuck you with Carol Channing’s dick.
Which brings me (remembering, not Carol Channing) to….
The last thing this country needs right now is a fucking griefgasm.
MSNBC is re-running 9/11 “as it happened” this morning. I might let that slide on the fifth or tenth anniversary, but this is the fucking eighth anniversary, one so stupid and meaningless that some married couples don’t really celelebrate it beyond the swapping of cards or maybe an awkward nostalgic fuck late in the evening.
We’ve got serious problems in this country right now. Our banks are falling into shit. The dollar is plunging against other currencies. Millions of people are out of work. For fuck’s sake, people, stop lingering in the past and start concentrating on what we have facing us right now.
And finally….
Stop using it as a fucking excuse.
Bush used 9/11 as an excuse to fight a bullshit war against a dictator who the CIA had funded and armed back in the 1980’s, who had no real army and no air force. The fascists hiding within our population used it as an excuse to stomp on freedom of speech and assembly. The racists used it as an excuse to fight for closing our borders even tighter. Business fuckers used it as an excuse to sell yellow car magnets made in China by slave labor.
If you want to do something, do it. But be prepared to justify it. Do not expect us to follow along like good little sheep because otherwise “the terrorists win” or “then the 9/11 victims died in vain.” Fuck you. The 9/11 victims did die in vain. Their deaths were incredibly stupid and senseless. There is no more “in vain” way to die than that. If you want to try and make something good out of it, then go ahead; making chicken salad out of chicken shit is an American tradition.
But for pity’s fucking sake, people, don’t wave their bloody shirt as an excuse for doing what you want. Because when you do that, then it means that their deaths were worse than in vain, it means their deaths were for evil purposes. And that is something no one should ever tolerate.
If you’re one of the people doing that, then I hope tonight, when you’re lying in your bed, every fucking one of the 3,000 ghosts of the people killed on 9/11/2001 comes to visit you in the night and make you see what a combination douchebag and salad dressing you have become.
In conclusion….
It’s okay to mourn. It’s okay to feel sad. I still remember the event vividly and just thinking about it enough to type this is bringing tears to my eyes, but for fuck’s sake, people, it was eight years ago. It’s in the past. It’s time to move on. The best way to honor the memory of the people who died that day is to make the world a better place in their honor, and you can’t do that if you’re busy watching replays of the towers falling all day. That’s nothing more than snuff porn.
I’m certain you realize your emotional outburst is no more or less appropriate than those who thrive or profit from grief and disaster.
People are going to be people. Human nature and its impulses have little changed since we took a chance by climbing down from the trees.
I see little reason to pay attention to those who seek to exploit people and events with no more context than to pass time between advertisements, elections, or jobs. From my observations, this reasoning is rare to occur and even more rarely acted upon. I do follow news sufficient to be aware that such takes place, for example the activities today that mark the attacks on our soil and the deaths & injuries thereof. Being aware that people continue to be what is expected, I see no reason to further pursue it.
Your passion is, as usual, clear and sincere. It makes me wonder if your place in the scheme of things is to be opposite number of those who work you up so much with today’s activities. I’m often accused of being too calm when others declare that the sky is falling. I usually, and calmly, respond that if the sky is indeed falling, there is little to be gained from panic or upset. If it turns out the sky is staying put, then their panic was for nothing and I’ve succeeded in preserving tranquility in my own life. If the sky did fall, then it is a good bet nothing else will ever matter again insofar as I am concerned. I value tranquility and believe it conducive to a longer, happier life.
I have no conclusion or worthwhile advice to offer. I certainly have no effective argument in favor of or opposed to what you have said. It is all noise and will eventually fade away. Perhaps I can suggest that while it may be frustrating to see people doing what they have always done, it is as well that you do likewise.
Mark
September 11th, 2009