Never forget. 9/11 was a horrible day. Worst part about it was the lies, the spin. In our lifetimes, most of us will never know the truth about those. The number of lives lost kept going up, until it started going down. That one was easy. The US couldn't telegraph just how bad the damage was. Rather than report the facts, it became about spin.
Never forget. We hear that every year. Never forget. Anyone who lived through that day is not going to forget. We don't need a reminder. So why the constant, annual nudge? To make sure everyone remembers the spin, the lies. We're supposed to remember the official story. I remember the truth like it happened yesterday. I don't need a reminder.
Social media is despicable regarding 9/11. This year (24 years later) I started seeing posts suggesting we Americans remember 9/11 AND to be the people we were on 9/12. Really? That's fucked up. The people of 9/12 were terrified. No one went to work (except for a handful of us). Sure, everyone had their flag displayed. Was this pride or the first taste of nationalism? Some of you might not remember. The economy went into the toilet for a while. Is that why our current economy is in the shitter? Are we remembering and honoring 9/11?
The people of 9/12 were assholes. Sure, they were scared but that was no excuse for who we became. I remember seeing news reports of brown-skinned people being attacked in the streets. Indians, Pakistanis, etc. These were American citizens. These were students. These were people who had nothing to do with 9/11 - but our neighbors were attacking them. Violently. Is this what we are now supposed to emulate?
I spent a large part of 9/12 trying to get through to my ex-wife in NYC. I was trying to contact friends in NYC. I was ready to hop in the car and drive to NYC and volunteer my services. My boss talked me out of it. She reminded me that I was needed here.
The worst part of 9/11 was the silence. I was one of the last people out of the city. On the 6-mile drive home, I didn't see another person, another car, not even a dog or cat. It was like being the last man alive. The air traffic had been stopped. The silence was alien. It seemed unnatural. After I couldn't watch the news any longer, I sat on my porch with my dogs. They both knew something was up. Then a fighter jet flew low over the neighborhood. It was LOUD! Scared the shit out of all three of us. I guessed this was life now.
The people of 9/12 were a changed people. The reality was that We the People had been attacked. We'd let our collective mouths write a check our collective asses couldn't cash. Insufficient funds. Our world changed. I remember having to show my ID for the first time just to enter a building downtown. This wasn't a government building or anything. It was a doctor's office. I remember the faces of people in the city, as well as out in the suburbs. The look of fear and suspicion. The cops all started wearing buzz cuts. They were trying to look like some third-rate paramilitary group. It would have been comical at any other point in time. I started to miss the people of 9/10.
The people of 9/10 weren't unique. They mostly minded their own business. They went to work, did their jobs, and spent their money in their communities. The people of 9/10 enjoyed life as much as they could. For the most part, the 90s weren't awful. We worked, earned our money, paid our bills, and lived our lives. The people of 9/10 didn't politicize everything. Most of us thought George W. Bush was a pinhead, but he was our pinhead. But the people of 9/10 who survived 9/11 became the flag-waving hyper nationalists of 9/12.
Never forget the people of 9/10. They weren't perfect, but for the most part they were reasonable. Crime existed, but it wasn't constantly blamed on the left or right. School shootings had happened, but not to the extent that they happen now. The people of 9/10 would have never accepted a dictator. Hell, Clinton was unsuccessfully impeached for lying about banging a fat girl. We held our chosen leaders to account or at least tried. The news reported the news. It wasn't just a never-ending stream of opinionated talking heads spewing partisan talking points. Fox News, at the time, was considered a joke. I remember the local Fox News team. With the possible exception of Alby Oxenreiter (Ox on Fox!) they were a bunch of inept clowns. I recall a night when two of the anchors came to one of my shows at Rosebud. 9:00pm and they were falling down drunk and had to be escorted out. Neither the station nor the incident was considered news. We all used to joke that Fox should stick to shows like The Simpsons.
When you remember 9/11 (and trust me, you'll be reminded!), remember the people of 9/10. They're long gone. They're a myth. Was life ever that simple? Will it ever be again? Probably not in my lifetime. Never forget. You've been lied to for years, and you happily swallowed every lie.
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