Remembering 9/11
 

R.I.P. to all who lost their lives in the collapse of the World trade centres.

Remember their families, may our prayers and thoughts touch them in their time of need.

:frown: That day was one of those days I'll remember forever.
(As I'm going to do with the days when our prime minister Olof Palme was killed in -86 and when our foreign minister Anna Lind was killed in -03)
I was scared and felt such sadness.
Today my thoughts are with the families to all those that died.

I read something interesting that someone said they looked forward to the day when this day was taken from the hands of the media and the politicians and given to history.

The memorials are important for the families and friends of those that died and for those that went through it but the televising of them perplexes me. It feels like the media wants to make sure you don't forget! (I doubt that many would).

It was all done by the Trilateral commission.

I know what you mean. After John Paul II died (and as a matter of fact, a while before that, too), his passing away was literally all that was talked about in local media for at least a week. The way the "If you are not mourning him right now, then there must be something wrong with you." message was shovelled down our throats was pretty disgusting. And I don't think I'd have thought differently if I weren't an atheist. I know Catholics who felt the same way.

The way the Bush administration uses the victims of 9/11 to push their agenda sickens me, as does the way the American mass media just follows along like little obedient dogs. Are any of you watching that "docudrama" (i.e., pack of lies) about 9/11 tonight? I won't be going near it.

I'm not quite sure how popular my opinion here is going to be, but I seriously hope that, after this 5th anniversary, we can at least gain a little more perspective on the issue.

This was clearly an horrific tragedy, and I don't want to trivialise it in any way, but there comes a point at which this constantly looking back becomes unhealthy. Television programmes this evening - even on this side of the Atlantic - are pretty much exclusively focused on this event, and I do wonder what possible use raking over the coals again can possibly have. From a purely personal, selfish perspective, I'm at the stage where I lose all interest in anything said after the phrase "9/11" - it has become a fashionable buzzword that has lost the vast majority of its significance - and am far more interested in the fact that today is my grandmother's birthday.

That said, my sympathies remain with those who lost family, friends and colleagues five years ago. I may not know any of them personally, and I may be taking precisely no interest in commerations today, but it is they that will have to live with the results of these events in the years to come, and nobody deserves that.

Rob, I agree with you.

I will avoid the TV shows because all the stations will try for the biggest and best of the coverage - some will no doubt make this a weeklong media event, to maximize their profits from this.

I have strong feelings about this horrific tragedy, but despise those who will use this to make money off of people's emotions. These are leeches of the worst kind.

If this coverage were really done from understanding and reminding us all about the details so we wouldn't forget, then use some of their profits to pay for it, and make it commercial-free. Perhaps I'm just a cynic, but I'm old enough to have seen too much of using other's emotions for profit.

Okay, off my soapbox - /rant

Like you, I'm hoping that we will get over this and start to move on. If the future major anniversaries (like 10, 15, 20, 25 years, etc.) have memorial events - that's okay by me, but having this kind of coverage each year saps the emotional strength from people, and takes them away from other important issues. Review and reflect is fine, bleeding is not.

FGM

If you want a really jaded view of the whole thing try UK Channel 4, 22:00 this Wednesday This horrifies me more than the excessive media coverage.

If nothing else I think this repeated obsessing prevents those families directly affected from getting on with their lives. It's bad enough so many peolple lost their lives that day without so many other lives being effectively ended by not being able to put this terrible memory behind them.

I completely understood the need for a very public (i.e. televised) memorial the first couple of years. I think collectively, many people were grieving: either the loss of someone or just what happened and the shock that went with it. But with any grieving process, people move on and let go of the sadness. It's always a different process for everyone and everyone has a very different grieving timeline. I feel like this very public reminder of details and oh it's the time when the first plane hit, etc. isn't needed.

We aren't mourning collectively anymore. But I feel we are being forced back into this collective sadness. 'It's 9/11, you are obligated to mourn, feel sad, cry, and feel for families.' I can't find those feelings anymore personally. I've moved on. For those families who are still in the grieving process, they very likely have a lot of support from fellow grievers, counselors, etc. I highly doubt me dredging up feelings I don't have anymore will help them.

Obviously it's sad for the families etc.

However the coverage between the TV and the amount of movies due out about this tragedy just reinforces the message to the terrorists that they did what they set out to do.

At some point it should be left to the history books just like all the other terrorist attacks that don't have this much publicity.

But this America we're talking about. :shifty: Obviously what happens to us is of paramount importance. [/sarcasm]

I don't have a reference handy but more people (with Africa I believe dominating) die from malaria each day than we lost on 9/11.

Edit: From June 2003. I'm not sure how much better the situation is.

The only significance of this event to me, not living in New York, or America, is how foreign policy changed after it. Some of the technical expects were extraodinary, but they're not discussed as much, there's on going struggle of people with health problems in New York, that's news worthy but it doesn't get much time.

Don't feel bad America, it's not even 1/100th as bad as what Britain did when Diana died, which basically meant I didn't watch TV for an entire week. Of course, Americans that also went bat-shit crazy over Diana dying, that's just weird.

9/11 week is like shark week to me, a TV event, once is enough.

I feel a bit sorry for my little brother, having his birthday 11.september. Everytime someone askes when he's born and my mother answers 9/11 everyone goes "oh" and look horrified. He was actually born one year after the attack.

Does she actually say "nine eleven" or "the 11th of September"? 'Cause I think people would react to the first one more, because of the negative connotations that the date's nickname is used for.

Well duh, of course it's important, to us.

I've heard many reports that New York City will be struck with a nuclear warhead. I wonder if there's any truth in it......

I've heard many reports that you're a dumbass.