Anniversary reflections
Sep. 11th, 2021 09:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mtbcIt is strange to be reflecting again on 9/11. My basic thoughts on it haven't changed. I first heard about it on the radio in the car with mst3kmoxie on our way to the gym where they had television screens that showed the Twin Towers. I felt relatively safe, central Ohio is not a high-value target. Later that day, I believe I saw Air Force One pass over, with escort. The surprise for me was that people were so surprised. With specific complaints against the US in the Middle East and, growing up in Western Europe, being used to bombings, etc., from the IRA locally and others like ETA further afield, I had been puzzled that the US had not been more of a target of international terrorism. It was hardly unthinkable, American authors had already written of the use of passenger airliners for such.
What has changed for me over the years is the emphasis. We have not learned or fixed much as a country since, at least that I see. However, 9/11 and its aftermath have touched many lives, both here and overseas, and, in the years since, I have encountered many such examples. Whatever their feelings on the broader politics, it's so many ordinary people who have suffered lasting harm and, these days, I am more likely to be sad and angry for all those who, in various ways, caught the fallout. I am glad that at least some received some help, that there are good people out there, but the tragedy casts a long shadow.
mst3kmoxie on our way to the gym where they had television screens that showed the Twin Towers. I felt relatively safe, central Ohio is not a high-value target. Later that day, I believe I saw Air Force One pass over, with escort. The surprise for me was that people were so surprised. With specific complaints against the US in the Middle East and, growing up in Western Europe, being used to bombings, etc., from the IRA locally and others like ETA further afield, I had been puzzled that the US had not been more of a target of international terrorism. It was hardly unthinkable, American authors had already written of the use of passenger airliners for such.What has changed for me over the years is the emphasis. We have not learned or fixed much as a country since, at least that I see. However, 9/11 and its aftermath have touched many lives, both here and overseas, and, in the years since, I have encountered many such examples. Whatever their feelings on the broader politics, it's so many ordinary people who have suffered lasting harm and, these days, I am more likely to be sad and angry for all those who, in various ways, caught the fallout. I am glad that at least some received some help, that there are good people out there, but the tragedy casts a long shadow.
