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LadyLucretia · 09-12-2007, 01:41 PM

Someone pointed out that the impact of the VA Tech massacre on the public consciousness will be most felt in VA and surrounding areas, whereas elsewhere people will forget it more quickly.

Perhaps this is and should be true for 9/11. If your experience of that day consisted entirely of watching the news, then maybe there is no point in hanging on to those memories.

But for those of us who were close enough to see the smoke, who saw first hand the gaping hole in the NYC skyline that was beloved to so many for what it stood for - freedom, strength, opportunity - then I can not imagine anyone being so disrespectful as to deny us the right to commemorate that day.

If someone you know died, wouldn't you want to pause every year on their birthday, just to remember them quietly? Why is it so different for those who were there on 9/11? Sure, it will be politicized. People will try to profit from it. It will be cheapened in many way for many people. But there are still those who are in mourning - for loved ones, for the city they loved that is changed forever. And THOSE are the people who still have a need for services, memorials, vigils. They need to feel like this life altering event is more than just a chapter in a history book - it is a fresh wound that is still healing, and the recovery process still takes a community effort. Suppressing memories for the sake of "moving on" is not an option for many people. Those of you who can move on and forget about terrorism - you are lucky. There are still families out there who never received a possession or body part to confirm the death of their loved one, and who can fault them for not wanting the world to just forget about all those lost children, husbands, wives?

So maybe only NYC should have widespread memorials, or maybe only displaced New Yorkers should have a moment of silence. I'm not saying that everyone needs to still care, because lets face it, it didn't effect everyone on the same level.

But please, have some respect for the direct impact 9/11 had on so many people's lives.

09-12-2007, 01:41 PM	#25
LadyLucretia Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: New England Posts: 382	Someone pointed out that the impact of the VA Tech massacre on the public consciousness will be most felt in VA and surrounding areas, whereas elsewhere people will forget it more quickly. Perhaps this is and should be true for 9/11. If your experience of that day consisted entirely of watching the news, then maybe there is no point in hanging on to those memories. But for those of us who were close enough to see the smoke, who saw first hand the gaping hole in the NYC skyline that was beloved to so many for what it stood for - freedom, strength, opportunity - then I can not imagine anyone being so disrespectful as to deny us the right to commemorate that day. If someone you know died, wouldn't you want to pause every year on their birthday, just to remember them quietly? Why is it so different for those who were there on 9/11? Sure, it will be politicized. People will try to profit from it. It will be cheapened in many way for many people. But there are still those who are in mourning - for loved ones, for the city they loved that is changed forever. And THOSE are the people who still have a need for services, memorials, vigils. They need to feel like this life altering event is more than just a chapter in a history book - it is a fresh wound that is still healing, and the recovery process still takes a community effort. Suppressing memories for the sake of "moving on" is not an option for many people. Those of you who can move on and forget about terrorism - you are lucky. There are still families out there who never received a possession or body part to confirm the death of their loved one, and who can fault them for not wanting the world to just forget about all those lost children, husbands, wives? So maybe only NYC should have widespread memorials, or maybe only displaced New Yorkers should have a moment of silence. I'm not saying that everyone needs to still care, because lets face it, it didn't effect everyone on the same level. But please, have some respect for the direct impact 9/11 had on so many people's lives.