9/11 + 3
I was in Dallas, at my company’s training center when it happened. The students were straggling in from the hotel next door while we got them set up with nametags and computers and generally squared away for class, when one of them said she’d seen something on TV about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. I had this weird moment of deja vu and flashed on an old story of an Army transport plane hitting the Empire State Building back in WWII, but it somehow seemed current, and then I laughed it off and continued setting up the computer I was working on.
We started the class, going around the room for introductions, talking about what we were going to cover, students talking about what they hoped to learn, etc. Just another class beginning.
The way the training room was set up, the person actually training was at the front of the room while the rest of us were at the back, behind the students, “roaming” to help people who needed assistance. In the first hour of class, one of the other training center staff members came in and quietly told the roamers what was happening in New York, in Washington. Nobody knew the full story yet; it was all disjointed and confusing and unconfirmed.
At the first break we announced to the class what we knew and took an extended break so people could make phone calls and get information and direct activity back at their home sites and … well, whatever they needed to do. We still didn’t know the full impact of what was happening — didn’t know that it was still happening — so we called the class back to order and continued.
Nobody could focus; we were all wondering what was going on, we were all scared. As we continued we roamers worked the internet at the back of the class, gathering any information we could get, and we gave the class frequent updates. It soon became clear that this was not just an accident, not just a freak occurrence; it became clear that this was the worst thing we had ever seen. It became clear that we had to end the class.
So we did — we just stopped. We released the class, told them they were free to go back to their hotel rooms to watch the news and call family and do whatever. We’d try to make arrangements for people to get back home if they needed to. We’d do what we could for them.
And then all of us trainers gathered in the biggest hotel room among us and watched TV all day.
Ever since then, when I’m out on the road the very first thing I do when I get up in the morning is turn on the TV, tune in CNN. I’m always afraid I’m going to see bad news about Los Angeles, and I never quite trust it when I don’t. I’m always sure the bad news is going to start the instant after I turn the TV off.
I still remember the horror of that day. I feel it, I have not forgotten. I will never forget. And to those who scold me to remember, who feel they need to remind me, who suggest I have forgotten because I don’t think Bush is doing it right, I say this:
Fuck you. I remember. Always.
I watched the events of 9/11 from my midtown Manhattan office… the second plane… the buildings falling… it was one of the many reasons I picked up my family and moved to the relative safety of the Middle East.
Hearing politicians (and their supporters) accusing anyone who doesn’t share their world view of having forgotten this horrible event makes me want to scream into their smug faces, “could you forget mass murder committed right in front of your face”?!
With all due respect David, when I read the phrase “relative safety of the Middle East” Dr. Pepper nearly shot out of my nose.
Am I missing something? You have chronicled the near-daily senseless attacks that affect you personally, you carry a handgun, you live in Israel for goodness sake.
The attacks of September 11, 2001 were so tragic I don’t even have words to describe their horror. But in the bigger picture, how many terrorist attacks have their been on U.S. soil? Last count two: Pearl Harbor, December 7, and the World Trade Center, September 11.
So while I can respect your personal choice to move to Israel, please don’t tell me you did it for safety reasons.
Beth… I don’t want to turn Chucks spiffy little journal into a political forum, but let me just make the following observations:
Pearl Harbor was a military attack against military installations, albeit a despicable sneak attack carried out under the cover of ongoing negotiations. It was my home port when I was in the navy and it is clear from studying the history of the attack that the Japanese went to great lengths to locate and target the military.
That said, after the events of September 11th 2001 (note that I resisted the urge to use shorthand for your sake) I was fairly sure that the US would start to get its sh*t together in terms of public awareness of vulnerability…. and for awhile it did. People started noticing packages and backpacks left in public places… mail was screened more carefully… airspace was more carefully monitored and patrolled… and then things drifted back to the way they had been.
The only remnants were the National Guard at train stations and airports (but they are largely acting as police (rousting bums, directing traffic, etc.) and GWB and friends using national security as a blank check to trample civil liberties.
The fact is there have been plenty of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil… just not all of them by Muslims. Oklahoma City comes to mind… as do the shooting in at the El Al counter at LAX, the anthrax attacks and the beltway sniper(s), to name a few.
My comment about the relative safety of the Middle East was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, since the attacks here are widely publicized and I talk about the security situation often on my blog. But on some level I prefer living in a society where the police, military, intelligence community, and civilians work together… cooperate on multiple levels, in recognition of the continuing threat.
When I see a soldier in a bus station, I know he is actively looking for terrorists, not rousting bums (I use this example because that is what I saw the National Guard doing on my recent visit to Grand Central Station and Penn Station).
I also like living in a society that has already had its ‘tug-o-war’ between national security and civil liberties. Granted civil liberties are still actively debated and the government has a lot of legal and civil oversight in its actions, but the government and the people have arrived at a healthy level of understanding of each other’s needs and rights… something that has yet to happen in GWB’s America.
Holy Sh*t, did I really just rant on *that* long? Sorry about squandering your bandwidth, Chuck. Maybe next time I should just pick up the friggin’ phone! :-)
No worries, David. I knew a debate was brewing and I was interested in seeing what you had to say. Thanks.
I like living in a society where I don’t have to wonder what the police standing on the street corner are looking for. I like living in a society where there aren’t soldiers on street corners, period. I like living in a society where when I walk to the bus stop and board a bus, I don’t have to wonder if someone has bombs strapped to their torso intending to blow the bus up. I prefer living in a society that is not at war with other societies, that doesn’t believe war is a solution, because war doesn’t solve anything, it only generates more hatred and revenge fantasies. I prefer living in a society that is working towards peaceful coexistence with people of different religions and ethnic backgrounds. People who believe in perpetuating hatreds, regardless of which side they are on, can stay out of my country, as far as I’m concerned. That includes Zionists, Nazis, Christian evangelicals, and Islamic Fundamentalists.
David,
I’ve thought long and hard before responding and frankly, Lesley took most of the words out of my mouth. (Except for a big thank you for using the whole date, not the dread shorthand).
The bad thing about the internet is the inability to read peoples faces and tones of voice, so your tongue in cheek comment was lost on me. My irony meter is on overload (what with living with Chuck and all).
Our national security is all but a joke, but I do not get on a bus and worry about my fellow passengers. I do not worry for my family or friends on a daily basis. And for those things alone I am thankful. That and the fact I have the freedom and responsibility to choose someone besides The Shrub to look after my interests in the future.
Beth… First off, you and Lesley do not live in a society without soldiers on street corners. There are plenty of national guardsmen on plenty of American street corners these days.
Also, you *do* live in a society that is at war with another society. You may not like it (just as I don’t like the fact that my society is at war), but you can’t deny reality… the U.S. is at war. As far as wether or not war solves anything… that question becomes somewhat more than a college campus debate topic when your country is under attack. When that happens (as it has here in Israel), not fighting a war means crawling into the grave and waiting for the first shovelful of dirt. As much as that might please Lesley, I’m not prepared to go that far for peace.
Lastly, unless I’ve completely misread you in the past, I hope you don’t concur with Lesley’s final statement. As a Zionist, I find it offensive that my simple wish for the Jewish Homeland -Israel – to be allowed to exist in peace (which is the definition of Zionism) could be interpreted as eternal hate.
David,
Two points I want to address in what you said.
1. In fact, there are no National Guardsmen on American street corners these days, at least not here in LA or in any of the cities and airports I’ve visited in my travels across the US. There were in the days following September 11, but on the surface, at least, things are back to normal here.
2. I think your statement that not fighting a war means crawling into a grave is awfully fatalistic (pun not intended). Are the choices only war or not-war? If you are attacked, is attacking back truly your only option? Or is it the only one you wish to choose?
This is a hugely complicated issue (obviously) and one that is difficult to debate calmly, but I wonder if we can? My opinions are based on only what I see from here, so David, perhaps you can offer some new insight from there. I hope none of us is offended by what I say here.
I don’t in any way condone the murderous attacks you undergo there, I really don’t. But I think you have to look beyond them and ask “Why?” I don’t mean to blame Israel for what is happening (even though there’s no way to say this without sounding like I am), but: Is Israel doing anything that is prompting these attacks? Are the Palestinians calling for anything that is being refused? Are they acting in a vacuum? Are there no compromises that can be made, or is force and war and hatred the only solution?
David, I honestly don’t mean to offend you or any other Israeli readers here. I am offering my thoughts from my perspective and I am open to other perspectives and opinions without judgement. If you wish, we can discuss this either here or via email. I think I’d like to.
For the record, I live in Canada. I have lived in three major metropolitan centers in this country and have never seen soldiers on street corners. The only time we see Canadian armed forces is if there is a natural disaster and they are called out to help. I feel very safe here and never think about war or terror happening here. I don’t walk around suspicious of the people I see and meet. Sure, there are criminals and extremists living here. These people exist everywhere. But most people just want to get along and believe in trying to get along.
I thought my earlier post was clear. I am offended by all extremists because their core philosophies of racial purity and supremacy are indefensible. Allow any one to take their philosophy to the nth degree and they become virtually identical. It will be the men and women of reason, the moderate peoples who will find peaceful solutions.
Chuck, no offense… a very reasonable question indeed.
Yes, Israel did (and continues to do) something to invite the violence against it; It exists.
If the Palestinians would have followed Egypt’s and Jordan’s example, they would have had a state long since. In both of the cases I mention, the Arab countries lost wars with Israel (wars that they started) but Israel gave them land and other concessions in order to achieve a lasting peace.
The Palestinians do not want a lasting peace with Israel… their charter does not describe the aspiration for a Palestinian state so much as it calls for the destruction of ‘The Zionist Entity’.
There is absolutely nothing that the Palestinians have asked for (with the exception of resettling Palestinian refugees inside Israel… as opposed to within a Palestinian state) that they have not been offered numerous times at the negotiating table.
At Camp David, then Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Arafat 97% of the land he was asking for, plus a 3% land swap of Israeli lands to make up the difference. Arafat’s response was to refuse and kick off the present ‘Intifada’.
There is a story which perfectly illustrates the situation in which Israel finds itself:
A pacifist and a non-pacifist were talking about their philosophies when suddenly the non-pacifist punched the pacifist in the mouth. Picking himself up off the ground the pacifist made a lunge for his friend but stopped when his friend said, “You can’t hit me back… you’re a pacifist.”
Seeing the reason in his friend’s argument he dusted himself off and was just about to extend his hand in friendship when, again, he was punched in the mouth!
This went on several more times until finally the pacifist saw the fatal flaw in absolute pacifism: Complete and absolute non–violence only works in a world where others will agree not to hurt you. In the real world it is foolish, not to mention dangerous, to presume that a personal philosophy of non-violence will be enough to keep you safe from harm. That Canada has been lucky so far is just that… luck. You are the kid on the playground that the bully hasn’t noticed… yet. I don’t wish you or your country any ill will… but I feel confident that when and if you are attacked you will not feel so smug.
Oh, and I was in train stations and airports on the East coast last month and there were National Guard soldiers everywhere! Like many aspects of the national security debate… don’t make the mistake of associating reality only with what you can see from your own vantage point.
As to asking ‘why’… I don’t have a clear enough understanding of what makes the Muslim extremists tick to answer that. I only know that if your neighbor in LA started shooting at you over your back fence, the ‘why’ of the issue would be a heck-of-a-lot less important to you than actually making the shooting stop.
Same goes for terrorism.
Israel offers the Palestinians their own state… The Palestinians start blowing people up. Israel sets in motion a plan to withdraw from Gaza… the Palestinians start blowing people up.
In all the years of the Israeli-Arab conflict, Israel has negotiated in good faith with anyone willing to sit down at the table. Even though all of Israel’s wars were brought about by Arab aggression… Israel has always had to bring land to the table in order to sue for peace. That has never happened before in recorded history… that the victor had to give something up in exchange for peace! The Arabs only had to bring one thing to the table… a pen. The only things the Palestinians have been asked to do is stop the terrorists and renounce calls for destruction of the State of Israel. They have never even attempted to do either!
So you tell me, who wants peace and who wants chaos and destruction?