Quote:
Originally posted by sugar and spice
I'm sorry, but I think this is bullshit.
Yes, 9/11 was an attack on all-Americans.
However, if you didn't lose someone you loved in the attacks you DID NOT experience it the same way as someone who did. Ditto for someone who lost an acquaintance versus someone who lost a spouse of 25 years -- there are degrees of loss.
Your little ode to how you walked the halls of the Pentagon and thus that affected you only reinforces that point. Obviously New Yorkers were deeply affected by this because this was their HOME. Almost everyone I know in New York knew someone who died. There is a huge difference between seeing a part of the city you call your home being torn to pieces, having lived through that day in New York city, having to look at the altered skyline everyday, and going to funerals day after day vs. watching the news of a national tragedy on TV.
Imagine if this was your home, your friends that died, and the rest of the country trying to pretend that they were just as deeply affected by it as you were. (On an ideological level, sure. On an emotional level, no way in hell.) You'd be pissed off too.
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Nowhere, in my post, did i say that it affected me as deeply as someone who lost a family member. What i did say is that lots of us felt connections to 9-11 and you have no right to tell us that it didnt' affect us at all. I didn't experience it AS MUCH as someone who lost a family member, but it still affrected me.
But it still belongs to ALL Americans. Whether the impact on that person is minimal or extreme, it belongs to us all. New Yorkers or those that lost family members can't claim sole ownership to the tragedy.
I'm not angry that NY was attacked. I'm angry that AMERICA was attacked. Yes, if they bombed Texas A&M or the Alamo, or downtown Dallas, that would affect me more personally than the WTC, but they would be attacking AMERICA. I would expect you or anyone else to be as equally pissed as me, if not because you knew somebody that died, but the fact that 3000 of your fellow AMERICANS died.
When Bonfire fell at A&M in 99 and we lost 12 Aggies, the outpouring of support from across the country was certainly welcome. When a NW university dismantled their Ice Arch in tribute to our Fallen Aggies, i wasn't pissed that they were trying to horn in on our suffering, i was grateful that they were empathizing with our loss. When our bitter rivals, the longhorns cancelled their Hex Rally and instead had a Unity Rally in Austin and invited us to attend, i wasn't pissed that they were trying to claim our tragedy too. They were saddened by the loss of fellow young people and Texans. If anything, that single incident brought Aggies and Longhorns closer and defined our rivalry more.
ETA: So it pissed you off when all of America was wearing I <3 NY shirts? By being standoffish about this, and claiming that its YOUR tragedy over everyone elses you are perpetuating the attitude of NYers that most of the rest of the Country doens't like. We were able to put our Texan egos aside after Bonfire.
Like i said, its pretty damn naive of you, or anyone, to tell an American that they can't claim any part of 9-11.
Kitso
KS 361