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Yup, it's been 10 years. It's interesting to see some of what's out there... Some people decry the wars being fought, some decry the loss of liberties for perceived security, some think that the event brought us closer together. Well, the tragedy did bring us together for all of a month or so, and now, we see this nation being more fractured than it's been since the Civil War. And yet, there are people like me that still hold out hope that we'll eventually pull our shit together.
I've already blogged about 9-11, the 10th anniversary, and so on. As for the observances themselves... There's a line, and a rather fine one at that, between tasteful remembrance and acknowledgment versus politicization, polarization, and just plain taking advantage of the victims.
Fact is, it happened, and there are some who would rather stick their heads in the sand and pretend it didn't. Others are obsessed with fear, rage, or both. One of the books I'm reading right now, The Legacy of Heorot, by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes. In an attempt to set up the passage quickly, the novel takes place in the future when Earth first starts colonizing. 200 colonists are in cryosleep for a journey lasting about 100 years, and they set up a colony on a planet they named Avalon. The colonists are mostly scientists and engineers, and Cadmann Weyland is the only military person among them. The island they settle on seems peaceful, and Weyland is the only one who isn't ready to let his guard down. After all, the colony is less than a full Avalonian year old. And when some of the livestock is carried off and eaten, Weyland wants to tighten up security. Some of the colonists, however, accuse him of manufacturing a crisis just so he would be useful again. It isn't until Cadmann sets up his own stake-out and nearly loses his life that he begins to confirm that there's a dangerous predator on the island, and the colonists still refuse to take precautions, until the predator attacks the colony, killing several people, injuring dozens more, and destroying several buildings. The colony leader, Zack, hadn't dismissed Cadmann out of hand, but certainly didn't support him or even his calls for volunteers to investigate the livestock disappearances...
If a camp vote had been taken the day after the disaster, Zack would have been ousted and Cadmann elected to the post in a moment. Take the vote soon enough after the disaster, and Zack himself might have led the electoral parade. Not now. Now he'd fight.
"We're surviving," he said. "We're going to keep surviving. We've paid our price for this goddamned planet. It's all we're going to pay... What happened just shouldn't have happened." There was absolutely nothing of the old Zack in his tone.
I mention all of this because it's a good illustration of how people's passions can shift after a disaster, how trauma can change people, and how it's all a part of being human. Incidentally, the book was written in 1987.
The Onion had posted an article about God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule. I should probably send this to some of my more Evangelical friends who right after the attack and even today advocate various forms of genocide. And people wonder why I walked away from organized religion...
Kudos to the two following comics for adequately commemorating the tragedy...
Baby Blues
Zits
( More Comics )
Posted at LiveJournal and Dreamwidth
I've already blogged about 9-11, the 10th anniversary, and so on. As for the observances themselves... There's a line, and a rather fine one at that, between tasteful remembrance and acknowledgment versus politicization, polarization, and just plain taking advantage of the victims.
Fact is, it happened, and there are some who would rather stick their heads in the sand and pretend it didn't. Others are obsessed with fear, rage, or both. One of the books I'm reading right now, The Legacy of Heorot, by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes. In an attempt to set up the passage quickly, the novel takes place in the future when Earth first starts colonizing. 200 colonists are in cryosleep for a journey lasting about 100 years, and they set up a colony on a planet they named Avalon. The colonists are mostly scientists and engineers, and Cadmann Weyland is the only military person among them. The island they settle on seems peaceful, and Weyland is the only one who isn't ready to let his guard down. After all, the colony is less than a full Avalonian year old. And when some of the livestock is carried off and eaten, Weyland wants to tighten up security. Some of the colonists, however, accuse him of manufacturing a crisis just so he would be useful again. It isn't until Cadmann sets up his own stake-out and nearly loses his life that he begins to confirm that there's a dangerous predator on the island, and the colonists still refuse to take precautions, until the predator attacks the colony, killing several people, injuring dozens more, and destroying several buildings. The colony leader, Zack, hadn't dismissed Cadmann out of hand, but certainly didn't support him or even his calls for volunteers to investigate the livestock disappearances...
If a camp vote had been taken the day after the disaster, Zack would have been ousted and Cadmann elected to the post in a moment. Take the vote soon enough after the disaster, and Zack himself might have led the electoral parade. Not now. Now he'd fight.
"We're surviving," he said. "We're going to keep surviving. We've paid our price for this goddamned planet. It's all we're going to pay... What happened just shouldn't have happened." There was absolutely nothing of the old Zack in his tone.
I mention all of this because it's a good illustration of how people's passions can shift after a disaster, how trauma can change people, and how it's all a part of being human. Incidentally, the book was written in 1987.
The Onion had posted an article about God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule. I should probably send this to some of my more Evangelical friends who right after the attack and even today advocate various forms of genocide. And people wonder why I walked away from organized religion...
Kudos to the two following comics for adequately commemorating the tragedy...
Baby Blues
Zits
( More Comics )
Posted at LiveJournal and Dreamwidth
