Twixperiment 01: Nine Eleven
I’m often fascinated by the replies I receive on Twitter. Sometimes they’re ironic, often they’re hilariously sarcastic and occasionally they’re downright poetic. As such, I thought I’d throw out a topic, adjective, verb, whatever, and see how people reply. Today, because it permeated the airwaves with a nauseatingly thick vibe, I twittered “911″ and received this in return:
crc0427: we have forgotten what it means to be American
Pir4cy: When I think of 911 I think.. AMERICA FUCK YEAH WHATCHA GOING TO DO WHEN WE COME FOR YOU NOW…
Doomguy13: We got through it. We remembered the fallen. I believe we did our part. I just feel so bad for the family’s that lost mom and dads
hydraMIRAGE: Pain. Shock. Disbelief. I’m only 10 minutes from the city. My University was evacuated. I watched both towers fall
tr1gun: i think 911 is a good choice for an emergency number, though i do think 111 would be easier to remember.
giggleloop: 7 yrs ago, @ 8am husband woke me up to tell me a plane had hit the WTC. We watched CNN from then til I had to go to work @ 2pm.
Murphy1d: Sad thing is I moved a project deadline off of 9/11 just because the day seemed like bad luck
vinceruth: 9/11 is a day I saw too much and made me realize I didn’t “live” enough-ultimately getting me to change the way I was living
DominickEvans: 9/11 hasn’t taught us much of anything, except when in doubt, attack a country that had nothing to do with the attacks!
Suhaila: that was the topic? Man i totally forgot what day it was….i suppose that means i did my part to not let terrorists win.
Beatsmith: 911… Unneeded preventable destruction and death.
TheCroft: was told I could go home then. We didn’t have any customers anyway. Very uneventful.
mgrovesensation: Doesn’t Guliani get royalties whenever someone says that?
rachiebachie: quiet skies. Loud hearts.
A_lexj: Surprise ButtSecks!!!
So, that’s a handful of the replies I received. In hindsight, I’m not sure “911″ was a great topic, but that’s something I’m still struggling with. Perhaps it was the BEST topic for the day; as for some reason I was expecting a metric ton of witty one-liners and anecdotes, and there were some, yet the gravity of most replies made me question my own feelings regarding this nation’s tragedy. Why am I so disconnected? Is it due to the lack of personal loss? Is it because of the wads of anger and hatred I’ve swallowed time and time again as politicians exploit the event to forward twisted and corrupt agendas? Is it simply because, for some reason, I’m incapable of comprehending tragedy on such a massive scale?
Questions for another night, most assuredly, yet nonetheless I enjoyed the little Twixperiment and thank everyone for taking the time to reply. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s already.
Sep 12, 2008
Reader Comments (15)
I believe a lot of people have become jaded over the years for one reason or another. Everyone reacts differently to a disaster of such scale. I just hope the ones too young to remember understand the weight of what happened that day.
Theses twixperiments are a very creative idea. Love the new look of the site btw. See you on Monday =D
That comment about royalties pertaining to Rudy Juliani was awesome! It reminds me of a Family Guy, when Lois was running for Mayor and just said 9/11 during her speeches to get the crowd going. LOL.
See I was in Spanish class when an announcement came over the PA system. Then our teacher turned the TV on and we saw from right after the first plane hit on.
Pretty much everyone else was either stunned or crying or whatever. I kinda sat there then asked my teacher if we didn't have to finish the test.
A lot of people I know don't feel a connection or get blinded by patriotism/nationalism/psychosis. It was a terrible tragedy, just under 3000 deaths from the entire days tally (WTC, Pentagon, Pennsylvania). Still it was more of a blow to American egos than to our lives.
I'm not down for sitting around and debating the war that happened after, or the horrible legislation that was suspiciously pushed through so quickly. What people get side tracked about is that stuff, but it's about remembering the lives lost, not the rest of that. And even though it's only been 7 years, anyone not directly affected by it should feel a need to be sad. You don't go to the Iwo Jima or Vietnam memorials and cry/feel sad about those lives lost. Nor do you go to Pearl Harbor and cry.
It's not a distancing, it's just life. If you cried over every tragedy, car accident, murder, you'd never live your own life. Remember it, don't dwell on it.
~Zach
I was in my 8th grade history class and i saw the second plane hit from my school window.
everytime i see a video or picture it haunts me. i didnt lose anyone that day but just the fact i witnessed several thousands of ppl get murdered and i was completely helpless.
my whole sad little story basically comes to my point.
i think the only reason i feel connected to 9/11 is cause i live across the river from manhattan in jersey.
whenever i was little and would drive down the turnpike into secaucus or jersey city or wherever it was i was goin i would look to my right and always see the NY skyline with the twin towers standin tall. but those arent there anymore and i saw them go down.
maybe there isnt a connection to it because of the distance, or like u said the political aspect of it.
just a thought. sry i was late on commenting. my comp has been down.
k be well =D!
-Ralph!
This is a cool experiment, but how do you comment?
I feel bad for anyone who was affected by this awful tragedy. But I myself don't really feel sad..
I'm pissed that out gov was so ill prepared.
I'm pissed that the 'greatest nation in the world' was attacked so easily.
And then I'm pissed that our leaders lied about what happened. Didn't kill the man that they SAID was responsible.
And I'm pissed about all the dead soldiers and Iraqis and Afghanis that died. Because they had nothing to do with any of that. But.. In the end.
I can't feel sad because I'm still just so angry.
Just feel like.. On 9/11... As an informed citizen. As an AMERICAN. I'm more angry about what happened than i could ever be sad. Not angry at the terrorists. Angry at the government we give our lives to. I could go on and on. But yea.. Real patriotism is Remembering what REALLY happened.
LOL. That's all I gotta say. 9/11 is forever the day where everyone goes on depression and mourning even if they didn't know anyone that died from the event. Where's our sympathy for the thousands of others who died throughout the history of America? Or hell, mankind? Yeah. Okay. Not angry or spamming by the way, just being sarcastic and curious as to why the situation is what it is. Anthropology is amusing.
KP: 9/11 was probably the scariest, most hectic, disturbing day of my life... and yet, life carries on. I don't know that I'm "disconnected" or if I've simply put the event in perspective, but it doesn't cling to me any longer. I have nothing but sympathy for those who can't (or won't) let go... it's just not something that I want dominating my emotional landscape, particularly since we're still in the midst of our national reaction to the event.
Niel: "Where's our sympathy for the thousands of others who died throughout the history of America?"
Physical and temporal proximity are everything.
no one realizes how hazardous it is to set 9 as the prefix number to get an outside line in your office... +9 +1 +area code +number means a bunch of people are gonna hit the 1 twice on accident and they charge you out the ass for that shit...
someone invent a time machine
cause im gonna use it
to find the guy that invented that number
then im gonna stand at an awkward distance and shake my head at him
then go back to the present
I remember the day perfectly. I live in north jersey, and my dad commutes to and from the city everyday. It was during english class that I heard rumors that there had been a terrorist attack. At the time, me being pretty young, all i know is that my worked in manhattan. The staff at the school was told not to release any information about the attack, not to worry any of us, because in the town i live in, most of my friends parents work on wallstreet. The second I heard this, I automaticly assumed that my dad worked there, I guess just because I assumed the worse. The second my mom picked me up from school, she told me what had happened, and she put on the radio. She also told me that my dad was fine, but i still worried. We drove to the church in town, and prayed with everyone else there. My family is not religous, would go to church on major holidays, but thats about it. I went home and watched tv for hours until my dad came home around 6. It took forever to get back from the city, because of fear that the bridges were next, and the mass exiting of people. I don't think i've ever hugged my dad that hard in my life.
I think of my dad when i think of 9/11
Also on a side note, I had two neighbors who worked in the world trade centers, one of which who passed away. We have a small neighborhood culdesac of about 20 houses, and we were all pretty well off. I guess it impacts you in someway that can't be changed, knowing your friend, who's house you bike past daily, has lost their father. Now im not saying that 9/11 played a big part in my life, or changed it in a big way, but i do feel it is an important day to remember personally. I remember this to remind my self how much my dad means to me, not as a day to remember the lives lost, or america
Just on a sidenote: sorry its written poorly, its not ment to be a perfect english paper, just a chain of though,
Although late to the post I have decided to try and answer a few of your questions, as I'm not positive if they are rhetorical:
Why am I so disconnected?
Is it due to the lack of personal loss?
Is it simply because, for some reason, I’m incapable of comprehending tragedy on such a massive scale?
In short, yes it may be due to a lack of personal loss and distance. The overused phrase, "Location, Location, Location" is not only used in business, but in news worthiness. I know, look who I'm telling. But for other readers, I'll provide an example: A citizen in California may be permanently traumatized by a great earthquake on the West Coast, but can go about their day without a problem if there was a bombing in a Florida restaurant. It's the ability to identify with a setting or person that makes something personal. It's why some New Yorkers will see Rudy Giuliani as a hero, and some people in Idaho might say, "Rudy who? Was he on the Food Network?" Just kidding. They don't have television in Idaho.
I digress.
By no means is this a complete or even half ass answer, as perhaps dozens of other factors play into the emotions concerning this event. Your detachment towards the issue has nothing to do with the inability to comprehend the humanitarian and economic problems caused by the slaughter, or the unfortunate decisions based off those events.
In reality the fact you posted about an event that occurred seven years ago implies you care. That may be the beginning of your answer, or you just so happened to remember. I'm an observer and enthusiast of human behavior. The problem of this answer is the one well summarized by a 100+ year old fictional character,
"You can, for example, never foretell what any one man will do (or in your case feel), but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to. Individuals vary, but percentages remain constant."
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