You know, it bothers me that there are only 5 comments on this and 80+ for Charlie Kirk. I understand his death is more prescient. But 2,977 human lives were lost on September 11. People who were just going to work or first responders working tirelessly to help them.
It feels….gross. I’m sorry that Charlie Kirk was murdered. It’s awful. It shouldn’t happen. And it STILL should no eclipse those who lost their loved ones only 24 years ago.
I am starting to wonder if my participation in podcasts and social media is just adding to the problem.
We’ve lost the plot in the U.S. We value “celebrity” and “influencers” more than scientists, teachers, historians, social workers, physicians.
What a sad state of affairs we are in as a country.
Yesterday a cousin of mine who is deeply mourning the death of Kirk posted that for her college-aged children, his death is their 9/11. That sentiment is more disturbing to me than a lot of other things I've seen posted.
This is definitely an 'everything is true' situation. I will say that in my feeds, I saw, read, and cried over some really lovely tributes to the people who died that day. There was a transcript from one of the calls on flight 93, a really nice piece about a security officer - Sarah and Beth mentioned him in their episode - and it was nice to see a longer piece about him. A picture of how the windows in Freedom Tower were designed to be lit like the World Trade Center at the moment the second tower fell. I think from a "what resonates with people" perspective, those very specific pieces resonate with people in a way that this newsletter didn't.
And also. After 9/11 we grounded all the planes for a couple of days to get our arms around what was going on and make sure it was safe.
I know Charlie Kirk is not 3000 people, but I wish there was some version of safety stand down that the internet could have taken. After this week, I am beginning to understand the value of a 'moment of silence.' Let's all pause before we speak and jump to conclusions and say things we can't unsay, you know? -m
I hear you. I think for me, a nearly 50 year old person who grew up without the internet, it’s probably time to dissociate from all of this. I started listening to podcasts more during COVID and then stopped again until Trump took office again. It’s time for me to get off this information merry go round and get back to everyday life more. It’s not helping my mental health. 🤷🏻♀️
I was 23, working in Midtown Manhattan on 9/11. I watched the first tower fall from my office window. I walked home to Brooklyn through the cloud. There is nothing about that day that feels like history to me, any more than my college days, which ended only a year before.
I was struck this year by the number of videos that were everywhere. I really had to work hard to steer clear. The memories of that day are visceral for me. I wake up and my body knows the date.
I was at the Yankees game where George Bush threw the first pitch that year. Yes, I felt proud of the strength and resilience of myself and of my city. The stadium was packed and it was only 6 weeks or so after the attacks. And, I was also scared to death, with snipers in the parapets.
And the sense of unity…I don’t know.
America needed a scapegoat and we found one. Unfortunately, we let the fear and mistrust infiltrate so many of our relationships at home as well. There was unity, but it didn’t include everyone.
I do think something about 9/11 broke us. You can’t take away people’s belief in their safety and security in such a dramatic and profound way and expect that it won’t irrevocably alter how they view the world.
9/11 is a hard day for our family as we lost a family friend. I was 25 and was in a grocery store in the Midwest, having woken early after a 3p-3a swing shift in the ER. I was in the deli/produce department when the first tower was hit. I’ll never forget it.
I grew up as a late GenX (1976) so vividly remember the challenger explosion, and Desert Storm on TV. I also appreciate that social media was not really common then. No facebook, YouTube, etc. It would have made a terrible day worse.
We lost a friend at the Pentagon. It was terrible but would have been so much worse if we had to listen to rhetoric 24/7 online or cable “news”. I think that’s why we came together as a country. There was more trust. More actual community. The older I get-and perhaps more crusty and jaded-the more I really believe our brains, hearts and souls cannot take constant influx of sensory information.
You’re right. I remember maybe my parents or a teacher (I was a sophomore in high school) gently encouraging me to turn off the news. If only it were that easy nowadays…
I remember Challenger too--we were watching in school. But somehow, even though I saw it happen, the TV rolled in on the cart and its grainy picture had a different impact than things to today, when everything is right in your face (or the palm of your hand.) I agree that it would have been intolerable on 9/11 to have the same access to information that we have now. The next day, my family sat around the dining room table in my parent's house reading newspapers. And that was traumatic in its way.
This is lovely, Maggie. As a long-time NYC resident who moved here after 2001, it has sometimes been hard to reconcile what I experienced outside the city with what still lingers here. I've never been thrust into more of a listening mode than when talking about 9/11 with a New Yorker who lived through it. Tonight, as usual, I will run along the waterfront and watch as the lights go on and think about what it all means.
You know, it bothers me that there are only 5 comments on this and 80+ for Charlie Kirk. I understand his death is more prescient. But 2,977 human lives were lost on September 11. People who were just going to work or first responders working tirelessly to help them.
It feels….gross. I’m sorry that Charlie Kirk was murdered. It’s awful. It shouldn’t happen. And it STILL should no eclipse those who lost their loved ones only 24 years ago.
I am starting to wonder if my participation in podcasts and social media is just adding to the problem.
We’ve lost the plot in the U.S. We value “celebrity” and “influencers” more than scientists, teachers, historians, social workers, physicians.
What a sad state of affairs we are in as a country.
Yesterday a cousin of mine who is deeply mourning the death of Kirk posted that for her college-aged children, his death is their 9/11. That sentiment is more disturbing to me than a lot of other things I've seen posted.
Wow. I don’t know how to feel or respond to that.
Oh that really hurts.
This is definitely an 'everything is true' situation. I will say that in my feeds, I saw, read, and cried over some really lovely tributes to the people who died that day. There was a transcript from one of the calls on flight 93, a really nice piece about a security officer - Sarah and Beth mentioned him in their episode - and it was nice to see a longer piece about him. A picture of how the windows in Freedom Tower were designed to be lit like the World Trade Center at the moment the second tower fell. I think from a "what resonates with people" perspective, those very specific pieces resonate with people in a way that this newsletter didn't.
And also. After 9/11 we grounded all the planes for a couple of days to get our arms around what was going on and make sure it was safe.
I know Charlie Kirk is not 3000 people, but I wish there was some version of safety stand down that the internet could have taken. After this week, I am beginning to understand the value of a 'moment of silence.' Let's all pause before we speak and jump to conclusions and say things we can't unsay, you know? -m
I hear you. I think for me, a nearly 50 year old person who grew up without the internet, it’s probably time to dissociate from all of this. I started listening to podcasts more during COVID and then stopped again until Trump took office again. It’s time for me to get off this information merry go round and get back to everyday life more. It’s not helping my mental health. 🤷🏻♀️
I was 23, working in Midtown Manhattan on 9/11. I watched the first tower fall from my office window. I walked home to Brooklyn through the cloud. There is nothing about that day that feels like history to me, any more than my college days, which ended only a year before.
I was struck this year by the number of videos that were everywhere. I really had to work hard to steer clear. The memories of that day are visceral for me. I wake up and my body knows the date.
I was at the Yankees game where George Bush threw the first pitch that year. Yes, I felt proud of the strength and resilience of myself and of my city. The stadium was packed and it was only 6 weeks or so after the attacks. And, I was also scared to death, with snipers in the parapets.
And the sense of unity…I don’t know.
America needed a scapegoat and we found one. Unfortunately, we let the fear and mistrust infiltrate so many of our relationships at home as well. There was unity, but it didn’t include everyone.
I do think something about 9/11 broke us. You can’t take away people’s belief in their safety and security in such a dramatic and profound way and expect that it won’t irrevocably alter how they view the world.
Thanks for your lovely reflection, Maggie.
9/11 is a hard day for our family as we lost a family friend. I was 25 and was in a grocery store in the Midwest, having woken early after a 3p-3a swing shift in the ER. I was in the deli/produce department when the first tower was hit. I’ll never forget it.
I grew up as a late GenX (1976) so vividly remember the challenger explosion, and Desert Storm on TV. I also appreciate that social media was not really common then. No facebook, YouTube, etc. It would have made a terrible day worse.
We lost a friend at the Pentagon. It was terrible but would have been so much worse if we had to listen to rhetoric 24/7 online or cable “news”. I think that’s why we came together as a country. There was more trust. More actual community. The older I get-and perhaps more crusty and jaded-the more I really believe our brains, hearts and souls cannot take constant influx of sensory information.
You’re right. I remember maybe my parents or a teacher (I was a sophomore in high school) gently encouraging me to turn off the news. If only it were that easy nowadays…
I remember Challenger too--we were watching in school. But somehow, even though I saw it happen, the TV rolled in on the cart and its grainy picture had a different impact than things to today, when everything is right in your face (or the palm of your hand.) I agree that it would have been intolerable on 9/11 to have the same access to information that we have now. The next day, my family sat around the dining room table in my parent's house reading newspapers. And that was traumatic in its way.
This is lovely, Maggie. As a long-time NYC resident who moved here after 2001, it has sometimes been hard to reconcile what I experienced outside the city with what still lingers here. I've never been thrust into more of a listening mode than when talking about 9/11 with a New Yorker who lived through it. Tonight, as usual, I will run along the waterfront and watch as the lights go on and think about what it all means.