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Feb 28 2012 Mad Men: The Falling Man and 9/11

So this reporter asks me, under the guise of "I do not want to start a controversy where none exists," how I, one who lost someone on 9/11,  feel about the poster.

The first time I saw one of these posters it made me sick to my stomach..a little.

There was a day, that day, a crisp morning, when I stood beneath the towers taking photos on 9/11. I stopped when I realized I had just captured the image of a woman in a white dress, twisting down, down...I own that image in a way I detest. This was all before we knew that my nephew, Supreme Court Officer Mitch Wallace, was at the site; moments before the South Tower collapsed upon him and so many others.

I also, less frequently now, get nauseous when a low flying jet passes overhead. Living under a Brooklyn flyway lets me deal with this quite often.

If an advertising campaign (which I am now, I guess, a part of) evokes images of a horrid day, then so be it. I cannot stop the jets from flying low. I cannot stop images that remind me of 9/11 from being created.

I refuse to spend my entire existance looking through the lens of 9/11. There is more to me than grief and anger. I can only do my little bit to make for more peaceful tomorrows.

 

Sept 13 2011 "Your 9/11 is our 24/7," and other 10 year memorial thoughts...

Oh, it's not original. It's been around for a while, but this year it seemed more pungent somehow, more odious, outrageous, disrespectful, and horribly true.

"Your 9/11 is our 24/7" Facebook saw it posted over and over; multiple "Letters to the Editor" columns, and innumerable blogs (including this one) carried the bleak comparison. Google carried 79,400,000 hits. There must be something to it. After all, it was just yesterday that a busload of familiesm headed out of Iraq to Syriam was intercepted by armed men dressed in military uniforms. All the women and children were forced off and told to march across the desert. The bus was later found a few miles down the road. All the men who remained on board were executed.

What? Sure, the body counts are inversely proportional to the asymmetry of the warfare, as are the vastly more unbalanced  count of injured. Sure, also, the number of people deeply affected by long term trauma are also weighed heavily on the side of 'the enemy'; 'the other'; the 'not with us, therefore against us'...the very people we claimed to be helping.

It is ten years since the term 'ground zero' got applied to the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York City, U.S.A. It's first use in print was in a 1946 New York Times article: "The intense heat of the blast started fires as far as 3,500 feet from 'ground zero' (the point on the ground directly under the bomb's explosion in the air)." It was a catchy 2001 phrase and caught on quickly as the media frenzy began to take hold. "Collateral damage" came in second, I think, as Americans began to understand the reality behind that phrase. But only a few Americans.

It was the proximity factor that did us in; prevented us from attaining the moral high ground; interfered with our grasping the simplest of truths: This was not a time for revenge, but a time to dig deep and find the peaceful paths to victory.Unfortunately, fear carried the day and made it easy for the Bushmen to manipulate public opinion.

If you lost a loved one, a friend, an acquaintance, then you knew the pain of collateral damage. If you were witness to the attack or a rescue/recovery worker, on the scene as we were, then the meaning of collateral damage was clear. It was in the air. It was in the stinking smell of death that permeated your clothes, your pillow, and stubbornly refused to leave  your nostrils. It was the stench that had you double over with vomit spewing from your mouth and nose.

But if you were a TV witness, then all was probably transformed for you. That media wall protected you from a deeper, sadder understanding of the phrase. Collateral damage. Collateral damage. Many Americans were already filled with compassion, but the curtain of distance kept the majority of us from a visceral, emotional understanding of the events and their consequences. Not, however, from a stirring of our basest emotional triggers that spawned a taste for revenge.

Repeated film clips of the bodies falling (note: not referred to as people jumping to their deaths), the towers collapsing, the smoke and debris rushing toward the camera...all stirring flight/fight responses that were unanswerable from the living room. This left us with untapped energies that the administration could manipulate to its own ends.

And now, the now of 9/11, the now of Bush's decisions, we were to inflict collateral damage on Afghanistan, and then Iraq. To win the "war on terror?" I think not. To take revenge, send a message, appear strong in a modern warfare way? I think so.

And then came what no one was able to predict in scale. Many had opined that using violence would only lead to more violence. Many had stood and tried to stop the carnage they knew would only create more enemies than it killed. But few, if any, knew the extent of the horror we would unleash in Iraq.

We aren't any safer. We don't understand much more about the mind of the terrorist or how to steer young people away from paths of destruction. We haven't brought the world's nations any closer. What did we gain? A lot of money for the war-suppliers, a lot of weapons know-how, and a lot of enemies.

"Your 9/11 is our 24/7" became an ironic truth. One bumper sticker said, "Be nice to America or we'll bring Democracy to your nation." We were still able to joke about it,  but to this day, and forward many generations, there are Iraqis who will be hard pressed to find the humor in the pain we unleashed upon their nation, their people, their generations of young Iraqis growing up traumatized by what surrounded them day after day for so many years.

It's never too late to learn. It's not too late to admint the errors of our foreign policies. It's not too late to teach young ones about compassion and the folly of using violence to solve problems.

"Your 9/11 is our 24/7." It's not a joke.

What if we made September the International Month of Peace Studies? What if we made the eleventh of September a day of rememberance for all those lost to political violence in all countries in all times? What if we began to steer this world toward more peaceful tomorrows?

September 13, 2001 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

 

Jan 6 2011 The Biggest Hero, a 9/11 tribute

The Biggest Hero, by Julia

My dad is my hero.  His name is Timothy.   He was a New York City Firefighter in Squad 288 in Queens, New York.  He died in the 9ll tragedy. He and 18 other men in his firehouse raced to the World Trade Center to try to save lives and property.  This is what they did every day.  My Dad risked his life for more than 25,000 people, and he helped saved mostly everybody in the Twin Towers. He was very strong and brave, and I’ve always looked up to him. That is why my Dad is my hero!

My Dad’s qualities are very inspiring.  He was helpful because he has saved MANY people from fires. He has saved people’s houses and businesses. He was protective because he protected the things that people own.  He was brave because he risked his life for other people all of the time, day and night, in small houses and tall buildings. He was well-trained because he knew how to dress himself properly when going into fires and what equipment to use.  Lastly, he was very clever.  Once he used his hand to spray water on an apartment fire from a hose that lost its nozzle!  These qualities and many others are what make my Dad a hero.    

            My Dad had brown hair, brown eyes and a round nose.  He was very tall, 5 feet 11 inches.  He was very fit and strong, and had broad shoulders.  He had a HUGE smile and white teeth.  He was agile and very athletic. He played baseball, volleyball and ice hockey.  He was a real daredevil when he was growing up.  He used to jump off the garage roof and climb up trees.  He broke almost all of his fingers when he was growing up. He wasn’t afraid to do anything. As an adult he was a downhill skier, a skydiver and a motorcycle rider. He was a great carpenter and built many things like roofs, stairs, patios, beds, chairs, tables, floors and fireplace mantles.  He even renovated my Granny’s whole house!  Lastly, he was very careful and smart around fires.  He was a great dude and I’m proud of him.

            I admire my Dad because he was never thinking about himself when he went to the World Trade Center that day. He was only super excited to accomplish the hardest thing in the world: a terrorist attack on the United States, in New York City.  Saving 25,000 people was the greatest rescue mission in the history of the United States.  He did this work every day he went to the firehouse.  It didn’t matter what kind of people were in a fire, he tried to save them anyway.  He had great passion for what he did.  He loved being a firefighter. 

            My Dad is a bigger hero than any other hero because he died trying to save 25,000 people, and they were complete strangers. He didn’t have to go there that day, but he did because he loved his job.  He was very committed to his job.  In my opinion, my dad was awesome and great! He is the biggest HERO of all!!!!!!!!          

Sept 28 2010 Lest we forget Iraq-are we responsible?

Lest we forget:

The torrent of horror falling in Iraq today has its roots in the American consciousness. Our invasion and occupation unleashed a time of horror unequaled in modern American history, and be not fooled: the history of Iraq is written deeply into the history of Iraq.

What enabled our nation's people to fall so readily in line behind an administrations lies; lies which were put forth by the Bushmen, obscured by the media, and absorbed by a nation wounded by an unprecidented attack.

On our soil! On our innocent civilians!

We displayed an inability to step back and view the carnage of 9/11 in a broad context of political history, social influence, and international relations. Instead we reacted with a short-sighted vigor that unleashed the mighty power of the U.S. military at any convenient target.

Having released our anger we spent the rest of these long 9 years justifying our actions; weapons of mass destruction, association with AlQaeda, insurgents, saving women from oppression...the logic of the arguments did not matter. All that counted was that we could keep up a steady stream of excuses. These excuses allowed us to view the slaughter of innocents as collateral damage.

The technial nature of modern weaponry allows us to view the deaths as part of an elaborate computer game, devoid of compassion. Even the language, i.e. surgical strikes, allows us to hide the horror.

The otherness of the Iraqi, and now Afghan, peoples puts them in a category for which death and destruction is allowed, even supported as part of the cost of war. Nevermind that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocents has spawned the rise of an anti-American backlash new to modern times.

Instead of looking at how a person can become a suicide bomber or why Muslims are attacking Muslims we should be looking at how Americans came to kill with such fervor. What is it within our society that puts us on such a coldhearted path? What fears and paranoia are driving us to such acts?

Iraq Today Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Baghdad:
#1: Two civilians were wounded Monday in a sticky bomb explosion in southeastern Baghdad, according to a security source. “The bomb, stuck to a civilian car, exploded on Monday afternoon (Sept. 27) in a garage in southeastern Baghdad, injuring two passing civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: An improvised explosive device went off on Monday near an army vehicle patrol in northern Baghdad, eyewitnesses said. “The bomb exploded in al-Safina region, northern Baghdad, with no word on damage or casualties,” the witnesses told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: An officer of the Iraqi Interior Ministry was wounded on Tuesday when a sticky bomb attached to his car went off in eastern Baghdad. “The blast occurred today in the al-Baladiyat neighborhood, eastern Baghdad,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: Clashes have erupted on Tuesday between unknown gunmen and security forces in the al-Neayria area, eastern Baghdad. “Police forces sealed off the area,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Amarra:
#1: One U.S. soldier was wounded on Monday by a sniper in central Amara, a security source said. “The soldier was wounded while conducting a joint operation with Iraqi army forces in al-Askari neighborhood in central Amara,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The soldier, who was wounded on his leg, was carried to a nearby hospital for treatment and he is in a stable condition,” the source added.


Nassiriya:
#1: A car bomb was defused on Monday in a rural area in eastern Nassiriya, according to a security source. “Acting on a tip-off, policemen managed on Monday (Sept. 27) to defuse a booby-trapped car in al-Kariedi region in Said Dakhiel region, northeastern Nassiriya,” the source, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The car contains amounts of TNT, C4 and two Katyusha rockets,” he added.


Kirkuk:
#1: Gunmen in a speeding car shot dead a civilian in southeastern Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Mosul:
#1: A young man was killed on Monday in a random shooting in western Mosul, a police source said. “The man was killed as a result of a random shooting in al-Harmat region, western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, pointing out that the 16-year-old victim got a bullet in his head, killing him on the spot.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army foot patrol wounded two soldiers in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

100903 NYTimes gets Mosque importance. NYers miss the Park51 point.

We are so habitually critical of the NYTimes that it comes as a mild surprise to agree with today's editorial, "Mistrust and the Mosque." We note, also, their willingness to use the M word instead of the cloaking 'Park51' that has taken over much of the defensive narrative. Times reports the polls that show most NYers against the current Park51 plan.

"It has always been a myth that New York City...is a utopia of humanistic harmony. The city has a bloody history of ethnic and class strife." [NYTimes] And so, too, this great nation of ours.

'Great?" Only if we continue to question ourselves, and not get locked into the narrative being spun by those in power. Polling NYers about the location of a proposed mosque skirts the real issue--by about a million miles.

Let's look at the mood of paranoia that pervades the American psyche these days. Let's look at the unresolved trauma born of 9/11. Let's look at the politicians who have conceptualized security as power projected violently in distant places.

When we understand more about the reasons that our leaders enjoy the constant state of fear, and tacitly support the fear mongers, the question of where a mosque should, would, could be built will seem trivial.

The point is not Park51. What is the point?The point is that we have to stop, look, and listen. 9/11 has thrust us into a reactive mode that finds us clinging to a tenuous 'present', unable to look backward (rekindling pain), and unable to look forward (generating more anxiety).

This loss of the sense of security and ability to calmly give thought to our situation is gleefully exploited by those who gain from our dislocation of self. They will continue to control our thoughts unless we take the step, a step backwards from the 'instant life', and begin/continue/persist the process of asking the right questions.

Not: Where should the planned Islamic Cultural Center and Mosque, aka Park51, be located?

Rather: How do we regain our sense of security? Who profits from continued feelings of paranoia?

These and other questions focused on a broader temporal reality (not more bullets, bigotry, and other knee-jerk reactions to paranoia) will lead us to more peaceful tomorrows. Inshallah.