9/11

[Redux]

He stated that "brown people" got the racism poured on them after the attacks.  Absolutely true.  People that were racist against them before now had a brand new reason to hate them.  And people that weren't racist before maybe became prejudiced out of fear.  That's where he was going with it.

I get it, we want to pinpoint all the bad even during tragedy.  I acknowledge the racism towards Muslims and those who look Muslim. Even today it is a lingering ugliness from a catastrophic event.  But racism wasn't born from the event, it was there before.  What I could at least look up to was the fact that multiple races came together in a time of need.  The unity out of despair, fleeting as it was shouldn't be ignored.  It shows that it's possible.

 

[Ulty]

Fair enough, good post.

So here's a tougher question: is there a way to achieve that level of unity now, without a terrible disaster? Is there a way to achieve a more inclusive since of unity? 

 

[ZRod]

You opted to "be that guy", take your own advice.  On the anniversary of a tragedy your big takeaway from a post trying to find a positive of unity was to try and split it.  Don't we have enough divide?  Of course people of darker skin tone had a tough time after 9/11, and not just from established racism.  Terrorism became all too real for the entire country.  Fear breeds hate.  You're not offering an alternative perspective here, you're shoehorning a relative issue onto a moment of remembrance.  But at least you waited until 9/12.

No, I'm telling you that post was a rather rosey recollection of the events of that day, and blind patriotism is an utterly dangerous thing. Never forget what happened that day and those who died. Never forget heros who sacrificed themselves that day to help their fellow man. But don't act like it was Mayberry.

Look at what 9/11 really led to. Thousands of innocent people dead that day, tens of thousands (maybe millions) dead and injured around the globe from the wars. Blind hatred of people who "looked" like the enemy. The Patriot acts was passed and eroded many civil liberties including habeas corpus. We will soon have kids fighting this war that weren't even born when 9/11 happened. The middle East is more of a wreck than ever. You can make a pretty compelling argument that we are where we are now because of 9/11. But we stood "together" and whatched George on that bullhorn, and it felt good...

I'm probably being a prick, but I've slowly come to realize that Mayberry never really existed, except when I was a child.

 

[Redux]

So that's a yes to the ALM thing then?

 

[ZRod]

So that's a yes to the ALM thing then?

Stop trying to pigeon hole things and building straw men. It's an extremely complicated issue. Yes, police brutality and general unlawfulness is a major concern to me. Especially the excessive use of deadly force against people of any skin color. That doesn't mean that there isn't another fesrering issue of why black men are more likely to have a deadly encounter with police than white men.

 

[Redux]

I'm not building straw men.  You're just pissy because my way of looking back on tragedy tried to find some good, yours appears to be focused on the negative reactions.

There's enough ugly in the world, it could use a few examples of kindness.

 

[ZRod]

I'm not building straw men.  You're just pissy because my way of looking back on tragedy tried to find some good, yours appears to be focused on the negative reactions.

There's enough ugly in the world, it could use a few examples of kindness.

Then what is the point of bringing up BLM, because it wasn't a part of the discussion? I'm not pissy at all about what you originally posted. I was just trying to add some perspective, that sometimes the narrative we want isn't reality.

 

[Redux]

Then what is the point of being up BLM, because it wasn't a part of the discussion? I'm not pissy at all about what you originally posted. I was just trying to add some perspective, that sometimes the narrative we want isn't reality.

I tell ya what, sorry I left out your preferred takeaway from the country responding to a massive terroristic attack.  I like to remember the good, fleeting as it was, as well as the bad.  If you want to solely focus on the bad and more bad because of it, that's your burden to carry.

 

[ZRod]

Maybe stop with all the snark and we can just be two guys talking. I don't have a burden, and there is no reason for you to apologise for your first post.