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A Week of Commemorative Horror
Sep. 8th, 2002 09:24 pm
Hey there, all...
I just got back from WalMart, that wondrous bastion of American capitalism and patriotism and small-town good-folksiness, all rolled into one. On TV and on the radio, the hints were there that this would be coming. "Now, let's look back on one year ago..." "One year later, as America still mourns, let's remember the dark events of that horrible day..." "On September 11th, our lives were changed forever..."
I realize that the media is going to go ape-shit this week about what happened last year, and, well, it's a healthy thing to remember what went down and take an honest look at how America, as a country, is handling it all. I'd say not well, but that's a rant for an entirely different day... If handled correctly, a retrospective could be just what we need to rethink our position about terrorism and security, and to take an honest look at how we've changed because of it.
But, this is America, and that's the media. The chances of them handling this responsibly is about the same as a snowball's chance in hell.
What's *really* sickening, though, is that walking through WalMart I was bombarded by all sorts of red, white and blue placards, advertisements, book covers, special commemorative labels of all my favourite condiments, fruits, pastries, candies, jellies, jams, napkins, t-shirts, flags, hats and toilet paper. I couldn't turn around without being smacked in the face by some sign that said "We'll never forget!" Or, "We remember 9/11!" Accompanied by all this was the requisite background of the American flag, with pictures of the WTC or NYC firefighters looking heroic.
I am so goddamned sick of all this fake empathy designed to make a quick buck off of the death, destruction and pain of other people. I hoped that people would have the common decency not to set up their fucking lemonade stands over the graves of all those people, but apparently the greed and tactlessness of these people knows no bounds.
The way I see it, people can't remember September 11th. They're too busy babbling to each other, trivializing what went down or using the memories of the dead to further their own agendas. They're too busy trying to sell their pickles. That's no way to reflect. That's no way to honor those people who were killed. It's all a bunch of useless, useless noise.
So, this week, I will not babble. I will remember.
I just got back from WalMart, that wondrous bastion of American capitalism and patriotism and small-town good-folksiness, all rolled into one. On TV and on the radio, the hints were there that this would be coming. "Now, let's look back on one year ago..." "One year later, as America still mourns, let's remember the dark events of that horrible day..." "On September 11th, our lives were changed forever..."
I realize that the media is going to go ape-shit this week about what happened last year, and, well, it's a healthy thing to remember what went down and take an honest look at how America, as a country, is handling it all. I'd say not well, but that's a rant for an entirely different day... If handled correctly, a retrospective could be just what we need to rethink our position about terrorism and security, and to take an honest look at how we've changed because of it.
But, this is America, and that's the media. The chances of them handling this responsibly is about the same as a snowball's chance in hell.
What's *really* sickening, though, is that walking through WalMart I was bombarded by all sorts of red, white and blue placards, advertisements, book covers, special commemorative labels of all my favourite condiments, fruits, pastries, candies, jellies, jams, napkins, t-shirts, flags, hats and toilet paper. I couldn't turn around without being smacked in the face by some sign that said "We'll never forget!" Or, "We remember 9/11!" Accompanied by all this was the requisite background of the American flag, with pictures of the WTC or NYC firefighters looking heroic.
I am so goddamned sick of all this fake empathy designed to make a quick buck off of the death, destruction and pain of other people. I hoped that people would have the common decency not to set up their fucking lemonade stands over the graves of all those people, but apparently the greed and tactlessness of these people knows no bounds.
The way I see it, people can't remember September 11th. They're too busy babbling to each other, trivializing what went down or using the memories of the dead to further their own agendas. They're too busy trying to sell their pickles. That's no way to reflect. That's no way to honor those people who were killed. It's all a bunch of useless, useless noise.
So, this week, I will not babble. I will remember.
