Today, at the time listed above, there will be a moment of silence in memory and honor of those who lost their lives in the attacks, eight years ago today.
No matter what our political or other disagreements, we can agree that the loss of those 3,066 lives was a tragedy, and the anniversary of that loss a fit occasion to remember them and their families.
As horrible as the events of 9/11 were, I think the true tragedy is how our nation responded. I agree, we should never forget in order to prevent a recurrence.
Opposing viewpoint. 9-11-2001 was a tactical victory bin Laden. Why should we commemorate it?
Not related to 9-11 but I focus my remembrances of deceased relatives on their birthdates not on the dates of their death (not that I don’t think of them on other dates).
I’m going to paint a target on my head. It was a tragedy. But people die all the time. Sometimes in large groups. Why remember this tragedy?
The only thing that distinguishes this tragedy from a train wreck is that it was a terrorist attack. So - why should we commemorate a terrorist attack? What does it accomplish? Who does it benefit?
Shouldn’t you have presented an actual debate then, as opposed to ordering a moment of silence and establishing universal agreement as to the tragedy of incident you wish to commemorate?
Sure, it was tragic. It’s always tragic when people die, especially lots of people all at once who shouldn’t have expected to die that day. But, sheesh. Give it a rest already. Do your own personal thing, whatever you need to do, but it’s just getting old seeing people making sure everyone around them is reliving it, too.
Some are perfectly content to forget. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Phew! That’s a relief. I forget about it all the time. Probably something to do with not having bothered to watch it on the news and (thus?) having failed to get emotionally involved with it even when it was actually occurring.
ETA: I didn’t even realize that this was the ‘anniversary’ until this thread; like every other year it’s just another day to me.
Eh, I take Shodan’s point, and I had a moment of silence for the dead caused directly and indirectly by the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. Those in New York, those in Iraq, those in Afghanistan.
It is seemingly a bit odd to have what’s essentially a remembrance day for a “war” that is not yet over, but at the same time, I can’t fault the motivation.
What I certainly DON’T approve of is the kind of person who either treats this as a day to re-emphasize their desire for retributive war (on the far right) or who mocks it, as someone of my acquaintance did, as “9/11, twin towers, and Dale Earnhardt let the eagles soar day” (on the far left)
The rules are not THAT tight here that a thread to express thoughts on something as serious as the WTC/Pentagon attacks has to be rigidly squeezed into the “appropriate” forum. If the thread takes a specific turn that calls for it to be moved, we will move it, but if it bothers you, I suggest ignoring it.
On our morning announcements on Friday, the moment of silence was announced for 8:46. I felt guilty for missing it–the kids were in the computer lab, and I was busy trying to get one particular chucklehead to remember how to log in. We held our moment of silence when we got back to the room.
It’s worth remembering the day. I think it’s worth remembering for many reasons, only some of which I can tell to second-graders (I don’t think there’s any way to discuss the travesty of civil rights abrogations with them, nor to discuss my friend who saw a hand fall from one of the towers). What ways I can share with them, I do.
But sometimes people mock things without dismissing them, or their impact – it’s a way of coping. You know your friend better than me, so I can’t judge him, but THIS thread was quite popular – and it was started less than a week after 9-11.