# 9:26am nyt **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 11, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675 "2009-09-11T13:00:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/1 "2009-09-11T13:00:32Z")
Fellow Dopers - 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. Forgive, but never forget. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/2 "2009-09-11T13:02:02Z")
May their souls rest in peace. And may we never forget them. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/3 "2009-09-11T13:26:21Z")
The moment of silence has begun. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/4 "2009-09-11T13:34:53Z")
My thoughts today are with their families and friends, who will be reminded today of the void in their lives created 8 years ago. Thanks for starting this thread. I’m glad I was up early and noticed it so I could participate. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/5 "2009-09-11T16:17:40Z")
I lost two friends when the towers came down. One of them left behind an infant who will never know her mother (though she has a new one now). I neither forgive nor forget. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/6 "2009-09-11T16:47:56Z")
Doesn’t this belong on MPSIMS or should we debate something? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/7 "2009-09-11T16:55:07Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Forgive, but never forget. Is that why bin Laden’s still a free man, rather than a head on a platter at the Smitsonian? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/8 "2009-09-11T17:01:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/9 "2009-09-11T17:09:58Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/10 "2009-09-11T17:14:21Z")
You should hold off commemorating until this Pearl Harbor gets its Hiroshima. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/11 "2009-09-11T17:34:17Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/12 "2009-09-11T17:45:45Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Doesn’t this belong on MPSIMS or should we debate something? I figured, as seems to be the case, that we might find something to disagree about here. And I didn’t want it in the Pit. If a mod wants to move it, or lock it, fine with me. Or let the debate take whatever path it finds. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/13 "2009-09-11T18:15:28Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I figured, as seems to be the case, that we might find something to disagree about here. And I didn’t want it in the Pit. 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. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/14 "2009-09-11T18:52:08Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/15 "2009-09-11T19:34:38Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > 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.. Gee whiz, one whole thread in eight years. Sorry to have tested your nearly infinite patience. > [@](#): > > Some are perfectly content to forget. And there’s nothing wrong with that. So don’t bump the thread. Only three thousand innocent deaths, and here I wasted almost a minute of your precious time. What must I have been thinking? My most abject apologies for forcing you to open the thread and comment on it. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/16 "2009-09-11T19:48:50Z")
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) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/17 "2009-09-11T22:45:27Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Doesn’t this belong on MPSIMS or should we debate something? 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. [/Modding] ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/18 "2009-09-13T16:18:12Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > 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. > > [/Modding] [If you say so](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=531611) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/19 "2009-09-13T17:19:52Z")
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. Later that day, I read [The Man Who Walked Between the Towers](http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Walked-Between-Towers/dp/0761317910) to the students, and as always choked up on the last couple of pages. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675/20 "2009-09-13T18:41:44Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > 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) 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](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=87707) was quite popular – and it was started less than a week after 9-11. Some people use laughter to cope. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-26am-nyt/509675.md?page=2)