Today while watching the news coverage in my classes, many students thought it was okay to make jokes about the government, the terrorists, the planes, the buildings, the people being interviewed, and numerous other things. One lady said that the explosion was “large.” My teacher and classmates thought this was the dumbest comment ever made by anyone. I told my teacher that this was the most inappropriate time for any jokes. I also wanted to tell her to stop acting like a fucking child. (I don’t think I need to explain on the boards the reasons why the lady’s “large” comment was stupid. I won’t insult your intelligence like that.)
Several of the students seemed uninterested in the events unfolding. Fine. I don’t care if you think this is the most boring thing in the world; it’s not my place to make you care. However, they were giggling and telling stories and teaching each other bad words in Spanish. Please - have some consideration! There were people in that same classroom mourning all of the losses. This was not the time or place.
Why can’t people act like adults? I am sickened by my peers’ attitudes.
Today, for the first time in God knows how long, I felt myself despising, literally loathing, a large number of people. The most painful part about this was that the majority of these people were my friends. But Fucking Christ, these people were sitting here, during the assembly announcing the tragedy, and cracking jokes about every facet of the horrible event.
I know that I’ll love them again tomorrow, but I doubt that it will be the same type of love. I’m not sure how long it will last, but for the time being there is definitely a distance between myself and a number of close friends.
My own sister was acting equally as irreverant, IMO.
She doesn’t have a TV so I called her first thing and she was going on and on about how she was sure the media were making a big circus out of it. I adimantly disagreed. I told her to just shut up and go look at the exploding/crumbling towers on a TV before she starts making brash generalized comments about the media personnel. I never once saw a media person act in a way that I felt was mocking of the situation at hand. Damn, that pissed me off.
I’d just like to second the feeling of disgust against those who would joke about such a situation expressed in the OP. Words can’t describe how incredibly shocking and how unreal this situation has been to me.
My sister threw a hissy because she had set her VCR to tape an ER rerun. A goddamn RERUN fer crissakes. And it was just news and coverage and such, and she was pouting about it.
I felt like telling her where she could stick the tape. She’s also asking to stay home tomorrow.
I hear ya. If there’s one thing that’s maddened me almost at much as the things that have happened today, it’s the people who just don’t care. We had a couple of gals at work who were pissed 'cause Wall Street closed down, and they couldn’t do some of their work. One even said flat out, that she didn’t give a crap about what happened in New York. Needless to say, most of the people who were in earshot of her remark told her where to go, and treated her like the insensitive <CENSORED> that she revealed herself to be.
And the jokes. Good Lord people, grow up and grow a heart.
I was in college when Reagan and Bradey(sp) were shot:
Idiots applauded, cheered and laughed.
I was (I think) still in college when The Challenger exploded.
Idiots told jokes, and laughed.
I was on a sales trip when the Cherynobyl disaster occured.
Idiots applauded and cheered (“Fuck them Rooskies” “Hey! Let’s watch 'em glow!”)
I hung up on a friend when SCUDs were firing at Israel in the Gulf War and he was laughing about how the Israelies were looking for an excuse to “nuke the ragheads”.
A moron ex-friend mocked Clinton during the beginning of the Oklahoma Bombing incident. (I don’t remember what exactly was said, but it was pretty stupid and offensive.)
And now, at work, I’m hearing comments like “There goes the neigborhood!” or “Look they’re going out of business! They’re having a fire sale! Fire! Geddit?” or “Hey! Does this mean no work tomorrow?!”. I nearly punched an employee (I refrained. Are you proud?) who said “Eh, all th’ people in those buildings were rich fat-cats who got what they deserve.”
and my dwindling faith in humanity has…er…dwindled some more.
I understand that some people use humor to deal with an unbearable situation, but there are times when, if you can’t deal with the situation without telling a joke, you just shut the fuck up.
I didn’t hear any jokes, but was stunned by co-workers who just continued business as usual.
Most were huddled around a tiny TV in a different building, but others would come in and ask about this spec or that bug, etc. (while I sat at my desk in absolute shock)
I’m a born and raised Manhattanite going to school in Albany. I’ve found that, in general, the people here who are not from NYC talked about how fucked up this was, then had a beer, told some jokes, and smiled because classes have been cancelled.
The New Yorkers were pretty fucking quiet all day. Some were quiet because they feared the loss of someone close to them. Some were quiet because they were mourning their loss(es). Some – like myself – were quiet because our home and our neighbors were exploding.
I cannot fathom that anyone could be so insensitive.
I have been glued the the news all day, trying not to cry. I’ve had a hard time getting my work done, but it HAS to be done, so I did it.
I cannot believe that ANYONE would joke about this? How clueless can they be?
I also feel (like I did during the Oklahoma bombing) that this is NO time for partisanship. I don’t care if you’re conservative or liberal, we are all in this together. Who the hell cares if the politician talking about the issues on TV is from whatever side. We all have the same goal, and we are all suffering the same pain over this. Any bitching or jokes about anyone public figure speaking about this issue is inappropriate. (Unless they are being grossly inappropriate themselves, which I don’t see happening.)
today, at the art institute of pittsburgh, as i was putting together a video of my final animation to submit for graduation, the emergency alarm sounded off, and we were told to evacuate. i didn’t know what was going on, of course, so i thought it was no big deal. then i found out. i simply laughed, partly out of nervousness, and partly out of irony (this weekend has been miserable, and i’m unsure if i will graduate), since it’s yet another event that will prevent my graduation.
but i didn’t see the severity of the situation until i got home. even then, it hadn’t set in (which i’m sure is the case for most of us). but as time went by, i hear more and more disturbing stuff (mostly from these threads, which i read regularly), the latest being news from my sister telling me that a friend of mine was working on an internship at WTC.
and now, those images that are constantly shown on the news (but not wrongfully so) are burned into my head; the impact and the collapse, and those atrocious images of people plummeting to their doom. and now, it finally dawned on me that those poor kids in school may not have parents to go home to…
sometimes, even people that are doubtful about religion have to pray, as i am doing. and i think we should also pray for those that aren’t acting too maturely about this, so that maybe they might understand the severity of this situation as much as we do.
thanks for hearing me, as i’m horribly frightened, and i needed someone to talk to.
i haven’t cried… yet. i haven’t cried in nearly a decade, i thought i lost the capacity for it. i certainly hope i’m not that hardened and desensitized.
Agreed. When I was a kid, we had a house fire. My brother (who lost everything in the fire, as it started in his bedroom closet) was sitting on the sidewalk, saying “get your marshmallows and your sticks!” Sometimes you are too shocked to do anything but laugh. Definitely a coping skill.