I listen to a talk radio station in Orlando (Neal Boortz, Clark Howard, etc.)
They’ve started doing a “Countdown to Sept. 11” in which every day they say something like:
“It was exactly one year ago today that the Sept 11 hijackers met in Las Vegas to map out their final plans.”
“It was exactly one year ago today that the Sept 11 hijackers withdrew money from their various accounts to buy plane tickets.”
etc. etc
I know the anniversary of Sept 11 is going to be a big deal…but I found this Countdown thing very macabre. It’s not like we’re counting down the days to New Years Day or something.
That sounds kind of freaky to me. I know people will deal with the day in different ways - some more public than others - but this seems more like an attempt to show they “care” and recognize the importance of the events that led up to the day last year. Doesn’t seem altruistic, just seems opportunistic.
Do not waste time calling the station; listen for one hour, make a list of all sponsers, and inform them that you are going to boycott their products for one year.
If they are doing it as a joke, then yes, it’s in extraordinarily poor taste.
However, think of it as if it is serious. What if this were done to remind us of the chain of events as they happened, in real time?
I think this puts into perspective how we (that is, everyday citizens of the US) were totally naive to what was going on around us. While we were feeding our cats, complaining about our shampoo, wishing our lawn looked as nice as the neighbor’s… dozens of men were plotting to kill us.
It’s chilling, and a good reminder that the world is a dangerous place, and it’s time we knew about it.
No, they’re not doing it as a joke. They’re a talk radio station and I think they’re doing it like Bad Astronomer said, as a documentation of the chain of events. I just thought it was a little macabre.
The BC/AD of Sept 11 reminds me of a cartoon I say last year. A little girl was sitting on Santa’s lap, and he asked her what she wanted for Christmas.
If this had been done by any other station, I’d have said that they’re working up to something. They’re teasing you into tuning in tomorrow to see what the next thing is going to be.
But on a talk-only format? I have no idea.
Unless they’re trying to illustrate that these hijackers carried out their plans without some much as a raised eyebrow from an unsuspecting public. Now that we’re “on alert”, if these same actions were to take place again as a buildup to a terrorist act, someone should be taking note of it.
It doesn’t bother me that much. It’s not like they devote an entire hour to it…I just thought calling it Countdown to Sept 11 was a little odd…akin to “Only 54 shopping days left until Christmas!”
I think that if the people on the radio are taking it seriously, as seems to be the case here, then it is a good reminder of what a long time was spent preparing for the attacks and how oblivious our government was to the threat. I hope this awareness doesn’t wear off, we shouldn’t go back to feeling like no one can hurt us because we are the big bad super power, that kind of thinking is what gets people killed.
Yeah, it’s disturbing. It’s probably meant to be, actually. A lot of talk-radio guys like to remind us about “they” who are out there to get us–the government, usually. So, now they have a “they” who they know specific details about–one year later, but that’s not so important. If “they” (the terrorists) could plot and carry out these plans last year, then who knows what sort of “they” is plotting against us right now?