Screw you.

The BBQ Pit
1

Yes, you…you who went out partying last night. I consider you a reasonable person, and I figured that reasonable people would at least have some iota of caring and understanding for what happened yesterday.

But no. You acted like it was just another night in your stupid little frat-obsessed life. While the entire world is fucking in mourning, you couldn’t think of anything else to do but go out drinking with your friends. And no, it wasn’t the kind of drinking people do when they’re upset. It was the kind that you always do, the kind that causes you to get wasted and hook up with random guys. It was just another night for you.

My college is almost completely back to “normal.” Whatever that means. My roomate had to take a quiz yesterday at 10:30 a.m. Her fucking teacher said “here’s what’s going on in the world,” told them about the planes crashing into the WTC, made them take a quiz, and talked to them about beakers for the next half an hour. My roomate couldn’t see straight, she was crying so hard. She barely wrote anything on the quiz.

I can’t believe people here are just forgetting about it this easily. I didn’t go to classes today; I couldn’t concentrate on them. Everyone else did; the people I talked to today barely mentioned this. It’s like we’re in this stupid protected little bubble, and as long as nobody wants to think about what happened, they don’t have to.

Well, I’m sorry. I want to think about what happened. I want to be sad. I don’t want to party. I don’t care if your fraternity’s pledge night is tomorrow, and no, I don’t think it’s exciting and cool. I think it’s fucking sad that you’re so psyched to party like nothing has happened.

You. Worthless. Fuck.

I hate feeling like this…like I’m the only one who’s bothered by this and how everyone around me is so desperate to get back to normal. I don’t expect people to be walking around crying, but is it too much to ask for some acknowledgement at least, some acknowledgement that this has occurred and your next hookup isn’t the most important thing in the world right now?

I’m sorry…I’ve seen all sorts of complaints about the way people are dealing with this tragedy, but none saying that people aren’t feeling ENOUGH. Maybe it’s just my school. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe no one will respond and this will sink to the bottom. Whatever. I’ve said what I wanted to say. Thanks for listening.

2

Well, this message board is clearly deeply affected by this–maybe even obsessed if you look at all the threads which are related to this in all the different fora. (I include myself in that too. I’m very much in that “check CNN like a heroin addict looking for a fix” mode, even though I know they’re basically in the “lather, rinse, repeat” part of the news cycle.) Where I work we’ve basically been doing our jobs like normal, but I’ve had conversations about this with more than one co-worker, and heard other people talking about it with each other. Obviously the TV coverage has been massive; I bet every paper in the country’s headlines have been about this (and I imagine most of them have had “special sections” and special front pages and all the rest). Even music radio stations have been breaking in.

In short, I think you’re the normal one, and they’re the weird ones. This really does seem to be something on the order of a Pearl Harbor. It’s a huge, gut-wrenching, historic, horrifying THING, and anyone who is acting otherwise I suspect is in some kind of psychological denial.

3

You never forget, some people just restart their lives more quickly than others - Frat boys party. WHen I found out what happened, I left work (although we aren’t based there, a lot of the business is from the New York area so we were free to leave) and spent about four hours at the gym. I have done nothing but think about the people who died and their families that are waiting for a call the entire time.

Today I woke up, went to the gym, spent a couple hours shooting pool, spent time with my wife, and went to a movie - and yes thought about the people who died and their families who are probably still waiting for a call the entire time.

I don’t mean to say that you aren’t entitled to grieve however you choose to grieve, I just choose to live my life. It doesn’t mean I’m more or less broken up over it.

Incidentally, I think that the teacher should not have given out a quiz though…the teacher sounds like an asshole.

4

A hearty ‘screw’ you back.

The world didn’t stop turning when those planes hit.

Life goes on, and it’s not a bad thing to work towards normalcy.

Not only is it not a bad thing, it’s a very neccessary thing, for some people.

5

I went back to “business as usual” too - but it was difficult. I am numb, but I have a job that is important, and must be done. So I did it.

We MUST get back to our lives. We should. If we don’t, it means the terrorists win a little bit.

But to act as if it’s all no big deal? To go flitting off to our self-involved lives, with nary a thought about what’s going on in NYC? No. No. That’s wrong. That’s not normal. And I think that is the kind of thing that the OP is talking about.

This is the most devastating thing that has happened in the USA in 60 years. (Pearl Harbor.) Actually, it’s WORSE than what happened 60 years ago. This is history-altering, way-of-life-altering stuff. And to be so shallow as to just brush it off like it’s nothin’ (like what is described in the OP) deserves a bit of disgust. Just my opinion.

6

Back when WWII started, movie theatres saw a huge increase in ticket sales.

People want to be distracted from a tragedy, not by it. Given the sheer amount of mental anguish I’ve been feeling for the past day, I don’t blame anyone for wanting a temporary release from it.

7

Back during WWII going to the movies was the only way you could see what was going on in the war (there were news reels before the cartoon, which was before the movie). Other than that there were still pictures in papers and magazines. A lot of the movies were war movies {John Wayne was in a lot of them), so going to the movies wasn’t always for a distraction. I don’t have a cite for this, but I can remember it.

8

I certainly think the daily news was what attracted people to the movie theatres during WWII, SPOOFE.

9

I live on a college campus. The people I know who went out drinking, by and large, weren’t seeking a release from their anguish. They just didn’t really care that much.

On the other hand, there is somehing to be said for routine as therapy. For better or worse, my roommate and I have gotten into a pretty steady pot habit over the last few weeks. Normally when I’m in a bad mood I prefer to sulk for a while, and I tried it on the 11th. This particular bad mood, however, was especially nasty and marked by severe anxiety (note: I’ve lived in Manhattan all my life). I felt better after getting high, and that’s at least partially due to the fact that it just felt right. I’m sure that at least some of the people who went out felt the same way; when there are no classes tomorrow, they go out and get plastered. So that’s what they did.

I dunno, I’m conflicted.

10

Well, that and The Wolfman, in any case.

11

You would be of the mind that it was okay for that teacher to give my roomate’s class a quiz at 1030 that day? To expect them to process what happened, but realize that a quiz was more important?

I’m sorry. I can’t get my head around that. I think it’s wrong.

And in no way did I try to come across as a grief snob in the OP. I DO expect people to try and get on with their lives. But right now, a lot of people at my school are barely acknowledging that this is something serious. And I find that objectionable.

12

Do you weep for the tens of thousands that die every day due to oppressive American foreign policy? Weep for the starving and hungry? Diseased? Impoverished?
No.

You sit by in your comfy little house in your comfy little chair watching your comfy little tv thinking about how great America is.

America, chief arms funder for terrorists and dictators around the world.
America, stringent arm-twisting money-lender that forces developing nations so far into debt that they can’t feed their own starving, can’t heal their own sick.

Wake up, girl, the world’s full of suffering, and a heck of a lot of it lies at America’s hands.

I wept for the agonizing deaths of those civilians in the world trade center and those in the pentagon and those in the planes.

I wept more at Bush’s talks of vengeance.

13

I had to watch old reruns and cartoons this morning. Just to keep myself sane.

14

How the fuck do you know what she weeps for, dick? You can kiss my ass sideways with your laundry list of American evils, as if no one else shares culpability. People in underdeveloped countries can’t afford to heal their sick or feed themselves? Seems to me their leaders (and in some cases military) are living well enough. In fact, in many regions of the Middle East, Africa and Asia, where people are dying in poverty daily, the ruling class is busy drinking wine in their huge palaces, watching American movies on their widescreen TVs paid for by utter corruption and graft. Bit of an oversimplification, eh? Well, you know how we Americans love to generalize while we sit on our comfy little chairs blindly thinking how great our country is. We’re all overfed, oversexed jingoistic solipsists. Unlike you, who is a fucking moron.

15

Yeah Twitch, maybe you should put a cork in it. Go elsewhere, and argue that bin Laden’s not involved, you ignorant fuck.

This is not America’s fault. The quicker you get that through your tiny brain, the better for all of us.

16

I think Twitch is still upset at us Americans for winning the Revolutionary War.

17

look, we shouldnt change our lives for one minute because of this.

If this were an earthquake or a natural disaster, we should hold days or weeks of mourning; we should call off work/classes/etc. But this was an act of a terrorist trying to force his way over us. The ONLY thing that should change is domestic airplane security; it was very lax anyway!

I can understand (but DO NOT support) the attack on the Pentagon. But 20,000 civilians trapped in a building that is a symbol of the world’s economy…

18

Twitch, go stick a rabid gopher up your ass and get fucked.

As for the suffering laying at America’s hands? one word, BULLSHIT.

19

The newsreel was shown at the beginning of the picture. If that were the only reason to show up at the theater, why’d they stay to watch the singing dancing extravaganza. Why not just leave as soon as they saw the news of the day? I’m sure some were attracted by the chance to see the news. I’m also sure a lot more weren’t.

Some people need distraction, some people need to reach for normalcy in a time of crisis. Just because someone is not dealing with the tragedy exactly the way you are does not mean they’re not dealing with it. Do what you need to do, let them do what they need to.

20

I am a bit upset about my school nearly ignoring it in classes. Other than my American Way of War class (lovely timing for me to take that one.) The tragedy recieved only bare comment. Nothing at all was said in my ethics class. I had to restrain myself from saying “Yea, I have a question, where does Plato say something about how justice is done in teh face of evil? Where does Aristotle tell us how to find happiness in this situation. where in these books are the tools for us to make sence and find answers out of this? If we can’t face this with ethics, than what can we face it with?”

the other thing I love are all the kids saying we should bomb the entire middle East, but they don’t want to sign up for the military. If you’re so gung ho about it, go for it. I’m at least willing to act on my beliefs.