# Tired of the term 9-11 or should that day be a new national holiday? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2002, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842 "2002-03-12T14:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/1 "2002-03-12T14:28:09Z")
I am really starting to dislike the term 9-11 used to describe that day. I think perhaps we should declare that day a national holiday and give it a name that is better than a couple of numbers. What do you think? I have been unable, so far, to think of a good name for such a holiday. Any suggestions? DaLovin’ Dj ---
**Author:** ![super\_head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@super\_head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/super_head)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/2 "2002-03-12T14:37:50Z")
I mentioned elsewhere (but not on this board) that I had wondered what the day would be called as we got farther away from it. I had my bets on “The Eleventh” but it seems that 9/11 is going to be its name for remembrance. It’s short, to the point, and you immediately know to what it is referring. Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/3 "2002-03-12T14:45:40Z")
I just kind of wish everyone would say the name of the month - September - instead of 9. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/4 "2002-03-12T14:58:34Z")
Didn’t Bush declare September 11 “Patriot Day” last fall? ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/5 "2002-03-12T15:04:41Z")
I thought Patriot day was the the 3rd Monday in April. Maybe it will be moved to September 11. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/6 "2002-03-12T15:24:17Z")
In theory, I would say “let’s find a new name” but in practice, 9-11 already seems firmly entrenched. The tides of language wait for no man, or are mightier than the sword, or something. I think trying to get people stop saying 9-11 at this point would be like trying to insist that everyone pronounce “nuclear” correctly. I don’t mind “nine-eleven” as much but for some reason, I don’t like it when people say “nine-one-one.” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/7 "2002-03-12T15:41:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scarlett67 \* > \*\*Didn’t Bush declare September 11 “Patriot Day” last fall? \*\* I thought Dubya proposed moving Flag Day. ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/8 "2002-03-12T15:42:02Z")
Well I guess it’s already been done. Patriot’ **s** day _is_ in April: > [@](#): > > Patriot’s Day is celebrated on the third Monday in April. It commemorates the Battle of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The Revolutionary War began there on April 19, 1775 and ended in Yorktown on October 19, 1781 when Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington. A formal treaty ending the war was not signed until 1783. > > On the evening of April 18, 1775 General Thomas Gage, the British Commander in Chief of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was ordered to bring the colonies under control. He ordered Lt. Col. Francis Smith to destroy Colonist’s war supplies held in Concord. Smith was also instructed to take Samuel Adams and John Hancock into British custody. Smith’s orders were to be carried out in secret. However, Joseph Warren, a doctor, learned of the plans and sent Henry Dawes and Paul Revere to warn the Patriots. > > Paul Revere rode 16 miles from Olde North Church in Boston to Lexington. The British arrived in Lexington in the early dawn of April 19, 1775. It was there that the Patriots or “Minutemen” and British confronted each other on the green and “the shot heard round the world” was fired. It is not known who fired the first shot. The legislation [Bush](http://www.sterlins.com/html/PatriotDay.html) passed delcared 9-11 Patriot Day (No ' **s** ). Clever. Come on. Let’s be a little more creative. Why don’t we just call it “Day of Memorial” for crying out loud. Oh well. I guess this one’s been settled already. DaLovin’ D ---
**Author:** ![Jimson\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@Jimson\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimson_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/9 "2002-03-12T19:12:25Z")
I just searched and couldn’t find that Congress has passed an Act declaring a National Day of any title for 9/11/01. If the President signed an Executive Order it didn’t make the wires. I hope they haven’t. This is not something that should be rushed or left in the hands of politicians. I’m not so sure I like the idea of a National Day. It doesn’t seem to me that a day needs to be declared officially. Legislation is certainly not necessary to perpetuate my memory of this event. The best remembrance of an event is the memories of those who experienced it. My parents can recall where they were when they heard Kennedy was shot. My grandparents could remember where they were when they heard Pearl Harbor was bombed. None of us now living will forget the date, where we were when it happened or our feelings upon first seeing the video of the burning and collapsing buildings. If we are going to proceed with an official name we should avoid a name that is melodramatic and inaccurate. This is a tangible piece of history we leave to our children and grand children, something that will be taught in schools. A patriot is “one who loves his/her country and zealously supports its authority and interests”. The majority of the victims of 9/11 were not doing anything notably patriotic. That is what makes the event so much more tragic. They were traveling or working and attempting save those trapped and injured. They were killed solely because they were Americans not because they were advancing the ideals of our country. They were killed because of our foreign policy, our political and social beliefs. In short they were killed because they were citizens of the United States. We should keep all of this in mind when we consider naming September 11th. Let’s avoid the media’s sensationalism and the politicians’ attempts to grandstand. These were our countrymen, business partners, neighbors, friends and family that died. They deserve true commemoration not news and photo op to promote the new War on Terrorism. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/10 "2002-03-12T21:13:13Z")
I’m especially sick of when they pronounce it “nine-one-one”. It’s 9/11/01, or September 11, 2001, or "four days before the Ides of September, MMI. “Nine-one-one” is just another example of the media coming up with a godawful silly “brand name” for a real person or event. It’s like when the Unabomber was front page news. For those who don’t remember, the Unabomber was a primitivist anarchist who sent mail bombs to certain business leaders, engineers, and others with a stake in technology. A few people were killed; others were severely injured. So the news eventually started to label his crimes as “Unabom” attacks (note the missing ‘b’). Christ sakes, this guy was a psychotic killer, not something that you put a brand name on. The cute “Unabom” spelling–what was up with that? ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/11 "2002-03-12T21:56:57Z")
> [@](#): > > I just searched and couldn’t find that Congress has passed an Act declaring a National Day of any title for 9/11/01. [Cite](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0112190184dec19.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed). I agree. It’s a crappy name. Patriotism isn’t what comes to mind when I think of the murder of unsuspecting, unarmed, citizens who are at work. Patriotism is something you choose, it doesn’t choose you. All that aside, the fact that there is already a “Patriot’s Day” makes calling it “Patriot Day” absolutely retarded. Now, I’m starting to think that I liked it better when it was 9-11. And 9-11 is really starting to get on my nerves. It’s like naming a star #4328-elsp. To my ear, it takes away from the scale to just refer to something as a number - like a catalog reference. Human creativity is a wonderful thing. People should use it more often. DaLovin’ D ---
**Author:** ![Semp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Semp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Semp)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tired-of-the-term-9-11-or-should-that-day-be-a-new-national-holiday/97842/12 "2002-03-13T00:17:22Z")
I hate HATE **HATE** the lazy-ass acronymization and ultimate crushing of American English, and this is just another example, IYKWIM. I always hated “The Gulf War,” since the Persia of said gulf wasn’t really involved, and theoretically you could just as well assume it referred to the Gulf of Mexico. Frankly, that the conflict has not gone down in history as The United Nations Police Action Against Iraqi Belligerence In Kuwait (or TUNPAAIBIK for you lingo-slinging hipsters out there) is a crime. 911, pronounced nine-one-one, is what you call when your house is on fire. 9/11, or nine-eleven for those who have been under a rock for the past six months, is a Porsche model. As far as I’m concerned these uses of the numbers are already taken. I can understand why people want to name it, but it really seems like a waste of time.