# When do we stop wallowing in 9/11? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 7, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523 "2011-09-07T18:07:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Agent\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@Agent\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Violet)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/241 "2011-09-12T15:52:10Z")
i wish people would please try to remember that while that was a HORRIBLE tragedy, A LOT of people are actually trying to celebrate the day of their birth on that very same date. It makes it SO difficult to celebrate being born and being alive on that day when so many people are in mourning and the news,media are shoving the terrible memory in everyone’s face over and over and over again pulling the scab off the wound every single freaking year. **From what I learned about grief, you’re supposed to celebrate the deceased person’s LIFE and accomplishments…you aren’t supposed to focus on the moment of their death over and over for the rest of your life.** That’s exactly what happens EVERY single year on 9/11 and the days leading up to it. All we do as a society is focus on how those people died rather than focusing on what they did while they were living. Yeah we tell all the hero stories and stuff but other than that, all you see all freaking day is images of the planes hitting the towers and all the “where were you when it happened” stories. Had I lost a loved one on 9/11, I would loath seeing the event replayed 10,000+ times all over every single news channel, every single search engine main page, etc. Not to mention all the countless people, like myself, sharing a birthday with that day. All I wanna do on my birthday is hide in my closet and not come out til it’s over. Then when you tell people what your birthday is, you get a sympathic or amazed “wow.that’s awful…that day you were born…terrible day.” WTF. UGH. Yes it was a horrible moment in history and my heart goes out to those who lost someone dear to them. But can we stop reopening the wound and pouring salt in it every single year??? I love all the memorial things and heartfelt ceremonies honoring those lost but I guess I just get so sick of the media and news outlets making a profit off showing horrific images and retelling the events of that day over countless times. I don’t even know what my point is. I’m just sick of it. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/242 "2011-09-12T15:52:39Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Yes. Haven’t I been telling you for days that this whole foofarah is going to consist of about a week’s worth of news coverage, and that it will blow over within a couple days? > > What happened to 9/11 being IN YOUR FACE CONSTANTLY, MAN!?!?! Go back and read the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/243 "2011-09-12T16:23:21Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Go back and read the OP. Five pages of whinging is too much for me to relive. Let it go, and let me forget. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/244 "2011-09-12T16:48:49Z")
While you are forgetting, get lost, too. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/245 "2011-09-12T18:43:32Z")
> [@ravenman](#): > > five pages of whinging is too much for me to relive. Let it go, and let me forget. NEVER FORGET!!! x ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/246 "2011-09-12T18:49:23Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > NEVER FORGET!!! > > x I will never forgive you. I’m reminded of these stupid complaints about 9/11 every time I open this thread… waaah, waaah. Someone should delete this thread because I am incapable of ignoring it on my own. Why do people have to complain so much when it causes me a very, very slight inconvenience? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/247 "2011-09-12T20:34:50Z")
**Ravenman** , maybe if you read the OP out loud to yourself, slowwwwly, it will help you process it. On the other hand, maybe you are just stupid. My concern is not for my own personal convenience or peace of mind (though the 9/11 overkill _is_ annoying). My concern is what this obsession says about our country, and whether it is an unhealthy obsession for us to indulge. Lingering national obsessions with past grievances have not, historically, led to good things. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/248 "2011-09-12T23:43:39Z")
I looked at FB just now. The 17th (but first 9/11) item on my News Feed is from the NYT. CAN’T EVERYONE JUST STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS??? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/249 "2011-09-13T00:03:51Z")
Well here’s a little gem that came through my Facebook feed: > [@](#): > > Let us never forget it was moslem (the word, “Islam,” is a whitewashing by the national news media) terrorists who attacked us 10 years ago today on Sept. 11, 2001. > They destroyed the World Trade Center Twin Towers, a large segment of the Pentagon and except for the bravery of passengers on another flight that crashed in Pennsylvania, would have likely destroyed the U.S. Capitol. > Those atrocities were not an aberration by a few nutcases as some would have us believe but a direct result of the hatred that is contained in their so-called “holy book.” > Their youngest children are taught to hate so-called “infidels;” that is, anyone who is not a moslem. It is taught in the schools in Saudi Arabia, our alleged “ally.” Their clearly stated goal is to take over the world and establish a moslem dictatorship. > They are the modern-day Nazis and anti-Christs. > Remember the victims of 9/11 but never forget that **the political religious realm of moslemism (or Islam, for the politically correct) must be eradicated from the face of the earth if we are to ever be safe again**. > That’s my informed opinion and I’m sticking with it…even if FB bans me from its site in the future. My emphasis. And that’s the sort of mindset all this “Never Forget/Never Forgive” groupthink engenders. Let it go. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/250 "2011-09-13T00:59:23Z")
**Happy birthday, Agent Violet!** And here’s your birthday beer! c(\_) If you don’t drink beer, here’s cookies. @@@@@ ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/251 "2011-09-13T16:24:59Z")
[QUOTE=Spoke] No, there was a mawkish pre-game 9/11 tribute, the announcers publicly announcing their grief, the red-white-and-blue ribbons on all their lapels, and in the commercial breaks, Verizon and Budweiser using 9/11 to hawk their products. No escape. [/QUOTE] I think you are wallowing in the wallowing over 9/11. I managed to get through the entire weekend without any references to 9/11 and watching only 2 shows concerning 9/11 (both of them dealing with either the Truther CTers or forensic details of why and how the various buildings collapsed…ammo for when the next CT nutball roams in with a video that we all just have to see about the vast coverup and conspiracy of 9/11, blah blah blah). No one forced me at gun point to attend any memorial ceremonies. I managed quite nicely to find plenty of non-9/11 shows to watch on TV. I wasn’t coerced into buying any flags or other mementos of 9/11, nor sign any petitions, nor anything else. The only commercial I recall getting on my radar for the whole weekend that was 9/11 related was some gold coin (plated of course) they were selling on History Channel to commemorate 9/11 with some sort of ship thingy that flipped up…and I’ve seen that commercial dozens of times outside of this weekend. Other than that it was just ads for shows on other channels that I didn’t watch (though that’s where I got the teaser for the best show on the building forensics I’ve seen to date…9/11: The Towers and the Pentagon). Well, it’s over with now so I assume you can calm down and get back on track to gear up for all of the Thanksgiving and Christmas specials that will be rolling down the pike soon. 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/252 "2011-09-13T16:43:02Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I think you are wallowing in the wallowing over 9/11. Ooh, “I know you are but what am I.” A classic. > [@](#): > > Well, it’s over with now so I assume you can calm down and get back on track to gear up for all of the Thanksgiving and Christmas specials that will be rolling down the pike soon. The difference being that at least those are _supposed_ to be celebrations. Celebrating something joyous is perfectly cool. Celebrating a tragedy is fucked up. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/253 "2011-09-13T17:20:26Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > The difference being that at least those are _supposed_ to be celebrations. Celebrating something joyous is perfectly cool. Celebrating a tragedy is fucked up. Celebrating? Who celebrated? Because if it was supposed to be a celebration somebody owes me a goddamn Blown up Twin Towers Day prezzie. Fuck me, missing the boat again. I was all somber and reverent of one of the most powerful and emotionally important moments of my generation if not the history of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/254 "2011-09-13T17:42:37Z")
Forget 911. Remember 912. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/255 "2011-09-14T01:02:59Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] Ooh, “I know you are but what am I.” A classic. [/QUOTE] Huh. Re-reading what I was saying there in the context of the discussion, I’d have gone with the classic ‘never start a land war in Asia’ thingy…never would have gotten the ‘I know you are but what am I’ bit. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/256 "2011-09-14T01:59:00Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > Fuck me, missing the boat again. I was all somber and reverent of one of the most powerful and emotionally important moments of my generation if not the history of the United States. Apparently you’re just wallowing. Get with the program. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/257 "2011-09-14T02:25:22Z")
What does “emotionally important” mean? I’m thinking maybe you and **xtisme** just need to have a good hug-and-cry. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/258 "2011-09-14T03:03:03Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > What does “emotionally important” mean? I’m thinking maybe you and **xtisme** just need to have a good hug-and-cry. What does it mean? It means I watched 3000 people murdered in front of my eyes. Live. If that doesn’t have a profound emotional impact, whether you personally know the people or not or whether they are fellow countrymen or not, then you are a hopeless fucking misanthrope ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/259 "2011-09-14T03:17:23Z")
I understand being moved by the event when it happened. If you are still weeping and gnashing your teeth about this ten years later, then you are an emotional basket case. Or a media plaything. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523/260 "2011-09-14T03:21:32Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > I understand being moved by the event when it happened. > > If you are still weeping and gnashing your teeth about this ten years later, then you are an emotional basket case. Or a media plaything. Or, quite possibly, having a lasting sense of loss after watching 3000 people being murdered is a completely rational response and you’re a twit. It’s a coin toss really. Isn’t it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-stop-wallowing-in-9-11/595523.md?page=14)