Unclear
So, today is the 6th anniversary of the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon...which was an awful, horrible day and I really have no idea how people affected by those horrible, awful events got over it...I really don't.
But I am also not going to claim that I understand that pain. Or the confusion. Or the sense of fear. And people who claim that they do, who didn't know anyone directly affected, are liars and they dishonour the pain and memory of people GENUINELY affected by the attacks.
I was driving home the mall today and there was a group of about 15 people, dressed in red, white and blue clothes and hats, holding up raggedy-ass signs saying things like "9/11 Never Forget", which is fine, I guess. But one of them said, emphasized as I type it, "REAL Americans will never forget". And they were waving.
What the hell? What does that mean? What kind of shitty litmus test is that? Does waving and honking prove your "realness"?
And I bet not a single one of 'em knew anyone killed in the attacks or the aftermath. And I bet every single one of them co-oped the pain of true sufferers.
Why can't we be sympathetic without trying to be empathetic? Sometimes, you just don't know how someone else feels. That doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you a REAL person.
You can just say, "I am really sorry for YOUR pain" without sharing your own version, in fact, that actually helps much more.
But I am also not going to claim that I understand that pain. Or the confusion. Or the sense of fear. And people who claim that they do, who didn't know anyone directly affected, are liars and they dishonour the pain and memory of people GENUINELY affected by the attacks.
I was driving home the mall today and there was a group of about 15 people, dressed in red, white and blue clothes and hats, holding up raggedy-ass signs saying things like "9/11 Never Forget", which is fine, I guess. But one of them said, emphasized as I type it, "REAL Americans will never forget". And they were waving.
What the hell? What does that mean? What kind of shitty litmus test is that? Does waving and honking prove your "realness"?
And I bet not a single one of 'em knew anyone killed in the attacks or the aftermath. And I bet every single one of them co-oped the pain of true sufferers.
Why can't we be sympathetic without trying to be empathetic? Sometimes, you just don't know how someone else feels. That doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you a REAL person.
You can just say, "I am really sorry for YOUR pain" without sharing your own version, in fact, that actually helps much more.
posted by shellswick at 6:52 p.m.
1 Comments:
these are echoes of the 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore crowd' that somehow lost track of what actually might have an effect on change and instead they latched onto the patriotic lead of. . . um. . I guess the president?!? At least when it comes to misdirecting energy towards this awful segment of recent American history.
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