-
I usually just amplify all written new or old 9/11 stories today, but today: 9/11 happened my first year of high school. When I first heard about what was happening I was in the hall on the way to class and I assumed it was a joke. But when I got into French class the TV was on.On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
Everyone was basically just sitting there. We watched reporting for well over an hour. I was in Mamaroneck, a NYC suburb with a lot of the type of people who might work in the towers. We stayed in that class for a while, even when the TV was just repeating itself.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
Eventually the announcement came that people should call their parents, if they needed to. I knew my mom worked in the city so I called her and she was alright, but some kids just couldn't get through. Lines were busy or clogged or just not working.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
Some kids left for the day, some with parents, some without, some stayed. Back then my high school had an open campus, with classes not happening kids could come and go as needed. The school would later get metal detectors, more recently the campus closed. It was open then thoughPermalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
I don't know the details, but I'm pretty sure at least one kid lost a parent. Another's dad was on TV for helping people down stairs. I think.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
Mainly I remember, and perhaps this is my mind playing tricks, that later the air south of us seemed discolored, like the smoke was visible from the suburbs.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood +2 🙂
-
In the immediate aftermath I remember feeling angry as it became 'America's tragedy' then the 'world's tragedy'. That was foolish of me. But some of those people who lay claim to 9/11 still anger me. The ones who slap a bumper sticker on without really understanding anything.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -7 🙁
-
I am still furious at the people who would use 9/11 as an excuse for hate. Who would 'never forget' without thinking about the towers as full of all types of people, just like NYC.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -5 🙁
-
The Twin Towers had men, women, people of color & all different faiths. People who believed in different politics and who were all over the LGBTQ+ spectrum. People of different ability. People from different countries. That their deaths are used to divide us is infuriating.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -2 🙁
-
Because while 9/11 doesn't belong to the type of person who would use it as an excuse for hate, it *does* belong to the world. There are memorials to 9/11 all over the world. Because the people who worked in the towers came from all over.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -4 🙁
-
The towers and NYC are a remarkable symbol of how diversity creates a greater whole, how we are united. They were two ugly gray rectangles that were a signature of a great city because behind that steel were people of all affiliations working together.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood +5 🙂
-
That's why TV shows and movies and books often take place in NYC. And back before 9/11 often featured the towers. They weren't pretty but they and NYC were a place where anything can happen to anyone.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood +1 🙂
-
Of course, before 9/11 we still had plenty of challenges, but the point was to overcome them.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
So today, if someone tries to use 9/11 as an excuse to widen our divisions, to breed hate, it to tell you that diversity somehow makes us weak, remember: that's a lie. Not only is it a lie, it misses everything we *should* remember:Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -6 🙁
-
Our differences make us strong. Our diversity leads to success. NYC thrives when it embraces everyone, and so does America.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood +4 🙂