To be honest, how many times have you heard, someone is dead or had just died and feel your heart sink. Almost always. When I saw that headline though, my brain corrected my heart and I tried to find anything with a live feed.
Fox News was camped out by ground zero. Of course they were right? After all, Bin Laden is to blame for the fall of the Twin Towers. In the background of the news casters shot, there were young New Yorkers, who were probably up and heard the news because they were drinking. Totally cool. But we all know how we react when we've had some drinks... A little more vocal, a little more crass.
What shocked me were the young people and some older people, holding and waiving flags chanting, "USA, USA..." Where did those flags come from at 3:30 in the morning? I never see them sold on the street that big. For some reason it made me sick. It was propaganda, materialized in our country. I felt like, where is our class? Here are these kids... most who looked like they were in their way early 20's and who were probably 10-12yrs old when it happened. I know everyone was affected for different reasons on 9/11 and someone reading this might now want to tell me to eff off. Sorry in advance if I hit a nerve.
But to see our youth waiving flags and chanting, "USA, USA.." in response to a horrible event that was triggered by horrible foreign policy years before they and really we were born... it made me sick. I felt it was classless. We should be better than that. It was just like the images you've see of third world nations when they react that way to a downed helicopter... I was just sickened and thought, where is the class? The silent contemplation. Fox News throws one camera crew on the street and drunk people wanna rally? Not one news caster made a comment about the age group out in the streets at that time and their mental state, but hailed their patriotism.
Death is death. It is sick that Bin Laden hated our country's government/foreign policies and took it out on our people. It's also sick that our government supported dictators for profit at the expense of people in other countries and without care, turned our backs on them and THEN invaded their country. These wars use us.
War is sick. War breeds more war. It is run by shitty people and has imposed it's will on all the people of the world. It kills people, it destroy's cities, it impoverishes nations and while a small few gain, it rallies 2 masses of people against each other. It uses good people. The us and them have more similarities than we think.
Ask yourself this,
1) When was the last time you had a fight?
2) Did you feel good in smashing someone in the face or getting the hell beat out of you?
3) Did you feel proud or embarrassed?
4) When you see the person you fought with, do you get anxiety? Do you feel like you have to hate them? Do you feel like they have to hate you? Do all those feelings come rushing back?
5) Were you honest about how the fight went in all aspects or did exaggerate so you look like a saint?
Fighting happens more times than not, when people respond to what they feel is unjust. When they have seen it and when they have heard it. If more people contemplated their actions, reactions and perceived outcomes, there would be a little more patience, a little more acceptance and a little more justification. I don't think we'll ever get rid of violence, but we should be able to moderate it. After all the history and all the atrocities, we should be better. There should be more peace. The whole situation sucks.
