Mommy Blogger Admits She Didn't Know People Died on 9/11

[feministxtian]

14 minutes ago, Beermeet said:

The Challenger is a great example.  I was in 4th or 5th, it was 1985, yeah?

Challenger was January 28, 1986. 

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-51L.html

 

The space geek strikes again

[FecundFundieFundus]

So she scrubbed her blog of the 9/11 references (and the others too if she's smart). The old comments are completely gone, now just people telling her her kids are cute blah blah. Wonder if she got an email from Home Depot or one of her other sponsors? Man I hope she gets dropped. What an ass. 

[Beermeet]

Ha!  Resident Space Geek strikes again!  So, I was in 5th.  Regardless,  that blog chick sucks. 

[feministxtian]

1 hour ago, Beermeet said:

Ha!  Resident Space Geek strikes again!  So, I was in 5th.  Regardless,  that blog chick sucks. 

Challenger was 19 years and 1 day after the Apollo 1 fire that killed Gus Grissom, Ed White (first spacewalker, on my first birthday in 1965) and Roger Chaffee (1/27/67). Columbia was 17 years and 4 days after Challenger (2/1/2003). 

[Petronella]

14 hours ago, Beermeet said:

I saw a great meme posted this last 9/12 commemorating how close we all were then compared to now.  The world was on our side and here we are now.  The effects of 9/11 are still being felt.  That was the beginning of the end.

I’m uncomfortable with the repeated myth that 9/11 “brought the country together.” I recall our neighbour who wrote letters to all the homes in our development in the days following, explaining that he wears a turban because he’s a Sikh, not Muslim. He was desperately afraid of being assaulted. 9/11 was much more a source of division than togetherness. Patriotic supposed “togetherness” excluded and othered many.

As for “the world on our side,” 9/11 was the catalyst for bombing Afghanistan and the political hawkism that led to the Iraq war. I remember feeling horrified by the general bloodthirstiness. I remember the gulf between conservative and liberal earthquaking towards the unbridgeable chasm it is now.

Despite the rhetoric and flag waving, it was not a togethery sort of time.

[Babsi]

Honestly? How can you be 18!! in America and not have known that SO MANY died in 9/11? This is not sheltered, this is ignorant.

I was 12 years old in Germany and admittedly did not know what the World Trade Center was. So when the leader of my youth group told us what happened, I initially did not understand the scale of it (She tried to explain what the WTC was but I just imagined a very tall office/ stock market building and did not realize initially HOW many people would logically be in it...IDK how to explain it best).

But AS SOON as I got home, and saw the footage on TV (we kids did not usually get to watch TV and even I saw it) it seemed so surreal and shocking at the same time. To see planes fly into buildings in the middle of a huge city just...did not compute. And I remember hearing about thousands of victims and only being able to truly UNDERSTAND the number a while later. I also only realized the planes were diverted passenger machines a few weeks later, initially I thought there were only the terrorists on board. (Naive 12 year old kid not knowing you cannot just "kidnap" planes standing on an airport)

But the scale and the tragedy I understood. Plus it got even more personal when I went to school the next day and one of my classmates was inconsolable. She was half-american and her aunt died in the WTC the day before (the world is such a small place sometimes). We also had a church service dedicated to the victims for the whole school and it was all we talked about for weeks.

But I also experienced my first outrage at politics and manipulation when they showed the footage of muslim people (incuding little children) celebrating (footage which later turned out to be fake/ not about 9/11). I got so angry that human beings would go so far as to include children in their hate campaign and remember thinking how scary this hunger for revenge and the desperation for a target for redemption felt.

All in all it definitely became clear that the world would change after 9/11. It is also the only time since the death of Princess Diana (first time I remember encountering what counts as a "big tragic event") the adults around me reacted this strongly to "world news".

I don't know if I really explained all that well ( not a native speaker after all) but HOW?! KATIE BOWER, HOW?! No excuse for that kind of ignorance, none.

 

 

 

[danvillebelle]

Just took a quick look at her blog and instagram.  Verdict:  GA version of Braggie Abbie.

And yeah, I am happy to say fuck you to someone who at 18yo was that goddamn oblivious.  That is some ninja level self-absorption right there.  

[Jellybean]

I was a couple of years older than this blogger, and thousands of miles away in London. I was a medical student and doing a surgical rotation. We came out of the operating theatre and went to get lunch when we saw the tv with the first plane crashing. Like many of you, we thought it was a small plane and an accident, which was quickly corrected by the crashing of the second plane. 

There were reports of other targets (the Pentagon, for example) and there was a thought that the big towers in the financial centre (Canary Wharf) in London, or other London landmarks might be at risk. 

All non-emergency surgeries at my hospital were cancelled and everyone waiting in the emergency department was told about the situation and asked to go home if they felt they could. 

Canary Wharf and many areas in the City (small area of London) were evacuated and all medical people (doctors, nurses, students, paramedics, etc) gravitated towards hospitals in case they were needed. 

As it turns out, London was fine (for a couple of years) but every channel on every tv seemed to be showing coverage of what had happened in NYC, and almost everyone seemed to know someone who might have been there - it was hard to contact people, and there was so much uncertainty for so long. Everyone was talking about it, and the tragedy of it all.

I can’t imagine anyone being in the US, let alone with such a connection to that area, not being aware of what had happened. I can understand not being aware of the scale of it for a few hours, or even days, but for as long as she describes? WTELF?

[ViolaSebastian]

8 hours ago, Petronella said:

I’m uncomfortable with the repeated myth that 9/11 “brought the country together.” I recall our neighbour who wrote letters to all the homes in our development in the days following, explaining that he wears a turban because he’s a Sikh, not Muslim. He was desperately afraid of being assaulted. 9/11 was much more a source of division than togetherness. Patriotic supposed “togetherness” excluded and othered many.

As for “the world on our side,” 9/11 was the catalyst for bombing Afghanistan and the political hawkism that led to the Iraq war. I remember feeling horrified by the general bloodthirstiness. I remember the gulf between conservative and liberal earthquaking towards the unbridgeable chasm it is now.

Despite the rhetoric and flag waving, it was not a togethery sort of time.

Your post reminded me of my reaction to this song, which I first heard (I think?) the summer after 9/11. I heard the lyric "we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way" (I feel like Dr. Phil here, because I want to say, "and how's that workin' for ya?") and had to pull my car over to the side of the road because I was so surprised and disgusted. Just the biggest bunch of nationalistic, jingoistic claptrap, the likes of which I'd only read about up to that point. I put the Youtube link under the spoiler, but I just want to be clear it's an awful song.

Spoiler

 

 

[Glasgowghirl]

4 hours ago, Jellybean said:

I was a couple of years older than this blogger, and thousands of miles away in London. I was a medical student and doing a surgical rotation. We came out of the operating theatre and went to get lunch when we saw the tv with the first plane crashing. Like many of you, we thought it was a small plane and an accident, which was quickly corrected by the crashing of the second plane. 

There were reports of other targets (the Pentagon, for example) and there was a thought that the big towers in the financial centre (Canary Wharf) in London, or other London landmarks might be at risk. 

All non-emergency surgeries at my hospital were cancelled and everyone waiting in the emergency department was told about the situation and asked to go home if they felt they could. 

Canary Wharf and many areas in the City (small area of London) were evacuated and all medical people (doctors, nurses, students, paramedics, etc) gravitated towards hospitals in case they were needed. 

As it turns out, London was fine (for a couple of years) but every channel on every tv seemed to be showing coverage of what had happened in NYC, and almost everyone seemed to know someone who might have been there - it was hard to contact people, and there was so much uncertainty for so long. Everyone was talking about it, and the tragedy of it all.

I can’t imagine anyone being in the US, let alone with such a connection to that area, not being aware of what had happened. I can understand not being aware of the scale of it for a few hours, or even days, but for as long as she describes? WTELF?

That was exactly my thoughts, my eight year old nephew asked me what happened on 9/11 a few days ago and I showed him some of the news coverage from YouTube, he knew from looking at it that people died. She was 18 and old enough to realise that the people on the planes died, even if she thought the buildings were empty. 

[Maggie Mae]

23 hours ago, Beermeet said:

 The entire United States stopped, we were all zombies watching, listening and mourning together.  I saw a great meme posted this last 9/12 commemorating how close we all were then compared to now.  

Except not really. 9/11 opened the door to the faux patriotism, to bias against anyone who looked like they could be from the Middle East, and GW told us to keep buying shit we don't need in the interest of economy or whatever. 

I hate that meme so much. I got into a huge fight with my dorm mates on 9/11 because I wasn't displaying an appropriate amount of sadness or something. I was sad. There are no Olympic for 9/11 grieving. I just didn't like fox news and preferred,even in 2001, to read up-to-date articles. It was a bad fight and I probably came off selfish and uncaring but those people were so weird and it hit me that no matter what I did, they would hate me because I was different.

[Beermeet]

I agree about the meme, ultimately.  Like I said, 9/11 was the beginning of the end.  However, on 9/12/01, it did feel that way for many, me included.  Then, of course, the BS started and went down fast, continuing to this day.  

[feministxtian]

9/11 was the opening of the ugliness that had been an undercurrent in the US...it exposed the racism and bigotry that had gone underground for awhile. I heard more shit from more people after that than before (and remember, I was 37-ish and in the south). It made me want to puke. 

A few years after 9/11, I went out to lunch with some friends for my birthday...I happened to be the only "white" person at the table. I could NOT believe the things that were said by other patrons. I wanted to cry, hit some people, puke, just generally have an ugly-ass temper tantrum. 

It got worse...and I can't believe people really think that way. It's utterly foreign to me...

[Glasgowghirl]

3 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

 

I hate that meme so much. I got into a huge fight with my dorm mates on 9/11 because I wasn't displaying an appropriate amount of sadness or something. I was sad. There are no Olympic for 9/11 grieving. I just didn't like fox news and preferred,even in 2001, to read up-to-date articles. It was a bad fight and I probably came off selfish and uncaring but those people were so weird and it hit me that no matter what I did, they would hate me because I was different.

I remember after Princess Diana died, I was 10 at the time, thinking that some people were going overboard with their outpouring of emotions. William and Harry said years later it was strange seeing people reacting that way, when they themselves hadn't fully processed it yet. While I'm sure people were genuine after both Diana's death and 9/11 with their emotions, that doesn't mean they care more or are more upset than other people. 

[Briefly]

4 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

Except not really. 9/11 opened the door to the faux patriotism, to bias against anyone who looked like they could be from the Middle East, and GW told us to keep buying shit we don't need in the interest of economy or whatever. 

The day that the US started bombing Afghanistan in retaliation, I needed to go get groceries and I went to WalMart because they were close by and I was in a hurry (I usually didn't shop there for groceries as that particular store was not the best).  There was a Muslim mother and daughter shopping and I felt so bad for them. They were just trying to buy groceries and the other shoppers would see them and then turn away as fast as they could and they were getting a lot of dirty looks.  I made a point of going up to them, smiling as big as I could and saying hello and wishing them a good day.  The daughter, she was probably late teens or early 20's, looked like she wanted to cry.  Every time I saw them in the store that trip, because we seemed to be shopping from the same list, she would smile at me.  I wanted to go slap a few people that were in that store for the way they were acting.  This mother and daughter were just like the rest of us, trying to get food for their families and certainly didn't strike me as terrorists, but because they were obviously Muslim by their way of dress they were being ostracized by the other shoppers.  I still get angry when I think of how the other shoppers were.

[Beermeet]

4 minutes ago, Briefly said:

The day that the US started bombing Afghanistan in retaliation, I needed to go get groceries and I went to WalMart because they were close by and I was in a hurry (I usually didn't shop there for groceries as that particular store was not the best).  There was a Muslim mother and daughter shopping and I felt so bad for them. They were just trying to buy groceries and the other shoppers would see them and then turn away as fast as they could and they were getting a lot of dirty looks.  I made a point of going up to them, smiling as big as I could and saying hello and wishing them a good day.  The daughter, she was probably late teens or early 20's, looked like she wanted to cry.  Every time I saw them in the store that trip, because we seemed to be shopping from the same list, she would smile at me.  I wanted to go slap a few people that were in that store for the way they were acting.  This mother and daughter were just like the rest of us, trying to get food for their families and certainly didn't strike me as terrorists, but because they were obviously Muslim by their way of dress they were being ostracized by the other shoppers.  I still get angry when I think of how the other shoppers were.

Good for you!  I did the same. It was very intense and dammit, I was determined to help if needed, whether a friendly smile or standing in front of a Muslim family if shit got bad. I mean, that's nice and all but omg, what a horrible thing.  My son's good friend from kinder ( they are 15 now) is Muslim,  I became friends with the mom over the years.  She would wear a baseball cap instead of the hijab she said.   Technically keeping with her commitment but more low profile in hostile America.   Horrible,  I have never been angrier at my country ( at the time, oh, how innocent I was then), embarrassed.   I remember non Arab or non Muslim brown people being attacked because well, stupid hateful ignorant white people. Nothing has changed from that ugly, it's gotten worse.  That same friend donned her baseball cap when tRump was after the Muslims a year ago.  Shameful.  Decent people stand with and fight back and that is awesome. Never stop!  Fuck those racist assholes.

[TheOneAndOnly]

On 9/15/2018 at 12:17 PM, Lemchop said:

Her favorite trope is claiming ignorance because she's a "country gal" who frequently misses news stories and pop culture references

Until the day I die and maybe beyond that I will carry a deep loathing in my heart for anyone who uses "I'm Country!" as an excuse for ignorance and bad behavior.

Source - I come from a long line of country people who knew what's what.

[Kittikatz]

I cannot believe this woman has sponsors and so many followers on social media, I also don't buy that she didn't understand what the big deal was. I was a kid when Challenger exploded and I remember the light that people had been hurt and probably killed went on for me about three minutes after the explosion. If a kid can 'get' that, an adult should be able to wrap her head around firey explosion = people hurt/dying.

And even if she didn't comprehend it on the day, I don't see how she could have missed the aftermath. Or the news running the same pictures and video loop over and over again. Or of people crying on the news looking for missing loved ones. It was a brutal news cycle that went on along the same vein for weeks, and most of it was about the people not the planes or the buildings.

Even if you didn't watch the news -  the days following 9/11 were bloody frightening. I was in Canada and people were breaking down and crying in public. The government wound up offering free Counseling services to anyone who felt they were negatively emotionally impacted by the attacks. Police and military with long guns out were patroling the area I worked in and other "high value target areas". Security cordons went up everywhere. My friends and I were wondering if there was going to be a draft and a couple of people were considering moving their weddings up in case we were looking at WWIII. The thirst for vengeance and rhetoric was so palpable in the news that I was worried that the nukes would start flying and/or the US would decide to blame us and come over the border in the name of a short victorious war. I went to the grocery store on 9/12 to stock up, and I wasn't the only one.

9/11 was the first time I had ever been truly scared of America - Pierre Trudeau had said about the US "Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt." I had grown up thinking it was just a funny quip, after 9/11 it felt like the elephant was going to go on a stampede.

And the anti-muslim hate seemed to bloom over night. Mostly it appeared to be women getting glared at or shouted at, but even men in turbans and other religious head gear were targeted. I remember telling a few loud mouths off and making an extra effort to smile at anyone in a head scarf. One of the Rabbis I know wears a Bukharian kippot - he got really badly harassed by a group of guys who thought it was a Muslim head covering. It seemed like anyone who was the slightest bit visibly different had a target on their backs - and I live in a fairly liberal area. Cannot imagine how bad it must have been in red zones. Thankfully the street harrassment seemed to get stomped down fairly quickly, but the hate is still an undercurrent. I wonder how different our societies and politics would be if that day had never happened. 

[CatholicLite]

6 hours ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Your post reminded me of my reaction to this song, which I first heard (I think?) the summer after 9/11. I heard the lyric "we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way" (I feel like Dr. Phil here, because I want to say, "and how's that workin' for ya?") and had to pull my car over to the side of the road because I was so surprised and disgusted. Just the biggest bunch of nationalistic, jingoistic claptrap, the likes of which I'd only read about up to that point. I put the Youtube link under the spoiler, but I just want to be clear it's an awful song.

  Hide contents

 

 

This song is probably the worst thing I've listened to in my life. Wow. I follow a lot of people on instagram like this, and wow, it just makes my blood boil. I don't get how anyone could be so nationalistic. It boggles my mind how people can be so terrible to one entire religion because of extremists.

[mango_fandango]

I had recently turned ten when 7/7 happened. I was in year 5 (fourth grade age). I remember my teacher leaving the classroom, I think his wife was in London and he was worried. 7/7 was particularly awful as we'd been awarded the 2012 Olympics just the day before (I remember being told about that too). There was even a short segment about it in the opening ceremony. It's still our biggest terror incident, and the only major one for sixteen years until the Westminster attack last year, which was different because it wasn't a bomb and it was one accident scene, not four. 

[Briefly]

1 hour ago, mango_fandango said:

I had recently turned ten when 7/7 happened. I was in year 5 (fourth grade age). I remember my teacher leaving the classroom, I think his wife was in London and he was worried. 7/7 was particularly awful as we'd been awarded the 2012 Olympics just the day before (I remember being told about that too). There was even a short segment about it in the opening ceremony. It's still our biggest terror incident, and the only major one for sixteen years until the Westminster attack last year, which was different because it wasn't a bomb and it was one accident scene, not four. 

I remember turning on the tv when I got up that morning and being horrified, at that point there were not a lot of details that were being reported and I was really afraid it just the start of a multi-target attack.

[Carm_88]

I was 12 during 9/11 and I was self absorbed, I didn't think it would affect me. I was in Canada, how could it? I knew that people died, I watched them jumping from the buildings, I knew that the planes were likely full, I knew that the buildings collapsing would kill people. There's no way to look at the coverage and think "Everyone is fine" unless you think it's a movie. This woman is full of shit and I'm glad that her bullshit has been exposed.

[cindyluvs24]

I'm still trying to process her statement that she, as an 18 year-old, did not realize the buildings were full of people.   I can't even begin to wonder what else she realized in the subsequent years.

She reminds me of the director in the original The Producers:  "We'll have to take out the entire third act.  They're losing the war!"

[FecundFundieFundus]

I think "didn't realize" is code for "didn't care at the time but now I want attention too"

[unholypoledancer]

I'm late to the party but so flabberghasted by this. I was also 18 when 9/11 happened. I was in college, obsessed with how I looked and having a social life. I recall watching the news for the days following and knowing how many people lost their lives that day. My little community college in the midwest closed down for the day after that happened, FFS.

@FecundFundieFundus I think you hit the nail on the head.