Captain America

It’s weird thinking about 9/11 after . . . 25 years.  Geez.

I still remember where I was when it happened.  I was in college, woke up, and jumped online.  Didn’t put on the TV, so I had no idea what was going on.  Someone sent me a message on AOL Instant Messenger saying ‘someone flew a plane into the Twin Towers’.  I thought he was pitching a tabletop role-playing game and said it could be fun.  He then wrote in all caps for me to turn on the news and that’s when I saw the second tower fall.  Still get myself ready to go to class, which was anthropology and the subject was how certain mindsets have lead to acts of violence.  The teacher just turned on the news, said his lesson couldn’t compare to what was going on, and walked out to process things himself.  A friend and I just kind of wandered for a bit until we ended up at the student union and I stayed with all of the other students who came from the NYC/Long Island area.

That’s a vivid memory that many people don’t have.  Every student in my school district was born long after 9/11 occurred.  They learn about it in history, which is strange to hear about.  Heck, I’ve had coworkers who were born a year or two after 9/11.  It’s a ‘distant’ historical event to so many.  Something politicians repeatedly pull out to suit their needs and stir up those of us who remember.  It’s become a political tool in so many arenas, which is why I have a hard time turning on the news around this time.  It used to be I couldn’t really watch the videos of people jumping from the towers and falling like ragdolls, but I think I can handle that more than the politicizing.

I know many people make these posts and close comments.  I’m not going to do that.  I might take a while to respond, but I want to hear from people.  Do you remember where you were when 9/11 happened?  If you weren’t born, what do you think when you talk to someone who was?  What’s your opinion on how events we live through can become history within our own lifetimes?