Tag Archives: September 11

Looks like things are back to normal... at least until September 2012 (or maybe not?)

Looks like my various streams are largely 911-ghoulishness free. I can start paying attention to the world again. :)

And don't worry, I remembered the victims and their loved ones, but I did it positively at a short film festival at the Japan Society called "Films for Hope".  Most of these films were warm and positive and reminded me of why we should cherish life as much as we do.  Humanity has an immense capacity for good.  It's a shame we focus so much on the negative.  I do it, too, but I hope to change that.  This is part of how I remembered 911 victims. In fact, making the world a better place through storytelling has been my life's goal since long before 911.

Making people think, question, learn, change and grow is what art can do.

When all we do is focus on fear and suspicion we kill our imagination and our potential.  I hope what I have written and what I will write will inspire people to do more than just that.

So, perhaps next year at this time we, as humans, will be able to remember the victims in more positive ways, reflect on how best to serve their memories, and not feel compelled to relive their passing.  I hope what I do in the coming year (and years), along with what others do, will help us all get to that place.

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Earliest form of 911 Exploitation by the Media Came Just Days After

I won't go on about this too much, but I remember right after 911 seeing the "911" issue of People Magazine.  I know it's a rag, but I was really surprised and shocked at what I saw inside of it.  I scanned in the parts that offended me the most and set up a web page detailing everything, including a pissed off email I sent to the editor at the time.  Check out this page here: thepete.com/disgustingpeople/

Please forgive the crappy design and layout--it was a time long before Flickr, blogging or even Web 2.0.

 

 

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It Has to Be Said: Why 9/11/11 is bugging the shit out of me

Wow... I'm having to unfollow some folks who insist on posting 911-related photos. I wasn't a NYC resident on 9/11/1 but I don't know why people need to relive this event annually and usually do so without recognizing the horrible overreaction it inspired from its victims.  I saw Newsweek's latest magazine cover which seems blissfully unaware of the positive spin it provides on death, war, torture and violence.  Then I saw, in a sad, self-congratulatory Photoshop montage of tweets,  sycophantic followers taking joy in praising said cover (man, that made me angry). I am too scared to look to the TV media because I can easily imagine the absurd depths they'll descend to in order to "properly" exploit the 10th anniversary of 911.

Even my absolute favorite podcast, Stuff You Should Know, got in on the 911-act and talked about "How the World Trade Center Memorial Works."  Usually they talk about things we should know, instead, they talked about stuff we're going to already know because everyone and their uncle is covering that memorial.  I would say that they handled it well, but not handling it at all would be the better path as, really, do you need to bother with this since so many other folks already are?

So, the day after tomorrow, we are going to remember the 3000ish people who died ten years ago on that day in New York, Pennsylvania and in Virginia at the Pentagon... but who will remember the hundreds of thousands who died in Afghanistan and Iraq thanks to the way we reacted?  And what about the tortured, the disappeared and our place in history?  All of these things will be ignored while we desperately try to convince ourselves that 911 justified everything we've done.

A Japanese person I know recently told me that the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki taught Japan that the only way to respond to violence is with peace.  Responding with violence just means more violence.

What is so hard to grasp about this concept?

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