Sturm und Drang
Could someone please explain to me why I was so bloody stooopid as to stay up late last night watching the doco on 9/11? Because when I finally got to bed at midnight, all I dreamt about was the towers crashing. Constantly. All bloody night. I'm thinking the insane thunder and windiness was contributing to the overall oppressive atmosphere.
So, I'm knackered.
And grumpy.
And distracted. Mainly because the doco affected me more than I was anticipating. I have a natural aversion, especially at the moment, to watching things that will challenge or upset me. MrB was very surprised to see me curled on the couch watching it - although I guess my endorphins were running high having cackled through 'Thank God You're Here' and 'Spicks and Specks' (BTW - newly developed crush on Hamish Blake) It was a pretty good doco, consisting of interviews with survivors, news footage, and dramatic reconstructions. It could all have been horribly OTT, but was actually presented in a very sensitive and thoughtful way. I was impressed and enthralled.
And so now, with the fifth anniversary approaching, I'm reminded rather forcefully of the reasons for the much-maligned War on Terror. I've done (and will continue to do) my own maligning, but one point last night really hit home. Really jolted me as to why the Americans reacted the way they did. The North Tower had been hit, and a couple of traders were slowly making their way down from the 79th (I think) floor. They came to an elevator lobby, and were greeted with the sight of firefighters running though the lobby, on their way to the upper floors. One of the firefighters told them the South Tower had also been hit, as had the Pentagon. We're at War, he told them. And I realised that in that moment, with no idea of how many people had died, no idea of how many other attacks had been planned, no understanding of why this had happened, then it would be the most natural reaction in the world to feel that the Dogs of War had been unleashed upon the American people.
I don't agree with what has happened in the world in the last 5 years. I don't agree that invading Iraq was the answer, and I don't believe that the world is any safer - quite the opposite in fact.
But I have had a not-so-gentle reminder of why some people support this war on terror. I understand their motivations, and I realise that it's not necessarily malevolent... I just don't think that those who support the war give those of us who oppose it the same degree of respect and understanding.
So, I'm knackered.
And grumpy.
And distracted. Mainly because the doco affected me more than I was anticipating. I have a natural aversion, especially at the moment, to watching things that will challenge or upset me. MrB was very surprised to see me curled on the couch watching it - although I guess my endorphins were running high having cackled through 'Thank God You're Here' and 'Spicks and Specks' (BTW - newly developed crush on Hamish Blake) It was a pretty good doco, consisting of interviews with survivors, news footage, and dramatic reconstructions. It could all have been horribly OTT, but was actually presented in a very sensitive and thoughtful way. I was impressed and enthralled.
And so now, with the fifth anniversary approaching, I'm reminded rather forcefully of the reasons for the much-maligned War on Terror. I've done (and will continue to do) my own maligning, but one point last night really hit home. Really jolted me as to why the Americans reacted the way they did. The North Tower had been hit, and a couple of traders were slowly making their way down from the 79th (I think) floor. They came to an elevator lobby, and were greeted with the sight of firefighters running though the lobby, on their way to the upper floors. One of the firefighters told them the South Tower had also been hit, as had the Pentagon. We're at War, he told them. And I realised that in that moment, with no idea of how many people had died, no idea of how many other attacks had been planned, no understanding of why this had happened, then it would be the most natural reaction in the world to feel that the Dogs of War had been unleashed upon the American people.
I don't agree with what has happened in the world in the last 5 years. I don't agree that invading Iraq was the answer, and I don't believe that the world is any safer - quite the opposite in fact.
But I have had a not-so-gentle reminder of why some people support this war on terror. I understand their motivations, and I realise that it's not necessarily malevolent... I just don't think that those who support the war give those of us who oppose it the same degree of respect and understanding.
posted by actonb at 9:56 am
10 Comments:
this is completely off topic... but whenever i see Sturm and Drang all i can think of is Harry Potter.
AB, I watched the action unfold in real time five years ago, but time had dulled the enormity of the event until last week, when I watched the Falling Man doco.
When you are confronted with more than a single photo, or 15 sec grab of the footage, you are reminded just how pissed most Americans must feel, and yet they will never get their much needed "closure" over the event, because there will always be another group of Muslim extremists prepared to die for their cause...
What we are really fighting in this War on Terror is simply another installment of a religious war that has been running on one battle field or another for centuries. It will go on for many more, if we survive that long.
GWOT is an outdated term, and has been changed to reflect that "Terror" is, as previously mentioned, a bit abstract. The new term is GSAVE, or Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism.
And yes, the emergence of transnational and non-state players makes the whole "war" thing a bit hard to conceptualise. Israel and Hezbollah duking it out on Lebanese soil anyone? with the Lebanese govt unable to do anything at all. To either belligerent.
im still thinking about harry.
They just need to chopper a whole heap of booze and porno into iraq. Then lets see em hold onto those fundamentalist values.....
I would completely agree w/ you - being an American tho, not everyone here agrees w/ this war - and most of us don't, didn't to begin with, and those who did have seemingly changed their minds anyway. Bush's approval rating is still at the all-time low and I heard on the radio today there's a great percentage of ppl who don't believe Iraq had anything to do w/ 9/11 - but duh. If anything, this is about oil.. and for conspiracy theories, it also wouldn't surprise me if Bush and Cheney were actually behind 9/11 but just had no idea it would get quite that bad. I think they're both evil.
I also saw a documentary about it on A&E, including theirs about flight 93, and even the designer of the bldgs didn't think it would be possible for them to topple as they did.. The whole thing was amazingly sad, I learned new stuff about the fire protection of the steel - or lack thereof - but the survivors' stories are what killed me. I was crying the whole time..
Also - did you know before the 2nd tower was hit, people were coming down and rescue and security told them to go back up to their offices as they weren't in danger.. one of those survivors hesitated, his co-workers coaxed him back in the elevator.. after the 2nd plane hit his bldg, he was the only one of those 12 ppl who lived and only cuz someone else saved him as they were going down the stairs.
I feel compelled to watch these stories - not sure why - it's so tragic, but I guess out of respect for who died and what the survivors went thru.
What pisses me off - is that they keep talking about 'winning' this war. No one 'wins' in a war. I don't care which side you're on.
Good post AB, but I was thinking this morning about all of this sudden flurry of publicity about 9/11 and wondering why it has come about. Is there an election in the States? Are countries needing to justify their actions? Or am I just being cynical?
KR - It's the 5th anniversary on Monday, hasn't that time just flown by... I can remember sitting in my front room in Eastbourne, tears streaming down my face, bright sunshine outside, toddlers playing at my feet, thinking, 'What does this mean?'
Mex - you have an obsession. Some may call it unhealthy...
Donnie - I couldn't have coped with Falling Man, but am surprised I managed to sit through the whole 9/11 doco. Maybe coz it was a Btitish production?
OA - Yeah, I don't remember winning the Crusades either...
Lies - I happen to know that you know what you're talking about. Thanks for the update! You know how I love the acronyms...
Miss Devylish - Hi there! I've read Noam Chomsky's amazing insight into 9/11 and what it means for the American People. And I've heard many of the conspiracy theories. I'm just not sure. And I just imagine the terror of all those involved. And the terror of all the citizens in Iraq...
I don't think anyone knows how to make this right again.
Georgia - People always have been scared of the 'Other', and now they have scary new tools to make war on those who they consider different.
Say it with me: "Why can't we all just get along...?"
I fully expect a million people to start yelling and/or throwing things at mewhen I say this, but the first thing I thought when I saw the footage of the twin towers that day was "I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner".
Now please, before you all start yelling, I am in no way trying to say that I think the people who work in those buildings "deserved" to die. Or that anyone "deserved" it in fact. However, given America's track record as, let's face it, a bit of a global bully (and I do not mean each individual American but rather the actions of the American government over the years), I was not surprised that some "retribution" was exacted.
Whilst I don't believe that the "retribution" was in any way justified or justifiable, I can see how a person, or a group of people, could get so... fed up(?) that they would think "revenge" was due.
Sadly, this "revenge" meant hundreds of innocent people were killed in a most horrific way, which has in itself lead to hundreds more people being killed in horrific ways in fighting our "war on terror". Neither actions have solved anything, or heloped anyone, and they have both caused the death of innocent people, which is unforgivable. And terribly depressing.
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