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Listening to the news today (even/especially NPR) is making me crazy.
Why does it matter that "over 200" people "with ties to Massachusetts" died in the 9/11 attacks? Isn't it enough to say that 3000 humans died that day? Does claiming a local connection make these deaths any more real or significant for us?
Also, I'm really hating the word "patriot" today. Not least (actually, mostly) because Google Calendar is claiming this as "Patriot Day". There's nothing patriotic about having been an innocent passenger on the wrong cross-country flight, or an innocent office worker or restaurant worker or whatever in New York or Washington or Pennsylvania, or really anywhere else for that matter. That's not a patriot; that's an innocent bystander. But really, that word was poisoned for me forever by the "USA PATRIOT Act", which [conspiracy theory redacted]
Why does it matter that "over 200" people "with ties to Massachusetts" died in the 9/11 attacks? Isn't it enough to say that 3000 humans died that day? Does claiming a local connection make these deaths any more real or significant for us?
Also, I'm really hating the word "patriot" today. Not least (actually, mostly) because Google Calendar is claiming this as "Patriot Day". There's nothing patriotic about having been an innocent passenger on the wrong cross-country flight, or an innocent office worker or restaurant worker or whatever in New York or Washington or Pennsylvania, or really anywhere else for that matter. That's not a patriot; that's an innocent bystander. But really, that word was poisoned for me forever by the "USA PATRIOT Act", which [conspiracy theory redacted]
