22 years ago on September 11th, I had only gone to sleep a few hours earlier as I was up until just before sunrise working at a club in Myrtle Beach. I remember the people I was staying with (was commuting from Wilmington at the time) jarring me awake with their yelling over what was happening on the news. I remember seeing the second plane hit. I remember seeing the towers fall. I remember seeing the pictures of the jumpers. I remember the shock of it all – hell, I’ll say that I‘ve thought about it nearly every day since then.
But I also remember what came afterward, and it wasn’t as rosy as everyone likes to paint ”9/12” these days.
I remember the roadside vendors selling anything they could with an American Flag, ”Never Forget” or Twin Towers graphic. Not because they were overcome with love for America, but because they wanted to make a quick buck. I remember the masses buying them and displaying them prominently, almost as if the primary goal was making sure that others could see how much they loved America. Nobody wanted to be the one who people thought loved America the least.
I remember the early stirrings of uniform worship. First, it was largely for the NYFD, who lost so many of their own heroically working to save lives on that day. Then, it became the NYPD as well. Next, it became the troops invading Afghanistan. Soon, all cops, all soldiers, all firemen were automatically heroes and to question any of their actions was to go directly against America, the Flag, and Apple Pie.
I remember everyone trading their freedom for security with the Patriot Act. I remember us squandering our global goodwill on the Iraq War. I remember our petty asses renaming French Fries to “Freedom Fries” because the French wouldn’t back our play.
I remember Guantanamo being cool because 9/11.
I remember ”Enhanced Interrogation” being appropriate because 9/11.
I remember Drone Strikes and civilian casualties being a necessary evil because 9/11.
I remember a Muslim Ban being cheered because 9/11.
I remember Dec 9, 2020 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Dec 10, 2020 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Dec 16, 2020 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Dec 17, 2020 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Dec 22, 2020 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Dec 23, 2020 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Dec 29, 2020 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Dec 30, 2020 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Dec 31, 2020 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 5, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 6, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11. I also remember a greater attack on the very fabric of our nation than 9/11 happening on this day and I remember it being perpetrated by the same type of Americans who like to claim they wave the flag a little bit harder and that they’d “Never forget” about 9/11.
I remember Jan 7, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 8, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 9, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 12, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 13, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 14, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 15, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 16, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 20, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 21, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 22, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 23, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 26, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 27, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 28, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Jan 29, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Feb 2, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Feb 3, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Feb 4, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Feb 5, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Feb 10, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Feb 11, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Sep 2, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
I remember Sep 9, 2021 having more people in America die of Covid than 9/11.
And most of all, I remember 22 years of people weaponizing this tragedy to beat us over the head until we accept this bullshit version of patriotism where loving America means not questioning the uniforms. There’s greater skepticism directed toward Doctors and nurses fighting Covid or teachers simply not wanting to die than I’ve ever seen toward a policeman literally on video slowly suffocating a black man to death or a military prison guard at Abu Ghraib.
The loss of those 2,977 souls 22 years ago is a devastating tragedy that will reverberate for many more years to come. But the least we can do is stop using their memory as a prop.
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This was previously posted on Facebook and is republished on Medium with the author’s permission.
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