"It has taken me all day to remove myself from the glow of the television. When I awoke this morning, I figured the stomach flu I was feeling would be the worst thing to happen today. As I prepare to go to bed, I can barely discern which emotions have the strongest hold on my mind: fear, anger, uncertainty, vulnerability, shock, or disbelief." Another commentary on the tragedy yesterday. While, like the previous article, this isn't about punk music, this is a writing from the punk perspective, which is as important to a community as the music.
One thing is for certain - tomorrow marks the beginning of a distinct era for the world, especially for the American youth. Like myself, most people harbored some naïve view that the daily monstrosities broadcast from around the globe were confined to distant locations lacking the protection, reputation, and character that defined America. However, this belief will not accompany the dawn of tomorrow morning. For most of the youth of America, this incident was unprecedented in our lifetimes. Prior terrorist acts and international wars undoubtedly struck us as tragic events, but we have not yet felt the chilling emotions of raw, naked vulnerability.
This situation has generated such widespread proclamations that most of what I can relate would simply be repeated ideas. However, there is one specific aspect that is particularly daunting for me as I reflect upon todayâs events. It is completely understandable that the population is calling for brutal revenge against whatever individuals have caused this terrible chain of events. Yet, as I watched President Bush dedicate our nation to hunting down and punishing all individuals involved and anyone housing them, I fear an escalation of the inhumanities we have already witnessed. History has repeatedly shown us that declarations similar to President Bushâs frequently lead to drastic overcompensation in an attempt to preserve a nationâs reputation. I wholeheartedly support efforts to bring down anyone involved in the planning of these attacks as well as anyone aiding them in the implementation of these tragedies, but I sincerely hope that our efforts stay true to those limitations. By retaliating any more severely, we will be involved in actions no less sinister than those which we have been the victims of. If we are able to determine with 100% certainty that a region has been aiding a terrorist group in the events that occurred today, they should be dealt with in a manner to prevent further devastation. Destroying any other segments of the populace, however, would be equally unjustifiable. We do not need to kill innocent civilians because of the repulsive actions of a few individuals residing in their country, just as the thousands of American victims did not deserve to die for actions that were beyond their control. Many references were made today to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, an event that later led to the mass obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I donât want to be involved in a war, and I donât want to see any more innocent people dying. We must do that which is necessary to reestablish safety and justice, but we must concurrently ensure that we do not provoke further attacks on more civilians.
I understand that many people will disagree with me, and some will even claim that I would feel differently if someone I knew was involved. Well, someone I know was involved, and for the first time in my life I have a very personal identification with a national tragedy. If you believe that the pleas in the last paragraph could only come from someone who wasnât devastated by todayâs events, let me assure you that I have spent many hours today envisioning a friend trapped on a hijacked plane, surely experiencing one of the most terrifying situations a human being can be involved in. In the morning, I hoped she had not been on the flight for one reason or another. After learning that she was indeed on the doomed flight, I hoped that she had experienced a relatively quick and painless death, but now my mind is tormented by images of a wonderful young individual undergoing sheer terror and perishing in the most terrible conditions. Believe me, I feel anger at the situation. However, my experience has only convinced me that we should work to ensure no one else should ever be forced to share these feelings.
PEOPLEâS LIVES MUST NOT BE USED TO MAKE A POINT, WHETHER OFFENSIVE OR RETALIATORY. PLEASE REMEMBER TODAYâS EVENTS, PLEASE REMEMBER THE DEAD AND WOUNDED, PLEASE DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO HELP, AND PLEASE WORK FOR PEACE.
Our most sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to the victims, their families, and their friends.
-AZNR 9/11/2001 aznr@lethalinjectionzine.com