Starting off by making a complete ass out of myself.

[aruru]

Guess I couldn't keep my mouth shut after all.

azusa, hon, you know I love ya and that I tend to be an oversensitive person myself, but I don't think I can wholly agree with your opinion this time, as I constantly find myself having some sort of cynical/snarky thought whenever the subject of 9-11 comes up, especially as the day gets closer. I dunno if it's because I'm not American and thus have a different perspective or if it's simply that I'm a big fat jerk, and I DO feel sympathy for everyone's losses (and even though I did not lose anyone, I did lose what was to me a small part of my childhood memories, so it did strike on some level) but it's simply impossible for me to stop them from creeping up.

Also, I dunno if it's true for others, but I think my cynicism at the whole situation works as a way to cope, too. It may not be the nice way to go about it, but if it helps a person move on.... I guess you could say I'm in agreement with the following paragraph in this Salon article:

All these forbidden thoughts are sometimes painful or mortifying to hear. Many could be accurately described as disgraceful. But they emerged from our mental ether, and they deserve to be part of the record of that day and its aftermath. They are necessary evils to be countenanced in an honest analysis of the time. They keep us from creating a distorted, overly sentimental picture of our national reaction to disaster. And perhaps, as in therapy, these are the most useful thoughts to confront as we attempt to recover from the violence of the day.

So as for me, if anyone wants a shoulder to cry on during the day, you're more than welcome to do it. Again, the whole thing gets my sympathy, and it IS somewhat heartening to see a cultural group not known for being "showy" in emotions sorta come together to an extent. You just can't expect me to be wholly devoid of a cynical outlook towards it, though.

Comments

[azusa.livejournal.com]

Well, yanno, to a certain extent, I'm not saying it -isn't- okay to make light of it. We have a casual interest in psychology, after all, and humor is how people cope with tragedy a lot of the time. Hell, I even remember Challenger jokes after the space shuttle accident in the mid-80s (have I just dated myself?). It's like how the guy who went on eBay the day afterwards offering to sell the WTC, "some assembly required," may not have been funny immediately afterwards, but was something we laughed about when we found out about it some months down the road. It's how people get a handle on the incomprehensible, bring it down to their level.

All the same, even though I'm not terribly patriotic myself-- I don't even feel too strongly about being American most of the time, and sometimes am downright ashamed of it-- there's something for me that I can't quite explain in words about seeing people find comfort in such silly, almost childlike expressions as pasting flags all over. If it makes them happy, it makes me happy, even if it looks a little bit goofy. Somehow, that's the kind of thing I find my mind coming back to and seeking refuge in when I find myself thinking that humanity on the whole ought to be destroyed for its own good. c_c

[aruru.livejournal.com]

"there's something for me that I can't quite explain in words about seeing people find comfort in such silly, almost childlike expressions as pasting flags all over. If it makes them happy, it makes me happy, even if it looks a little bit goofy."

......so, I guess it's kind of similar to when we take comfort in stuff like our hobbies, no matter their geekiness?

(Not intended to trivialize, just trying to translate that into notions that might be more understandable to some.)