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Reaction to the World Trade Center Attack

Dennis Fox

September 14, 2001

Distributed by email
Published in Brookline (Massachusetts) Tab

 

September 14, 2001

Friends, Colleagues, and Anyone Else Who Gets This:

Like many people this past week, I've moved only slowly from stunned shock at Tuesday's attack on the World Trade Center back toward a semblance of normalcy. Even now, Friday morning, the TV is still on and the newspapers mount up as I skim through websites and make my way through comments posted by others on a few email lists and Internet forums. I'm returning to other things, but my attention remains diverted.

I found out about the attack when one of my sons called from New York to tell me he was okay because he was up on 140th Street. A few minutes later my other son called, his flight from Denver to Dallas diverted to Amarillo. My parents were here visiting at the time, and we spent much of the day trying to find out if any of our relatives and friends in New York, some of whom sometimes work in or near the Trade Center, were victims. All are okay.

My 8-year old daughter, who has been interested in the news for some time, has sometimes alternated between false bravado--if she were hijacked, she would overpower the bad guys--and verbalized fear--especially when she heard that suspected hijackers were still at large here in Boston. Mostly, though, she goes to school and plays with her friends and goes on with her life.

In talking with my daughter, I've tried to reassure her. I've also tried to answer her questions about who did this, and why, and why the hijackers flew into the towers and the Pentagon. These are reasonable questions. I wish I had answers I was entirely comfortable with.

Part of my discomfort, of course, has to do with her age. I don't want her to misinterpret what I say. And what I have to say does not always match the images she sees on TV.

Despite expressed efforts to avoid spreading rumors, national and local news anchors have filled the airwaves with inaccurate reporting. Despite frequent calls to remain calm and not misdirect justified anger toward guiltless Arabs or other Muslims, reports have already come in of desecrated mosques and beaten New York cab drivers. Despite reminders that terrorism operates around the world and the awareness that terrorism will not end despite any military response, our political leaders rush toward the kind of war and the kind of policies that will inspire new generations of terrorists even if it succeeds in destroying those responsible for Tuesday's destruction.

I understand the rush to retaliate, the urge to kill in response. I'm not a pacifist. I get angry. Yet I think it's likely that "bringing the terrorists to justice" and "teaching them a lesson" will increase rather than decrease the rage that motivates those who now see the murder of innocents as justified.

One thing that's difficult to understand and convey, I think, especially perhaps for the mass media and mass politicians, is the distinction between explaining and justifying. It's not just journalists and academics who should be trying to explain, beyond easy stereotypes, why people commit acts of terror. Trying to understand the motives of someone who would fly an airplane into a civilian target, the rage of so many people around the world toward western societies in general and the US in particular, should not be confused with justifying those unjustifiable actions. Without efforts to understand those motivations, even to consider whether some of that rage might be justifiable even while the resulting terrorism is not, no "war against terrorism" can succeed.

It is simply too inaccurate to attribute terrorism to acts of madmen, or, even more dangerous, to Islamic religion or Arab culture. That is the easy way out. It would be more useful, more effective in preventing future horrors, to consider the historical, political, economic, and other factors that lead normal human beings to see mass terror as legitimate.

When we do that, of course, we run into many problems, not the least of which is the historical use of terror by those who now condemn it. This time of raw emotion may not be the moment to dwell in detail on the United States's own sordid history, from massacres of native Indians through wartime bombings of civilian populations to CIA-sponsored terrorism and the intentional destruction of civilian societies as a ruthless tool of foreign policy. But understanding that history--and the response to that history by aggrieved people around the world--is crucial to understanding the actions of those whom our government will soon try to kill. Many news and analysis resources exist for those willing to explore alternative views. I'm listing several links below. I don't agree with everything on these websites--indeed, many sites present a variety of conflicting views. That variety itself is crucial, I think, to counter the more traditional reactions seen on the mass media. Please pass these links on to others.

As I write this, the religious service at the National Cathedral is playing on TV, on what President Bush has declared the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. It makes sense to me that people who find comfort in prayer would choose to pray today. What worries me is the potential use of religion to build support for politically motivated action. The sudden upsurge in flag-waving strikes me the same way. Too much evil has been wrapped in the American flag for me to take comfort in the use of that emblem to rally some sense of common purpose.

I might take my daughter outside at 7 tonight to join the national Internet-inspired effort to express unity by lighting a candle. I may do this despite not being sure what the organizers mean when they say "We will show the world that Americans are strong and united together against terrorism." I received email yesterday from a cousin who said she will light a candle "against all terrorism--even by Americans." It's that spirit that we need to encourage.

Dennis Fox


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