i saw them as i was coming in from NJ through the holland tunnel. THis is the second time i saw them for the time that year. One year i saw them First, from the interborogh driving from Queens to Brooklyn and One year i came out the building i teach in on Varick Street and Canal And looked down the street and was face to face to them
the first year i was relieved and welcomed them. the second year i was pissed and upset that they were there. I thought they were faux and didnt represent what they signified. I felt that it became an overdone symbol. Then they came back year 3 and year 4 and i felt nothing. The last two years, i saw them first from across the river and the lights were beautiful. The meaning of them , rather meaningless to me.
I locked my car facing north in the middle of brooklyn and looked up and they were there again last night. I can see them from my neighborhood 6 miles into brooklyn. (that means you can see them too Chris)
they were a reminder
I dont need a reminder of 9-11. I am aware of the WTC destruction alot. I was on lower manhattan Friday and the security was tight, more car were pulled and searched. A man with a long mirror that looks like a dental instrument mirror so he could look under fans was using one of these again. There seems to be a level of threat. The police are more present in the subway and I saw bagger checkers in the station at Union Square. ( i expect more national guard in the city)
I think the vibe in NYC changes. Every year around 9-11, there seems more tension. Last year, Sunday, i could not find a public way to commenorate the day. There was no concert or Day time event, except the family and friends ceremony at the WTC site. I dont feel its my place.
This year on the 5th anniversary there are many ways for poeple to commemorate the day. I wont be singing "all you need is love" similateously with other NYers in 5 parks. I will find a way for me to recognize the event.
The president is coming to NYC, Oh Gawd i hope, he doesnt make the ceremony, the wtc site and tragedy his own personal photo Op event. Looking back, he did it after 9-11, he did it in New Orleans and i am confident that his pattern will endure. Aint it a shame that the Leader of the Country sets that example of having a lack of real empathy but rather uses these events for a self serving process.
i dont feel any safer than i did 5 years ago, in fact, i feel more vunerable and more anxious. The Government has instituted more ways to be intrusive in the name of the Patriot Act. ( 9-11 is an excuse to implement an old plan that was on the shelf); is the security at the airlines a real inhibitor ( maybe for the average citizen to feel more secure or the amateur; not for someone who want to do real damage- its window dressing security); are the ports and rails safer -NO
are we really more secure NO
did we put a dent in al quaeda- we really cant
is bin ladin still at large- YEP and Pakistan says if he behaves, he can stay
they arrest a low level informant every long weekend or holiday... i dont feel safer.
we went to War with Iraq for oil not for Terror.
for 5 years, i have been bombarded with images that are a PR campaign to keep me scared - i am afraid to admit that somedays it works even when i shun it and am insult that Terror has been marketed like a can of creamed corn.
I struggle with my own feelings about the WTC bombing as a new yorker. I know that there is Post Traumatic Stress feelings or symptoms. I feel the effects of the WTC Deaths differently. I dont think that someone else where in the country has the same fear or can feel the tragedy in the same way. Clearly, in small towns and cities, their daily papers do not reflect articles about the WTC like the NYC papers have run almost every day for 5 years. Across the country, there is some legitimate need for fear but i think that NYers have ownership to the fear. Each event Madrid, London, Lebanon, the constant barrage of news of suicide bombers remind us and reinforce the vunerability of NY. is it any wonder my friends are anxious and uneasy.
5 years later, there isnt much development or building beginning on the Transportation/Trade Center. There is a design dispute, there is a plan, there has been fighting and more fighting. Money, Housing and Arts center and a Memorial. When will it be constructed, when will be completed. How much space for business space and housing and what sort of memorial. There are lots of in fighting but little movement.
