September 15, 2001

8:11 AM

Kent's "Remember 9.11,"Tim's "Buy stocks on Monday", Peter's "Let us remember" I've never been in a position where I've seen so many spam/meme's born.... I always wondered where those things came from.
posted by christina (11 comments total)

I know Tim Salem's "stocks on monday" call was posted here; if you haven't seen Peter Argh Korn's "Let Us Remember" here is is (not yet filled with angle brackets). Sorry for the length, but it is email, so no link is posible.

Let us remember...

Let us remember World War II.

Let us remember the lessons of isolationism, which kept us out of the war for too long, and allowed Hitler to grow strong and cocky early.

Let us remember the lessons of Stalin's deal with Hitler; and remember
that the deals we may be tempted to make with evil leaders are dubious at best.

Let us remember the lessons of Pearl Harbor - of vulnerability and of mistakes in the chains of communication.

Let us remember the lessons of our nation coming together to build the mightiest economy and strongest country ever, to defeat the Axis powers.
There is little America cannot do if it is united in a cause.

Let us remember the lessons of Hitler's attempt to force England into submission with V2 rockets (failed), and our attempt to demoralize Germany with carpet bombing (likewise failed). What won the war with Germany was defeating their military might, not demoralizing their people. What won the war with Japan was showing the Japanese military leadership they would loose utterly and totally, not convincing the Japanese people (or their fighting units) of anything directly.

Let us remember the lessons of the Japanese internment camps - and not tar with a broad brush all people of similar ethnic backgrounds as the hijackers, or people believing in the mainstream of a religion from which the hijackers (falsely) claim to also believe.

Let us remember the lessons of the Holocaust; thinking only in military terms and of military objectives kept the Allied air forces from bombing the train routes to the concentration camps; and old xenophobia and
anti-Semitism kept boatloads of refugees from making it out alive. In our new war, there will likely be times when we will be tempted to think only of the military objectives, and forget the other people who are also victims (in Afghanistan, the Middle East, etc.)

Let us remember the lessons of the atomic bomb; the things we do now to fight, and end, this war may have massive ramifications, and we should carefully deliberate them (for example the potential curtailing of personal liberties that may result from massive public electronic surveillance systems).

Let us remember the lessons of Eleanor Roosevelt, who taught her husband and this country that as we fight the war, we must also make sure we continue to have a country worth fighting for - that we don't suspend workers' rights (then, or any other rights now), simply because it is expedient for the war effort.

Let us remember the lessons of the black fighting troops, and of the women shipbuilders. Americans' talents come in bodies of all shapes, sizes, colors, religions, and sexual orientations. Just as stereotyped groups in the 40s proved they could do amazing things if given a chance, so may we see what stereotyped groups of today can do, if we give them a chance. Breaking the Enigma code gave the Allied forces a decisive advantage in many battles with the Germans - broken by a English homosexual who was later stripped of his position because of stereotypes and homophobia of the time.
Some of our best people in signals intelligence - critical in a war on terrorism - are hated and feared by much of this country because of their sexual orientation, just as some of our bravest fighting forces were hated and feared because of the color of their skin. Will we welcome them as Americans with the full rights of all other citizens, or simply tolerate them while it is expedient? (remember Eleanor Roosevelt's lesson)


Let us remember the reconstruction of Europe, and the economic ties that now bind the former Axis powers to the former Allied powers, and the profound economic integration of Japan with us and Europe, of Germany and France. There are many legitimate grievances by peoples in whose name terror attacks are initiated. The surest way to prevent war is to make it strongly counter to the interest of the aggressor economically, and not simply militarily. Well fed, well cared for people with good and fulfilling work and futures for themselves and their families do not take up arms or harbor those who would take up arms (while people who simply fear reprisals will do so, and in fact may be strongly motivated to so do; remember again the lessons of the V2 rockets and the Allied carpet bombing).
posted by christina at 8:34 AM on September 15, 2001

I like this one:

rm -rf /bin/laden

posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:10 AM on September 15, 2001

zeldman's latest update is touching and oddly soothing.
posted by jcterminal at 10:40 AM on September 15, 2001

from the link:

I looked at her from bloodshot eyes and asked her how she was taking the events of the past two days. She said this:

"...you know I really try and avoid the media. I don't need any negativity in my life, so I've avoided the whole deal...I don't know anyone on the East Coast, so its all so very surreal...."

After a few seconds my eyes welled up and I told her that I was really close to breaking her ...and I quote "fucking nose." She gathered her children and left. As a responsible citizen I am obligated not to make such unfriendly gestures, but these are not normal times. I yelled after her:

"ARE YOU WITH US OR ARE YOU AGAINST US?"

After telling this story about what a horrible asshole he had been to this woman I was really hoping for some apology, some explanation in which he explained that he was aware how inappropriate his reaction had been. To threaten to break a woman's nose merely because she doesn't share his shock and interest level makes him not much better than those in Brooklyn and elsewhere harassing and beating up anyone wearing a turban.

Or are we just supposed to assume that he knows this was wrong? His reaction is certainly forgivable in light of recent events, especially as he did stop short of physical violence. But at a time when we are all examining ourselves, our country and our relationship to each other while furiously licking these fresh wounds, to do further damage to a fellow American is just unthinkable.

We all grieve in our own way. The woman he accosted is, at least outwardly, pursuing a bit of an avoidance tactic. Honesty with ourselves and with others is very important right now. The author of the piece was honest in relaying this event and for that I give him credit. The woman may not be dealing with events in a terribly honest fashion, but that is her absolute right and we've no right to attack her for that.

In telling the story, the author is serving an important purpose by letting all of us know that he is confused and hurt to the point that he's unable to harness his more base violent instincts. To people who have found themselves punching walls or crying uncontrollably these last few days it's probably good to know they're not alone. But I hope that the author comes to his senses in the coming days and weeks and sees fit to post a note letting us know that his humanity has returned from the breach relatively intact, that he knows what he did is wrong, that to cause further suffering in a fellow American at this time is unconscionable, and that he learned something from the ordeal. If he fails in that, he has only served to let us know that there is an ugly person lurking beneath his, I assume, more polished public face.

How sad.
posted by xochi at 11:27 AM on September 15, 2001

It's a major event, and not much information is coming from the media or the government... so a lot of people have turned to the web as their source. Events like this have always spawned rumors; memes are just rumor writ large.
posted by ook at 11:27 AM on September 15, 2001

This thread is giving me the chills.

"Remember?"

I think every day of my draft-age students. Bush dumped a bunch of useful treaties. How easily could he bring back forced military service?
posted by mirla at 12:07 PM on September 15, 2001

Forgot — this is why I logged in: Foxnews.com on the implications for Pakistan. Sorry if a repeat.
posted by mirla at 12:12 PM on September 15, 2001

How easily could he bring back forced military service?

Yay, I'm ready to die in the crusades!
posted by fuq at 2:27 PM on September 15, 2001

The Let It Remember piece is nice, but part of our problem is that many Americans don't know enough history to be able to remember, and right now they're not in the mood to learn.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:40 PM on September 15, 2001

Is the logo at the bottom of the linked page a strange coincedence?
posted by hockeyman at 5:01 PM on September 15, 2001

Delete my above entry...
posted by hockeyman at 5:03 PM on September 15, 2001