9/11

[graceanne]

But, I wanna be the jelly doughnut. I never get to be anything fun. *going to my corner to pout*

Sucks to be you. *pbbth*

You can be the long john doughnut.

 

[missginger2177]

Sucks to be you. *pbbth*

You can be the long john doughnut.

Only if I'm filled with Bavarian cream and come from the Donut Bank.

Damn now I've got to drive six hours to get a doughnut for breakfast tomorrow morning, thanks grace.

 

[00Syd]

As an Oregonian, I've always rolled my eyes at this one, too. Kinda inwardly, of course. I wept when I watched people jump out of those buildings to avoid the fire and I sobbed watching the buildings fall.

I am not, nor have I ever been, a New Yorker. The tragedy is everyone's, but that doesn't mean that I suddenly became a New Yorker.

Right. Exactly

 

[00Syd]

Oh, and when I was in Berlin, I ate a Jelly Doughnut. How could I not? I wanted it to taste more clever than it did, but oh well. Tasty all the same.

 

[graceanne]

Damn now I've got to drive six hours to get a doughnut for breakfast tomorrow morning, thanks grace.

 

[JMohegan]

As an Oregonian, I've always rolled my eyes at this one, too. Kinda inwardly, of course. I wept when I watched people jump out of those buildings to avoid the fire and I sobbed watching the buildings fall.

I am not, nor have I ever been, a New Yorker. The tragedy is everyone's, but that doesn't mean that I suddenly became a New Yorker.

I don't think they mean it literally. As commonly used, it is an expression of profound sympathy and solidarity.

In the days after 9/11, 2001, many people around the globe flew American flags and declared, in myriad languages: "We are all Americans now." Did you roll your eyes at that, too?

I didn't. I was, and remain, profoundly moved by the worldwide expression of solidarity then, and the memory of it today.

 

[00Syd]

Never mind.

 

[Dosxx82256]

Never mind.

I agree with you completely. NY is only place I can think of in America that people wish they could say they were from.

 

[JMohegan]

I agree with you completely. NY is only place I can think of in America that people wish they could say they were from.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

You're saying you interpret expressions of 9/11 sympathy as some sort of wishful thinking? That would be offensive, of course, if it weren't so flat-out hilarious.

Please don't misunderstand me. I lived there for years, and consider NYC to be the greatest city on earth.

But not everyone's into the dense urban thing. Difficult to grasp, perhaps, for a hardcore New Yorker - but a fact, nevertheless.

 

[Keroin]

But not everyone's into the dense urban thing.

*Raises hand*

 

[Dosxx82256]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

You're saying you interpret expressions of 9/11 sympathy as some sort of wishful thinking? That would be offensive, of course, if it weren't so flat-out hilarious.

Please don't misunderstand me. I lived there for years, and consider NYC to be the greatest city on earth.

But not everyone's into the dense urban thing. Difficult to grasp, perhaps, for a hardcore New Yorker - but a fact, nevertheless.

What are you even talking about? I think you missed the point.

 

[graceanne]

I don't think they mean it literally. As commonly used, it is an expression of profound sympathy and solidarity.

In the days after 9/11, 2001, many people around the globe flew American flags and declared, in myriad languages: "We are all Americans now." Did you roll your eyes at that, too?

I didn't. I was, and remain, profoundly moved by the worldwide expression of solidarity then, and the memory of it today.

Yeah. You can say you sympathise and agree and all that, without claiming to be american or new yorker. It's silly.

That said, I was also moved by the worldwide expression of sympathy. Especially considering how rarely American's return the sentiment.

I agree with you completely. NY is only place I can think of in America that people wish they could say they were from.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Well put.

I do not now, or will I ever, want to live in New York. I, quite honestly, do not ever intend to move from the northwest. I love it here.

 

[JMohegan]

What are you even talking about? I think you missed the point.

In that case, my apologies.

What is the point, as you see it?

 

[JMohegan]

Yeah. You can say you sympathise and agree and all that, without claiming to be american or new yorker. It's silly.

That said, I was also moved by the worldwide expression of sympathy. Especially considering how rarely American's return the sentiment.





Well put.

I do not now, or will I ever, want to live in New York. I, quite honestly, do not ever intend to move from the northwest. I love it here.

Every bit of hyperbole or figurative language seems silly to me when I first hear it. I just sort of try to accept that some people appreciate those things, then I memorize metaphors and whatnot like vocabulary words, and try not to think about the silliness! Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't; I hear you.

 

[graceanne]

Every bit of hyperbole or figurative language seems silly to me when I first hear it. I just sort of try to accept that some people appreciate those things, then I memorize metaphors and whatnot like vocabulary words, and try not to think about the silliness! Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't; I hear you.

I have been accused of being too literal. lol

 

[00Syd]

Yeah. You can say you sympathise and agree and all that, without claiming to be american or new yorker. It's silly.

That said, I was also moved by the worldwide expression of sympathy. Especially considering how rarely American's return the sentiment.

I was going to say something along those lines but less well, and much more offensively. I couldn't believe how willing we were to accept the worlds sympathy, and how comfortably we slipped into that role, when we so rarely even pay attention to what happens off our shores.

 

[ecstaticsub]

I was going to say something along those lines but less well, and much more offensively. I couldn't believe how willing we were to accept the worlds sympathy, and how comfortably we slipped into that role, when we so rarely even pay attention to what happens off our shores.

Maybe some Americans don't pay any attention to what happens in other countries but many many more do.

Our military is all over this world providing medical care, reconstruction expertise (schools, power grids, sanitation--and not just in Iraq and Afghanistan)

I have worked at a number of hospitals in the US. Every single one has donated medical supplies and professionals to organizations that go to other countries to provide medical care.

If you are complaining about Americans being ignorant about what happens in other countries maybe you need to get more nvolved yourself.

 

[graceanne]

.....

 

[Homburg]

But not everyone's into the dense urban thing. Difficult to grasp, perhaps, for a hardcore New Yorker - but a fact, nevertheless.

*shudder* No thank you.

You know, I've been to deserts, canyons, mountains, ancient forests, and on the ocean. All sorts of environments. None feel more alien to me than dense urban.

 

[Etoile]

My favorite environment is dense urban. I consider New York my second home because I dated someone who lived there. But I'm not a New Yorker. I love New York, I know my way around New York (well, Manhattan only really), and I long to live in New York. But I'm not a New Yorker.

 

[DVS]

I know the people in fly over country care about people in other countries. You know where that is doncha? It's that part of the country that some people seem to think is just useless space that makes their cross country flight longer. But, we care about other Americans, first...like those in New York, even though I'd never want to live there. Nice place to visit and all that, though.

 

[ecstaticsub]

I know the people in fly over country care about people in other countries. You know where that is doncha? It's that part of the country that some people seem to think is just useless space that makes their cross country flight longer. But, we care about other Americans, first...like those in New York, even though I'd never want to live there. Nice place to visit and all that, though.

I've lived in 3 different states in the midwest and upper plains. Wonderful places, especially when the kids were babies. I wouldn't want to live there forever but enjoyed the years we were stationed out there.

 

[JMohegan]

I couldn't believe how willing we were to accept the worlds sympathy, and how comfortably we slipped into that role, when we so rarely even pay attention to what happens off our shores.

If your profile is correct, you were 12 in September '01. Without my parents' guidance and firm insistence, at 12 I wouldn't have paid attention to anything at all - unless it involved my buddies, my immediate neighborhood, my bike, my dog, an adventure novel, a bat, or a ball.

Some kids have parents and/or educators who encourage global awareness; others don't. If you weren't paying attention to what happens off our shores at 12, that's certainly not your fault.

I agree that many Americans do maintain an insular perspective, even as adults. But ES is absolutely correct in noting that many don't. In a nation of more than 300 million individuals, there is no uniform "we."

 

[Keroin]

Maybe some Americans don't pay any attention to what happens in other countries but many many more do.

This I have to disagree with. Yes, many Americans are aware of what goes on outside the US borders but, in my experience, they are not the majority. I am frequently amazed at the number of educated Americans I meet who do not know even some basic facts about Canada, (the country right next door) - such as the name of our prime minister, for example.

Don't get me wrong, I know lots of Americans do lots of good abroad and many take an interest in the rest of the world but I don't think they are the majority.

 

[JMohegan]

This I have to disagree with. Yes, many Americans are aware of what goes on outside the US borders but, in my experience, they are not the majority. I am frequently amazed at the number of educated Americans I meet who do not know even some basic facts about Canada, (the country right next door) - such as the name of our prime minister, for example.

Don't get me wrong, I know lots of Americans do lots of good abroad and many take an interest in the rest of the world but I don't think they are the majority.

I see two separate issues here. The first being knowledge of basic political facts and leaders, and the second being awareness of extraordinary events.

I agree that the average American's knowledge of basic political facts and leaders is often seriously lacking - particularly for those countries or groups whom most Americans do not perceive to be an enemy, or major threat. On the other hand, for example, many Americans (often without the slightest knowledge of the political structure of Indonesia) were aware of, and opened their wallets in response to, the victims of the 2004 tsunami.