bobquasit | More on 9/11

I couldn't resist making one last post about 9/11 over on Askville (that is, I hope it's the last):

I really don't want to continue this conversation. To be honest, it depresses and horrifies me.

Thousands of people were killed on 9/11. Their deaths were exploited by those in power to allow them to sweep away centuries of progress in human rights: the right not to be tortured, the right of habeas corpus, the right to privacy. And when I pointed this out, almost everyone here claimed that I was being disrespectful of the dead.

But in fact, I was standing up for the victims of 9/11. Because I'm pretty sure that none of them would have wanted their deaths to be used as an excuse to torture, imprison, and murder others without a trial, particularly since some of those new victims were innocent.

And by using "respect" for their deaths as an excuse for silencing criticism of the exploitation of 9/11 victims, you unintentionally align yourselves with those who are cynically using their deaths to turn this country into something that none of those victims would recognize...unless they were from a country which tortured and "disappeared" its citizens, that is.

I don't think any decent person would want their death, or the death of a loved one, to be used as an excuse to torture teenagers, for example. Or anyone.

But I don't think I can get that point across here. I'm not good enough at communicating, I guess. There's a conventional wisdom that stands reality on its head, implying that somehow any criticism of the government which exploited the tragedy of 9/11 is "actually" a criticism of the dead themselves. How does that make any sense?

Isn't the legalization of torture the real disrespect? Not to mention the smarmy memorials for the dead by every politician? Does anyone believe that they really care about the victims of 9/11? Or are they simply calculating how many votes they'll get for every pious word they utter at Ground Zero?

I really don't understand 9/11. Or rather, I don't understand this black-is-white attitude that so many people seem to have about it.

I suppose I'll probably be screamed at some more. By the way, I'm amazed and grateful that so many on my flist got my point!

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