Ten years.

[kengr]

In a few hours it'll be 10 years since my friend Kathy called me and woke me up telling me to turn on the TV, any channel.

So I watched the coverage while they were talking about the terrible accident, and then saw, live as the second plane hit.
That's the moment when I (and most of the rest of the world) realized that it wasn't an accident but a deliberate attack.

And at some point after that part of my mind couldn't help thinking of the Reichstag fire in Berlin back in the 30s.

No, I don't think that it was a deliberate move by the US government. Even if they took advantage of it.

Let's just remember the people who died and mourn not just for them, but for everything that's been lost in the name of "safety" and all the terrible things done in their name.

Comments

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

You may have thought of the Reichstag earlier than I did; the similarity didn't occur to me until much later, when the government reaction started to get out of proportion. But then, no nation's agent burned the Reichstag, either; it was just a wonderfully useful excuse for a power grab by the local government.

[kengr]

But then, no nation's agent burned the Reichstag, either; it was just a wonderfully useful excuse for a power grab by the local government.

Opinions differ on that. It may not have been "government" agents at the Reichstag, but a certain political party was likely involved.

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

You've got a point there; Van der Lubbe was not apolitical.

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

I believe 9/11 was like Pearl Harbor: the government intercepted the messages about it, decoded them, knew what was going to happen and when, and decided to do nothing about it, thus "taking advantage of it" before it had even happened.

I very much doubt 9/11 would have happened if Al Gore had been elected.

[kengr]

Pearl Harbor wasn't specifically named. And the screw-ups that lead to the lat notifications there weren't remotely deliberate.

Likewise, 9/11 may have involved incompetence on the part of various folks in the US, but not anything planned.

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.