Smoke and ash billow from the World Trade Center buildings in New York City on September 11, 2011. Photo Credit: History Channel.com
By Logan Spurrier ’22
September 11th, 2001 is a date that still lives starkly in the minds of those who witnessed the disaster unfold in person or on their TV screens. Alan Jackson described that fateful day best when he sang, “the day when the world stopped turning.” It represents a day of untold tragedy, grief and horror. Stories of disbelief in what was going on and sorrow for those lost in the attacks are all too common to those who lived that day. Yet – I never experienced any of these raw reactions.
Having been born a few years after 9/11, I grew up in the aftermath of tragedy. I never had the chance to witness the atrocity unfold live; yet growing up it seemed as if the event was still as fresh as the day it occurred.
One of the most pronounced things I remember about my early childhood was an aura of “togetherness”, as everyone felt it was a time for the nation to come together. People were united in the idea that we must bring down those responsible for these attacks. Those 2,977 people who died on September 11th were exactly that – people. No one saw them as anything other than regular people like everyone else; national, religious, and racial lines disappeared. There was a sense of national unity as people banded together in the wake of outside threat.
However, as much as there was an atmosphere of camaraderie, one could not ignore the layers of anxiety and worry. I vividly remember how universal the fear of another terrorist attack lived in public conscience. In this vein, I was raised in an environment of “See something, say something.” It was in each citizen’s hands to prevent the next terrorist attack by reporting anyone or anything suspicious. A sense of hyper-awareness at your surroundings pervaded the air.
Nowhere else was this vigilance more present than when I went on a trip that involved air travel. After talking to my family members who experienced airports before 9/11, I realize how greatly I have been affected by the introduction of the stricter FAA and TSA security measures. I grew up hearing stories of my grandfather taking my father and his siblings to his work as an airplane refueller. Or, how my uncle would have been able to take me to his work as an airplane mechanic for UPS. It was also a shock to learn how in the times before the attack, family members who were not on a flight could walk up to the gate with those boarding the flight. These are all now relics of a bygone era.
Due to the implementation of further security measures, thirty minutes from arrival to boarding gate turned into three hours. Snaking, roped-off lines that seemed almost endless became the new normal as the TSA added more metal detectors and other measures to search every individual that entered the airport. If you were at the airport, you either were working there or were boarding a flight. Otherwise, you were not allowed by security to remain on the premises.
The idea that this new normal when it comes to security was not always “normal” is something that is foreign to me. Upon talking with some of my older family members, I realized that they had grown up in a world where there was blissful ignorance to the idea that an attack like this could occur on American soil. That attitude is impossible in the post-9/11 world simply due to how much the attacks loom over the heads of all Americans. It is impossible to imagine a world without terrorism in America today.
Another unfortunate side effect of 9/11 was the rise of anti-Muslim/Arabic sentiment that seemed so persistent while I was growing up. As a child, I read a lot of reports about hateful attacks by Americans on Muslims/Arabs, as well as the attacks on those unfortunate enough to be misidentified as such. Given I was raised to not stereotype groups of people, it made me upset to see people assuming all people of a certain religion or race were bad actors. I even witnessed first hand the sentiments of people I encountered who blamed entire religions, races or nationalities for the attacks who were never at fault for them. This pattern of behavior seemed to continue long into my childhood.
Even in the present day the idea of stereotyping has not left the social conscious. It may be that the target being Muslims and Arabs has since tapered off as the years have gone by. However, the idea of stereotyping one group of individuals for causing a traumatic event has not left. Anti-Asian hate has since become prevalent in the social consciousness ever since the beginning of COVID-19 and the pandemic. As such, it is imperative that we, as united human beings, must rid ourselves of this cognitive bias that has persisted for so long. My generation must be responsible for learning from the tragedies that occurred before us as well as those we currently are experiencing. We must aspire to change our ways for the better.
Growing Up in the Wake of Tragedy
By Logan Spurrier ’22
September 11th, 2001 is a date that still lives starkly in the minds of those who witnessed the disaster unfold in person or on their TV screens. Alan Jackson described that fateful day best when he sang, “the day when the world stopped turning.” It represents a day of untold tragedy, grief and horror. Stories of disbelief in what was going on and sorrow for those lost in the attacks are all too common to those who lived that day. Yet – I never experienced any of these raw reactions.
Having been born a few years after 9/11, I grew up in the aftermath of tragedy. I never had the chance to witness the atrocity unfold live; yet growing up it seemed as if the event was still as fresh as the day it occurred.
One of the most pronounced things I remember about my early childhood was an aura of “togetherness”, as everyone felt it was a time for the nation to come together. People were united in the idea that we must bring down those responsible for these attacks. Those 2,977 people who died on September 11th were exactly that – people. No one saw them as anything other than regular people like everyone else; national, religious, and racial lines disappeared. There was a sense of national unity as people banded together in the wake of outside threat.
However, as much as there was an atmosphere of camaraderie, one could not ignore the layers of anxiety and worry. I vividly remember how universal the fear of another terrorist attack lived in public conscience. In this vein, I was raised in an environment of “See something, say something.” It was in each citizen’s hands to prevent the next terrorist attack by reporting anyone or anything suspicious. A sense of hyper-awareness at your surroundings pervaded the air.
Nowhere else was this vigilance more present than when I went on a trip that involved air travel. After talking to my family members who experienced airports before 9/11, I realize how greatly I have been affected by the introduction of the stricter FAA and TSA security measures. I grew up hearing stories of my grandfather taking my father and his siblings to his work as an airplane refueller. Or, how my uncle would have been able to take me to his work as an airplane mechanic for UPS. It was also a shock to learn how in the times before the attack, family members who were not on a flight could walk up to the gate with those boarding the flight. These are all now relics of a bygone era.
Due to the implementation of further security measures, thirty minutes from arrival to boarding gate turned into three hours. Snaking, roped-off lines that seemed almost endless became the new normal as the TSA added more metal detectors and other measures to search every individual that entered the airport. If you were at the airport, you either were working there or were boarding a flight. Otherwise, you were not allowed by security to remain on the premises.
The idea that this new normal when it comes to security was not always “normal” is something that is foreign to me. Upon talking with some of my older family members, I realized that they had grown up in a world where there was blissful ignorance to the idea that an attack like this could occur on American soil. That attitude is impossible in the post-9/11 world simply due to how much the attacks loom over the heads of all Americans. It is impossible to imagine a world without terrorism in America today.
Another unfortunate side effect of 9/11 was the rise of anti-Muslim/Arabic sentiment that seemed so persistent while I was growing up. As a child, I read a lot of reports about hateful attacks by Americans on Muslims/Arabs, as well as the attacks on those unfortunate enough to be misidentified as such. Given I was raised to not stereotype groups of people, it made me upset to see people assuming all people of a certain religion or race were bad actors. I even witnessed first hand the sentiments of people I encountered who blamed entire religions, races or nationalities for the attacks who were never at fault for them. This pattern of behavior seemed to continue long into my childhood.
Even in the present day the idea of stereotyping has not left the social conscious. It may be that the target being Muslims and Arabs has since tapered off as the years have gone by. However, the idea of stereotyping one group of individuals for causing a traumatic event has not left. Anti-Asian hate has since become prevalent in the social consciousness ever since the beginning of COVID-19 and the pandemic. As such, it is imperative that we, as united human beings, must rid ourselves of this cognitive bias that has persisted for so long. My generation must be responsible for learning from the tragedies that occurred before us as well as those we currently are experiencing. We must aspire to change our ways for the better.