9/11 was 5 years ago--get over it!
Seriously, Americans can be such crybabies. Most are emotionally clueless and can't think for themselves. The U.S. gets attacked and no one knows how to handle it, so they follow wherever the media leads them and stay as long as they are told. Was 9/11 a tragedy? Of course. I'm not making light odf that. But for weeks we were hearing about people that couldn't make themselves get up and go to work because they were so upset. Five years later we're still hearing about "that tragic day of loss." It's like America is frozen in shock over the concept that terrorism could actually happen on our soil. You know what? It can happen anywhere, and usually does. There are countries where people go to work each day not sure if they will return that evening. The spectre of terrorism is a part of life for them. But it happens on American soil and all of a sudden “the unthinkable has happened.”
If you've lost someone close in these tragedies, you have a right to still be upset. Overcoming grief takes time, and some people never get over the loss of a loved one. In all sincerity, you have my condolences. But to everyone else, shut up already!
This weekend we'll be seeing all sorts of tributes, TV specials, and news clip marathons, as well as all the "Remember…" issues of news magazines already on the stands. Enough already, give it a rest.
Besides, can't people see that these are just emotions perpetuated by the media to boost their ratings? It's like when one kid in a room cries they all do. Well quit listening to them cry!
So how has America been jumping on (or getting thrown onto)the Patriot Bandwagon since 2001?
A program director at Clear Channel Communications felt that certain songs should no longer be played because they were “considered to be remindful of the images still vivid in the minds of Americans after the tragedy in New York City.”
Although Clear Channel never officially distributed this list, it did get around, and many programmers did alter their playlists. I know it was a long time before I heard any Rage Against the Machine again.
Many stations were pulling certain songs from the air simply because of their titles, such as Dave Matthews's "Crash" and Drowning Pool's "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor." Others pulled songs like Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" because of their "happy-go-lucky, life is great" tone.
So let me get this right. I can't listen to songs about tragedy because they're too much like the real thing, and I can't listen to upbeat music, because I shouldn't be happy yet. Thanks, you idiots. I guess I'll just listen to Radiohead for the next six months.
Snopes.com has an excellent article on this, along with the Clear Channel programmer's actual song list
http://www.snopes.com/rumors/radio.htm
Warner Brothers postponed the release of the Arnold Shwarznegger movie "Collateral Damage" by 5 months. Originally slated for release in September, the studio decided to push the movie back due to 'sensitivity' to the attacks. In the movie Shwarznegger plays a firefighter that takes revenge against drug lords for blowing up a building and killing his wife and child.
Also affected by 9/11 hysteria:
Big Trouble, a Tim Allen comedy in which a suitcase bomb is planted on a plane
Wind Talkers, a WWII film starring Nicholas Cage
The TV broadcast of "Independence Day" got the axe for Fall 2001 due to its scenes of the White House and major cities being destroyed. I guess no one noticed that the perpetrators in this were actually space aliens.
While I can see where editing a movie for accuracy makes sense, it's sad that films such as Spiderman, Serendipity, Men in Black II, and Zoolander, were re-edited because their scenes of the New York skyline might provoke pain and sorrow.
They even changed the movie posters.
Banned Spiderman poster:
And the banned Spiderman trailer:
Click to viewIf that doesn't work, you can go to it directly here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7g5gi3C4EA
So remember the World Trade Center, but you’ll have to rely solely on your memory, because all evidence of it is being edited out... for sensitivity purposes.
Starbuck's was pressured into pulling an ad for their Tazo frozen beverages because the poster was too reminiscent of the twin towers being struck by a plane. Come on, it's two slurpees and a bug! Click the image to see it full-size.
Let’s Roll (in the dough) Lisa Beamer's husband is the guy that (supposedly) said "Let's Roll" when the passengers of Flight 93 reclaimed the plane. He spoke a catch phrase. We don't know that he even did anything. He's on the phone with his wife while the other passengers are formulating their plan, he says, "let's roll" and that makes him a hero? Well, enough of a hero that she wrote a book about it (with herself on the cover, not her husband) and went on a spoken word tour. She must be crying all the way to the bank--with the money that all the 9/11 junkies have given her.
And on the subject of money, why on Earth would the government decide to give a cash reward to the families of 9/11 victims? Each family was given an average of $1,600,000 (that's 1.6 MILLION dollars). This was actually a thinly veiled out-of-court settlement, to prevent them from suing the airlines or anyone else responsible for the attacks. So what about the first attack on WTC? Or the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City? The U.S.S. Cole? Label it a tragedy and everyone's hearts bleed money. Americans die in tragedies everyday. Car wreck? Tell your insurance company. Botched robbery attempt? Sue the store you were in. Cruise ship sank? Call your attorney. Widely televised terrorist attack, with sappy music montages playing 24/7? Suddenly your life's value increases.
Let’s not forget all the sentimental patriotic artwork. This one sums it up best:
Wah, I'm a big strong eagle,
but when the going gets rough,
I get shell-shocked and whine like a baby.
What do I do? What do I do?
And if you’re still a media zombie, and still can’t fathom that yes, other countries do hate us, and will attack us again, you can go to one of the many websites designed to help you cope (what--ever!): http://www.coping.org/911/healing/content.htm
Enjoy your self-pitying sobfest, America, because while you're blubbering about people you've never met, from a town you've never been to, I'll be living my life, enjoying movies and television shows regardless of content. And who knows, I might even listen to the radio.