How 9/11 forever changed me, or maybe I would have changed anyway.
One month after the horrific 9/11 my job transferred to an east coast ivy-league university. I was going stark raving mad in my new city whose “progressive liberalism” finished in me what 19 pissy Arabs started. I felt like Eve in Eden, ready to bite that serpent on the ass and get kicked out of the liberal utopia hell.
The relocation denied me my usual set of friends and support network so in the weeks following 9/11 I felt as if I was grieving alone, and this university didn’t help. Its elites were very empathetic toward the families of the 9/11 deceased, but they seem to forget that their fellow countrymen were slaughtered by terrorists and instead treated the terrorist attacks as if it was some kind of natural disaster. Worse yet, they tried to rewrite the aftermath as some grand lesson in multiculturalism and diversity, willfully oblivious to what was right in front of them; evidences provided by the Taliban and al-Qaeda proving that some cultures* are evil and much be destroyed to save western civilization.
Edited to add: culture =/= ethnic group or religious group or group of purple-haired people
*see comment section for description of evil culture i.e. slavery culture, rape culture, etc
I would have grew out of my left-leaning tendencies in due time, but 9/11 quickened the natural process. Life changed right in front of all of our eyes: the dark, smoking Twin Towers, the ghastly hole in the Pentagon, and the heroically ill fated flight of United 93. But for the liberals, nothing changed and they continue believing what they did for the last 40 years. It’s as if they have a Bizzaro version of the American Dream, the kind where everything will be taken care of for you (instead of working to get it yourself) if only the big meanie Republicans stop being so mean. All the while enjoying the freedom and prosperity that subsidizes their beliefs.
Refusal to be a “safe” victim.
Why do animal rights activists go after fur coat wearing women teetering on high heels instead of leather-loving hells angel bikers? Well, wouldn’t you? Besides self preservation, bullies and cowards are bigots from the safe hatred clan, going after targets that won’t fight back and until most recently, U.S fitted the don’t-fight-back category while Israel restrained themselves in mostly defensive postures.
College was the first time people told me I was a victim of racism. Really? Other than enduring the rare slights from very few classmates (and seriously, who hasn’t been picked on for something? I’m ashamed to admit I’ve picked on others) over the shape of my eyes and the strange food I bring for lunch, what the hell were they talking about? I learned from my new roommates and classmates that their schools were more interested in making everybody feel nice, so self esteem is valued over achievements or confidence. And what happens if they get out into the real world and discover outcomes are not predetermined to their benefit? Why, it’s because the world is out to get them! It can’t surely be their fault! Fortunately most Americans are fast learners and eventually acquire their confidence in full force. While my former European university colleague was sure I could travel through Europe without harassment because I “didn’t look American”, my German best friend thought very differently. “Of course people are going to know you’re American, you walk like a American!” For some Europeans we walk with arrogance while others say we walk with confidence. Even our walking styles become a fascinating subject of debate.
Still, I have no idea why the well-meaning liberals were trying to make me out as a victim other than I was “safe” and cultivated victims would keep their power in tact and their coffers growing.
My first order of business was defecting from the Methodist church and into the Evangelical church when my fellow Methodists exhaled that righteous sigh and talked about those poor Palestinians and the great Jimmy Carter (seriously?). None of this made sense to me and nothing they said was convincing, everything was based on what they “felt” and that was good enough for them, factual data had no place for them. It was this knee-jerked reaction to stand up for the underdog, even if that dog is rabid and hell bent on killing you. Like other Islamic fundamentalists, the Palestinians are deeply deluded people in love with a fantasy ideology of revenge, destruction, and murder that promises them rewards that they are unwilling to work for and incapable of generating.
Professional victims are a tiring lot, always refusing to look inside themselves and discover the causes of their own problems and unhappiness. Understandably, it is easier to blame others and the outside world than to examine oneself with an eye to self-discovery and self-improvement. It’s not to say “normal” people are self-improving maniacs, as most rather spends energy fixing things out there than working to overcome their own flaws or contribute positively to the larger society. But professional victims are masters of scapegoating, assigning blame to others while absolving themselves of responsibility and enlist to causes that validate their distorted perception. Plus, criticizing and complaining require very little talent and energy.
Or maybe 9/11 didn't change me and maybe I just grew up.