On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the U.S. – a day that should have been totally committed to remembering the victims – numerous actions disrespectful of the victims occurred. “Snapshots” of three examples follow where those involved selfishly chose to put the victimhood spotlight on themselves rather than those who perished.
The first snapshot is of Jenn M. Jackson, an assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University. She identifies on her website as “a queer genderflux androgynous Black woman, an abolitionist, (and) a lover of all Black people.”
Referencing the 9/11 remarks made, she tweeted she was “really disturbed by how many white pundits and correspondents talk about” it. She then proceeded to name two – Andy Card, who was with President George W. Bush on that day, and Jeh Johnson, former secretary of homeland security under President Barack Obama. Interestingly, neither Card nor Johnson are pundits/correspondents, and Johnson is not white. But in Jackson’s world, facts prove immaterial
Jackson’s gripe with Card was claiming that the fear Americans felt after 9/11 was due to those terrorist attacks, implying non-white Americans, such as herself, knew fear long before 9/11 commenting:
“Card just said that 9/11 was the first time that Americans ever felt fear. He said that it was the last morning we woke up without fear and that the ‘terrorists’ succeeded in introducing us to fear. Wow. That’s hella incorrect. White Americans might not have really felt true fear before 9/11 because they never felt what it meant to be accessible, vulnerable, and on the receiving side of military violence at home. But, white Americans’ experiences are not a stand-in for ‘America.’ Plenty of us Americans know what it’s like to experience fear and we knew before 9/11. For a lot of us, we know fear *because* of other Americans. We have to be more honest about what 9/11 was and what it wasn’t. It was an attack on the heteropatriarchal capitalistic systems that America relies upon to wrangle other countries into passivity. It was an attack on the systems many white Americans fight to protect.”
Having already used skin color to claim victimhood, Jackson then injected “heteropatriarchal capitalistic systems” into the discussion to claim double victimhood. That is a feminist theory referencing the existence of “a society or culture dominated by a ruling class of heterosexual males whose characteristic bias is unfavorable to gay people and females in general.”
Jackson expressed absolutely no sympathy for the 9/11 victims or their families. She obviously believes 9/11 should be all about her and satisfying her personal need for victimhood.
Jackson had both critics and defenders responding to her comments – the latter ridiculously taking the position the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot was worse than 9/11.
The second snapshot involves a pitch for victimhood occurring in Fairfax County, Virginia. School board member Abrar Omeish, a Muslim, criticized fellow Democrats for failing to support an alternative resolution she had proposed to theirs which had sought to honor the 9/11 victims. Omeish’s objection was that their resolution needed to be more “inclusive” by adding balance. The additional balance she sought was a reminder some Muslims have experienced discrimination in 9/11’s aftermath.
Her demand takes on an additional sting when one considers that Omeish’s father was on the board of the mosque attended by the 9/11 attackers and was also involved in hiring an imam who was a top al-Qaida operative.
Omeish’s alternative resolution also seeks to purvey the myth that Muslims, after 9/11, have become victims of hate crimes much more so than other groups – which is false. In fact, despite no Jewish involvement in 9/11, Jews suffer a much higher victimization rate.
But the real kicker is the alternative resolution Omeish posted online. Keeping in mind the original focus of the resolution was to honor our 9/11 fallen and Omeish’s objective was to have it more balanced, her resolution devotes only one paragraph to the 9/11 victims but 10 paragraphs to crimes against Muslims. So much for “balance.” It would be interesting too to see if Omeish would tolerate a joint resolution referencing hate crimes against both Muslims and Jews. (Spoiler Alert: Undoubtedly, she would not.)
The third snapshot takes us to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at the memorial to those who died onboard hijacked United Flight 93 after the passengers, realizing what was happening via their cellphone communications, rushed the cockpit, forcing the aircraft to crash short of its objective. The site of a memorial dedicated to the passengers’ courageous actions that day was no place for self-praise. Yet President Joe Biden used the 20th anniversary date there as a platform to defend himself against claims of a botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
Passing up several opportunities he had after the withdrawal to address media questions about it, Biden instead opted to use this memorial service to do so. He argued his decision was sound, adding, “If you had told anybody that we were going to spend 300 million bucks a day for 20 years to try to unite the country after we got bin Laden, after al-Qaida was wiped out there …” before just trailing off. Asking and answering his own question, Biden queried, “Can al-Qaida come back? Yeah but guess what? It’s already back in other places.”
It was an ironic setting at which Biden chose to defend himself. Among those who died onboard Flight 93 was Todd Beamer. His last words, heard as he led the passenger revolt were, “Let’s roll!” While the words “Let’s roll” started our 20 year war against terrorism, as one critic points out, it is Biden’s motto of “Let’s rollover” that ended it.
It is sad day when the honors due 9/11’s fallen are not fully rendered because, in an act of disrespect, ungrateful citizens feel a need to push their own agenda. A commander in chief should understand this better than anyone.
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