i haven't had a chance to read anything yet, but it looks like AlterNet.org has several articles available about our country's role in the deaths of innocent middle eastern people.
before we decide on a course of action, perhaps we should get a little perspective.
well, i don't even know where to begin at this point. i barely touched the computer here at home over the past week. usually, i'm on here two hours a night, at the very least, but i've spent most of my time glued to the tv as i imagine most of you have. i attempted to write a post talking about my feelings and opinions of the tragic events that have taken place. of course, about halfway through it, IE decided to get crazy and open a link from one window into my blogger window. now i'm writing this entry in notepad first.
normally, i don't watch much tv at all, and i almost never watch news programs or read the newspaper. this week, of course, was totally different. i just immersed myself in the news reports from new york and washington. for once, it seems, the news media has devoted the bulk of it's efforts into something that actually matters. the sad thing is that, after all the coverage of Clinton's various media-hyped problems, the Elian Gonzales inanity, and the Gary Condit crap, it seems like the coverage of this genuine tragedy has been cheapened somewhat. i seem to recall hearing about a time when the media had some integrity, when they actually did search out the truth and report the facts. nowadays it seems that there is more conjecture and opinion in the mainstream news than actual facts. even during this crisis, i heard certain reporters (dan rather immediately springs to mind) saying time & time again "we don't want to jump to conclusions", while bringing in guests who'd already done so, or asking leading questions to the ones who hadn't. i can't even count the times over the past week that i've heard things like "no one knows for sure, but" afghanistan, taliban, osama bin laden.
and who is it that pays for media that reports the news in this way? i think one of paul's recent posts sums it up pretty well. the racial backlash is completely abhorrent. the people who perpetrate these crimes against innocent people just because they look or dress a certain way are just as bad as the terrorists who orchestrated this horror. if one person kills another, they are just as evil as those who killed thousands.
which brings me back to the points i wanted to make when i attempted this post the first time.
despite the fact that this attack occurred on american soil, and involved innocent american citizens, it is not just an attack against america. it isn't an attack against freedom or democracy, it's not an attack against the flag or any of the other countless things america supposedly stands for. perhaps it was intended to be simply that, but in the end, this is nothing more than an attack against all of humanity, against all the citizens of planet Earth.
in the few days since i first attempted this post, i have heard more voices raised advising caution, and i have to say i'm glad. i was concerned that the only voices we heard were going to be like the grocery store i heard about who put the following words on their sign–"Bomb Afghanistan Tonight!" it is this type of ignorance that feeds the arrogant, self-serving media that i was ranting about earlier. and it is this type of ignorance that makes most all foreign countries look down their noses at us culturally, despite our physical strength.
i have also taken heart in hearing the reports of the leaders and citizens of many foreign countries voicing their horror, sympathy, concern, and support for the people who were affected by this tragedy.
but another thing that we must consider are the ultimate reasons for these attacks. what, aside from insanity, would drive anyone to commit the heinous acts against their fellow humans? we have to consider the fact that our troops have been in their lands for many years now, doubtlessly committing unspeakable crimes of their own. an attack like this doesn't just happen. our government has made enemies. our government has sanctioned actions that have ended the lives of innocent civilians in foreign lands. we are not innocent.
but this does not excuse these actions. this is not justice, just as an indiscriminate attack again afghanistan or another nation would not be justice. i want justice. i want the people who did this to pay. i want to make an example of them to the rest of the world to say that this type of attack against humanity will not be tolerated. but killing innocent people would not be justice, it would be terrorism.
okay…so the nightmarish week that has transpired for the entire country is just a bit too much to write about, at this point. so let's start small…
guy and i were looking at various websites the other night, when we got distracted by the tv and it's endless coverage of the ongoing disaster/investigation.vigils/etc. we leave the computer running and watch tv for a few minutes. we go back to the computer and bam. dead.
i proceeded to try to troubleshoot the problem for a while, only to discover: yep. it's dead. motherboard or processor is fried. ain't that a bitch? well…i hung out with guy for the rest of the night and then went home. i hooked up the mac to try to dial in and check my email. no dice. no dial tone. no phone. totally….gone. yep…the phone got turned off. don't ask.
so…making lemons into lemonade, i'm at the library, looking for some more books to read as i have suddenly been shot into the realm of lud. ain't this a blast?
i decided not to trek up to chicago this weekend. i was supposed to be in nyc (thank god i'm not, but i'd still like to be there to help out in any way possible), but i thought maybe a trip to chi-town might be nice, instead. no dice. decided against it. i was still thinking of going as i began typing this, but i decided against it because i'd have to drive home after the show (hey mercedes at the metro. go!), because i have to work tomorrow. i'm exhausted just entertaining the idea.
she still won't return my calls. i told her i was going to new york. i don't recall if i told her when, but she didn't even call, just to make sure i was okay. some people.
as bad as life seems, right now…i still have my health, which is more than a lot of people can say.
we've set up a mirror site full of various video feeds and photo galleries of the destruction in new york. there's not much in the way of stuff from the pentagon crash, but if you look there is a bit.
once again, you can find that site here:
matt pointed this out to me earlier, but i thought i'd go ahead and link to it now.
it's a very well put together photo diary of the devastation in lower manhattan.
ran across this at scripting.com:
a new yorkers unique idea on how to rebuild the trade center towers.
i finally got ahold of ben late last night. he was the last of my new york and washington dc friends that i was able to get ahold of. i'm just thanking whatever forces are responsible for their safety.
i spent the entire day trying to reach ben after everyone else had checked in in one way or another. when i finally got ahold of him, he told me it all happened while he was still in the shower. he never left his house to head into work in manhattan. he watched the towers collapse from the roof of his apartment building. after a while, ben said the only mildly humorous thing i'd heard all day:
"a whole lot of postcards just went out of date."
yep. i hope they find as many survivors as possible…
as always, our hearts and minds are with everyone in the beautiful and shaken cities of new york and washington dc.
i swear…the interstate and mondays just don't mix. it doesn't really matter, though…the dumbass on the road did nothing but make me laugh at him for the entirety of my drive. thank you, sir, for being the butt of my joke…
as i merged onto the highway, this guy cruising along in the fast lane decided it was important to blare his horn at me (and i mean blare) and give me a dirty look and even give me the finger. now…keep in mind i was coming in off an entrance ramp and merging into the slow lane. not the fast lane where this idiot was residing. he wasn't looking to hit the slow lane at any point, either. i had my eyes on him the entire time, which is why it was so baffling that he blew his horn. yes…i was planning on cutting him off, that's why i was watching him. no, i hadn't cut him off yet. i like to take my lanes one at a time, thanks.
so i let him ride past me and watched him yell through his window at me, presumably about my need to learn how to drive. and then i decided it was high time to go ahead and get that cutting off out of the way. he needed it…and i'd feel better for doing it.
so i shot ahead and cut him off, earning another toot from the horn of his chrysler. he rode up on my ass. i slowed down to the 45 of the old lady next to me in the slow lane. he kept diving up on my ass and i kept flashing my brakes, making him float back to avoid a collision.
so then i decided to lose the chump. he then followed me forever, even eventually pulling alongside me and rolling his window down. he was yelling. maybe he spilled his latte? i rolled my window down and heard nothing but a faint yet limp whine over the wind. i smiled and waved at him. how unfriendly is this guy? i waved! i was being nice! he gave me the finger again! twice from this joker! can you believe it?
some people.
i ended up losing him by driving 85 and watching him get cut off by someone else (!) as he tried to catch up to me.
now i'm at work, still polishing off my morning oj.
as long as it doesn't get any worse…
i swear i'm about to fall asleep. today has been one of the more ridiculously boring days here at "work."
and the coffee didn't help one bit, even with that extra shot of espresso. what's up with that?
more importantly…what's up with these bourbon burps? mixed with chocolate and coffee? this is some strange shit, indeed.
so i took a 15 minute break and proceeded to close my eyes and concentrate on resting, but not falling asleep. i don't know if the experiment was really a success or not, but no one complained about any snoring, so i think i'm okay.
i sat in the breakroom earlier, eating lunch and watching tv. they had some kind of truck commercial advertising a winch feature on one of the mammoth, gas devouring, environment destroying megalith machines. i was like "what suburbunite needs a fucking winch on their suv?" and then it hit me: when i used to play with remote control cars and all that hooey, i always wanted the remote control truck with the working winch on the front. i thought it would be the g.i. joe accessory to end them all, really. i mean…snake eyes is stuck in the mud? use the winch! pull his sorry ninja ass out!
the need for a winch on an suv is obviously just an extension of this very same mentality. the well-to-do suburban mall-dweller is probably just biding his time until he's out in the wilds of ohio and his wife gets stuck in that damned quicksand. fuck it all! he's prepared! use the winch to help the wench!
and…yes…that is probably the most retarded thing i have ever written. thank you.
i go to sleep now.
the last couple of days have been excrutiatingly uneventful. i worked on wednesday. had some sesame chicken from double dragon for lunch. realized that nothing can match the sesame chicken from kim's. oh, kim's…how i miss you…
and then i came home. nothing much. wow. what a wednesday, huh?
thursday was a little more eventful, placing me on the scene at the comic shop for the usual weekly comics and lunch and then out to pick up my paycheck. i ven went to the bank. i tell you what…i'm a regular action hero. i ate q'doba again last night. i've settled into a nice every other day pattern. but my q'doba card is now all punched, so the next burrito is on them. damn straight. that's like 10 fuckin' burritos i ate to get to this point (not to mention all those times i forgot i had the damn thing in my wallet). it's a holy day, i think. i may even eat q'doba again today, just because it's free.
that's always the case, isn't it? the free one is the one that makes you sick of the joint. maybe i'll hold off…
so the rough plan is to get ahold of my dad today. maybe take him out to a late lunch. you know…if i can get ahold of him.
other than that? my day is looking just as boring as the last two. maybe i'll go beat up some mimes…
