By Kay S. Pedrotti
People of my generation are apt to ask each other, "Where were you when ..." about events such as the Kennedy and King assassinations -- and Sept. 11, 2001. There are several vignettes about my experiences on 9/11 I think I can now, after 10 years, share in writing.
Kay S. Pedrotti
As we were making initial descent into Asheville, it seemed odd that the flight attendants were very subdued and we heard no "thank you for flying Delta" from the cockpit.
As we exited into the airport, it was silent. So silent. We walked over to a tavern television in time to watch the 2nd plane go into the WTC tower.
Not knowing what else to do, we picked up our rental car and spent the day touring Asheville, but televisions and radios everywhere kept us all on knife's edge.
At 5 pm it became obvious that we'd be taking the rental car and driving back to Atlanta. Enterprise could only tell us "Take it, we have no idea what to tell our customers to do."
Through several machinations, we were able to get to our car at Hartsfield, leave the rental car in Atlanta, and drive the hour south to Barnesville. Again, the roads and skies were silent.
Once we reached the safety of our home, our 14 year old daughter broke down and cried nearly all night.
Our 16 year old son could only ask "Why?"
As the daughter-in-law from the above article, I think you can see that 9/11 affected me deeply. I lost people that day. However, my blurted anger at the time does not reflect my true feelings about the world, religion, or Middle Eastern politics. Like many, I have had to come to understand and deal with the fact that the realities of that day are complex, multifaceted, and deeply, painfully misunderstood and misrepresented.
Ten years later, my forgotten blurt strikes me as ignorant and hateful. Don't get me wrong, I did give a growl of satisfaction when Osama Bin Laden was captured and killed. However, I have no vendetta against, nor am I ignorant enough to blame, one billion people for the actions of a radical and dangerous few.
Seeking blame is a normal, gut-level reaction to a sudden tragedy. Continuing in that blame in the face of conflicting reality is just plain childish. Condemning innocent people because you want the situation to be easier to understand is dangerous, and downright unchristian.
Ten years later, our lives have changed irrevocably. I would like to think I have grown from that.
How sad for the writers of posts #1, #2 & #2.1 They contribute to the ugliness that still exists in the world.
I present you with over 200 examples of Muslim clerics going out in a limb to condemn the violence. It took me two seconds on Google to find it. Funny, I have read their book, and it's just as easy to bend the words to justify hatred as it is with the Bible, which clearly states that Satan was defeated. The evils of the world are caused by man. You cannot continue to blame some all-powerful demon for simple human weakness.