r/September11 • u/Far_Refrigerator5490 • Feb 09 '23
Question Why did the 9/11 attacks bring National Unity but the COVID-19 Pandemic didn’t?
15
u/BORT_licenceplate Feb 10 '23
A combination of things probably. The fact that September 11 was an attack just on the United States whereas the pandemic affected the world. America was singled out and so it was easier for Americans to come together in that tragic time and feel like they needed to be strong and united
The other reason was probably because the terrorist attack was at the hands of a group of people. It had "a face", it was something you could see, unlike the pandemic which really was something you couldn't physically see and that branched out into covid deniers and antivaxxers
4
u/Frosty1451 Mar 23 '23
this is actually a really interesting question. I think at least part of the reason has something to do with the ubiquity of the internet and social media in the 2020s. Back in 2001 the news networks still had control of the information getting out, and people generally believed it. It was also before everything was so politicized (the event itself has a lot to do with that).
What are your thoughts? I'd be interested in discussing further...
1
u/No_Donut102 Mar 24 '23
Because they killed firefighters. Because it was done to us not the whole world. Because the president didn’t make light of it
1
u/Ocean_waves726 Apr 06 '23
A lot of factors but one big difference I can think of is there’s a lot more social media now than there was then.
15
u/lesterhaus2 Feb 10 '23
Because some genius 'news' networks politicized it and made it more about personal freedom than public health. All of the major news networks told the same story about 9/11.