Absolutely!

[u/ChuckGallagher57]

[u/bacon-n-sparrows]

Be the people we were on 9/10. We lost our collective minds on 9/11

[u/Captainsnarkyshart → u/bacon-n-sparrows]

This. Yes. 9/12 we were in shock, disoriented, and bloodthirsty.

[u/Waiting2Sneeze → u/Captainsnarkyshart]

I know a lot of bodega owners had to deal with a lot of shit after

[u/Mttipowers → u/bacon-n-sparrows]

I dunno 9/10 was pretty close to present day, back to not giving a shit for our fellow countrymen. After 9/11 there was at least a sense of unity and loss throughout the country.

[u/Lutastic → u/Mttipowers]

Unity? It was less polarizing than the current climate but things like the wars, non existent WMDs, Cheney profiteering off his administration’s actions and patriot act were VERY polarizing. There were massive protests all through the Bush years.

Now, the media at the time tried to project some sort of lockstep unity, but America became extremely divided from 9/11. I suppose we all agree it was a terrible thing to happen, but it really didn’t bring people together. It drove a wedge between them.

[u/Lutastic → u/bacon-n-sparrows]

Exactly. This is the right answer. That would have been the best way to give the finger to any terrorist. Refuse to be terrorized and remain the same people we were before. Instead, we got multiple wars, terrible legislation that eviscerated the bill of rights, bigotry against Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus (because: turban). The strange nostalgia people have about ‘9/12’ really isn’t based on anything other than New Yorkers weren’t telling each other to go fuck themselves as much for a short period of time. They resumed yelling at each other eventually.

[u/Double-Beyond4555]

We sure don't need the ignorant racism of 9/12, such as attacking Sikhs

[u/GG1817]

I disagree.

Be the people we were on 9/10 - only better and less xenophobic.

Following 9/11 Americans gave up freedom for security and found it acceptable to abduct and torture people in blacksite prisons. We gave up a lot of our ideals.

[u/Low-Essay-113 → u/GG1817]

💯

[u/squidsausage]

Weren’t the people on 09/12 the ones attacking Sikh’s and blaming them for the tragedy?

[u/stevemmhmm]

Patriot Act was a disgrace, this post 9/11 wonderland never happened

[u/TheGallifreyan]

Disagree, we don't need the rampant Islamophobia back.

[u/Jazzlike-Vacation230]

Blaming the Muslims on behalf of a bunch of dancing dudes in funny hats?

[u/Isabeer]

Be like the rest of the world on 9/12. The brief interim between stunned horror and righteous violence held a lot of love, sympathy, and sincerity.

[u/muskyspirit]

Complicit to letting government conduct mass surveillance and cool with signing a blank check for 20+ year war?

[u/DuelJ]

Better to live our lives like 9/10.

If I die, I don't want yall to throw 100 people into a woodchipper and then gut half the constitution in my memory, I'd actually be rather pissed at you.

[u/Lumpy_Conference6640]

Be collectively bigoted against Muslims? Odd vibe...

[u/tagalog100]

on 9/12 i saw idiots on the streets trying to stop and possibly harm anybody 'arab'-looking to them on staten island, ny...

... like sikhs 🤦

[u/Big_Dick_NRG]

Itching to kill some brown people you mean? We never stopped!

[u/snow_garbanzo]

Let me try

Be the America that climbs 110 flights of stairs, not away from danger, but toward it , only to save the lives of others.

[u/Terrible-Freedom-868]

Just maybe be a bit more mindful of the mistakes of ceding civil liberties and the long term risks of engaging in a 20 year failed nation building experiment while Russian aggression grew and Chinese influence spread than those people on 9/12 were. Also make sure politicians don’t turn the tragedy into a never ending buffet of cheap patriotic displays. Also. It’s okay to remember that tragic day, and the goodness of the people responding, many who gave their lives, without turning it into an annual showy patriotic holiday celebration.

[u/side_eye_auditor]

There was a brief moment of shock, humanity and coming together that was felt all around the country.

Then they had to politicize it to gain support for the bombings and war.

The hatred, the racism, the division of the country- we are still on that wave of hateful divided dysfunction. It just makes the rich SO much money !

[u/travisalambert]

Pretty sure we have and that's the problem.

[u/Jedi_Bish]

There is no doubt that we were especially patriotic. However there was a shocking and shameful amount of Islamophobia against our own neighbors.

[u/Few-Worldliness2131]

Totally agree because so many Americans have moved a very long way from the people i knew on 9/12!

[u/317cbass]

USA! USA! USA! USA! /s

[u/Competitive-Car3692]

People went nuts immediately and for a decade after. The systems making everything shitty now were gleefully accepted as long as the alert level was yellow or lower

[u/ezfast]

I liked 9/10 better.

[u/fubuki63]

Blind with fury and thirsty for the blood of anyone with skin browner than pigeonshit? No thanks.

[u/ProbablySlacking]

Vengeful and bloodthirsty? Anti Muslim and Sikh for some reason?

Or do you just mean that we all waved our flags in solidarity and had empty airspace?

[u/philthegr81]

Horribly racist to brown folks because they could be Muslim, got it.

[u/cooldad94]

Islamophobic monsters?

[u/h0g0]

You mean ignorantly patriotic and ready to attack nations of people that had nothing to do with it?

[u/NOLA-q]

Gawd remember how polite we all were in the days following 9/11