Saturday, September 12, 2009

9/12ers: the morning-after pillocks

For some unknown reason, I’m on the email list for some right-wing anti-government US pressure group. Because, you know, I’m very right-wing and American.

From these emails, I’ve learned of something called the 9/12er movement.

9/12? Well, you’ve heard of 9/11, right?

The 9/12 Project is designed to bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the greatest nation ever created.

I feel desperately sorry for these people. For them to think that the ideal condition for their country is the greatest shock, grief, horror, fear, anger and unthinking bloodthirst that it has seen in modern times is terribly sad. And, to be charitable to their intentions, it’s terribly stupid.

I suppose in British politics, the nearest equivalent would be just after the 7/7 bombings. And yes, I was glad and proud to live in the company of mostly good, decent and sensible people at that time. But I wouldn’t want us to perpetually live in a state of being artificially and superficially united by the emotions that surrounded that mass murder. A far better ideal would be the (also, admittedly, artificial and superficial) compassion shown around the Live8 concert for international development a few days before.

3 comments:

Marc said...

It becomes even more disturbing once you find out who is behind the project. Glenn Beck, a paranoid conspiracy theorist and fantasist who works for Fox News. Presumably, one can re-create this sense of community that exist on 9/12, while labelling the President's supporters as a totalitarian movement, and the President as a racist.

Anonymous said...

For some reason I started getting emails from the TEA Party nuggets the other week. Pretty much the same bonkers right wing nonsense, from all over the States.

And mostly "waah! I might have to pay for sick people to get well, and that's just Un-Christian!"

The Plump said...

I have been getting them too. They must be mass mailing bloggers. It stopped when I was asked why I wanted to unsubscribe when I said that after the email on health care I realised that they were all quite insane and should check their medical insurance.

It is hard to know what is worse, the complete divorce from reality or their total disregard of any conventional notion of truth. We are all doomed I tell ye.