Petition to make 9-11 a holiday

[numbnuts240]

unfortunately for me, i have an e-mail address at work, so i get to weed through all types of mundane e-mails containing stupid jokes, religious crap that i don't care to read, and sappy stories about unfortunate people. i just got this one today and i thought i would share it with you wonderful people in nicoland. if you don't feel like reading it, it's basically some kid, who lost his father that tragic day, petitioning to make 9/11 a national holiday honoring firefighters. i feel for all those families who lost someone that day, i really do. but do i think a national holiday is in order, no. a day to honor them, maybe, but a holiday, now you're digging deep. what about the police officers who also risk their lives everyday, not to mention all those who lost their lives that same day. what about making 12/7 a holiday to remember all those who died at pearl harbor, no one ever suggests that. i just feel as if everytime something tragic happens, everyone thinks they are more special than everyone else and wants to make sure that it's known what they lost. i have the utmost respect for anyone who serves in the military, as well as firefighters and the police officers who aren't pompous pricks, but personally don't think that 9/11, as tragic as it was, deserves to become a national holiday solely because some firefighters lost their lives prematurely while doing their jobs. as i reread this, i think it will come off as i am an insensitive jerk, hopefully you all will understand what i am trying to say. oh yeah, here's the letter from said kid:

Quote »Petition to make 9-11 a holiday

This is an excellent idea......and to have come from a teenager.....just think!!!!!!!! An idea from the son of a 9/11 firefighter... So before you delete this, just remember that this is a 14year-old boy who lost his father on September 11th. All you're asked to do is type, point and click.. He's got a really great idea, keep reading.

Hello, I lost my Dad on September 11th; he was Chief Edward Geraghty, Battalion 9, NewYork City Fire Department. He lost his life with many other heroes that day, victims of theterrorists. Firefighters fromall over have come to the aid and rescue of the tr agedy in New York and Washington , D.C.Many firefighters lost their lives to save someone else's.. The truth of the matter is, they dothis every single day. They truly are heroes. I know many people feel helpless, especiallythose who live far from NYC and D.C. We all want to do something to show our appreciation,our support! I think we can... In honor of the bravery, courage and determination ofAmerican firefighters, there should be a day in our nation to celebrate and appreciate theirhard-work and never-ending passion for saving lives. I think we should honor all those otherheroes who still live today.

I'm starting a petition for a National Firefighters Day. Will you help make every September11th 'National Firefighters Day'?

Please join me! Thank you, Connor Geraghty, age 14, Rockville Centre , New York . (I Love U,DAD!!)[/quote]discuss.

[dickie]

moved to politics, since it is at heart a political issue.

[numbnuts240]

i thought about that after i posted it. i was going to suggest moving it, but apparently you're too fast for me .

[dickie]

i try. hopefully this will save your thread from being trashed by people with their own agendas.

[smockers83]

We don't have a "holiday" for Pearl Harbor, a day that will live in infamy. We don't need a holiday for 9/11 either.

[szh]

We don't have a "holiday" for Pearl Harbor, a day that will live in infamy. We don't need a holiday for 9/11 either.

A most excellent point ...

Z

[heliochrome85]

sir, you are making sense to me.

[AZhitman]

Agreed.

Every day *should* be Firefighters' & Law Enforcements' Day...

Sadly, we can't force recognition. And that's just the way they'd want it.

[rn79870]

It wouldn't hurt to have a public servant appreciation day. Maybe not a national holiday, but a day where Nico management could celebrate by giving all the members presents and gifts, and have a drawing for a new 350Z. I'll write it up and submit it.

[AZhitman]

Fired.

[smockers83]

Sounds good to me. Give us what we want!

Everyone will know about 9/11 for centuries in this country as it will be taught in US history classes forever. Hell, 9/11 appeared in text books right after it happened. Pearl Harbor has kind of dwindled off--you'd be hard pressed to find people in my generation who could tell you what day PH happened, or even the year for that matter. But they know about it and what it started as they learned about it in high school and I'm sure they could place the decade, I guess that counts for something. I guess we all can't be WWII buffs. We don't have a day for when the Civil War started, or the Revolution, Vietnam, 1812, Mexican, French-Indian, etc. So what makes 9/11 different? Because NYC is special?

[rn79870]

Basically because it represents 473 heroes who went into a building to rescue people. In the process they lost their lives. I don't have the courage to enter a burning building.

I can't believe that the education system in this country is so poor that people are not being taught that WWII started 12-07-41 and ended in August of 1945. That, plus much of the grammar I see in other forums here really makes me wonder about some kids futures.

[heliochrome85]

and you wonder why we have so much difficulty being competitve on the worlds job market? thanks No Child Left Behind! I have to say, as much as I dislike Bush, I can't imagine what it must be like for him to recognize, if he has, how much people dislike him. I cant imagine being that unwanted.

[AZhitman]

Not the government's fault.

Blame the parents.

My kid just tested out in the 99th percentile in math, reading and writing. I won't take all the credit, but there's a lot of time spent on homework and studying.

[heliochrome85]

As a democratic voter (independent politically though), i believe its my duty to blame the government. actually, i spent a good amout of time speaking with my former high school teacher yesterday. She was telling me about how much paperwork is involved now that wasnt there before NICKLB was in acted. She also was talking about how their pay is based on whether kids pass the standardized tests, which regardless of whether you can actually speak english or not, students must take. As with many things President Bush has done, the intention was good, the action was very very bad.

[heliochrome85]

you know AZ, i grew up on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. I believe that what is wrong with our society today, is that we lack a similar figure in the lives of children. Someone who can teach without resorting to sex/violence/adult behavior. My sister is 8. I am appalled at what is on tv. Im sorry, my sis doesnt need to watch Ms. Preggo Skanky Jamie Lynn Spears on TV only to end up looking up to her. When did it become ok in this country for a knocked up, unmarried, 17 year old girl to have her own tv show? Its dissapointing to say the least.

I stumbled upon this FANTASTIC article from a 1998 Esquire Magazine portrait of Mr. Rogers. Please read it if you get a chance. It made me all nostalgic and tingly. As an arab, we arent allowed to do that. I was breaking the rules...

http://www.thedqtimes.com/page...1.htm

[0wn3r]

People are getting off track...the question posed is whether or not there should be a holiday on 9/11 and the answer is no.

Trying to be reasonable without sounding like an @.

Even if you count for whatever number died, say 2500...maybe each person has 30 friends/family members that really give a crap, that's 75,000 people on that petition. Throw on another random 75,000 of people that are either fire fighters or have depression issues in general and that's hardly even .05% of the U.S. population.

They have their ground zero and their monument.

Why not just remember them on Veteran's day...part of the whole "war on terrorism" thing?

[rn79870]

It's funny. We have a MLK day and only one person died. From the comments you made, I don't think you really understand 911.

[heliochrome85]

the point is, did 9/11 change the country? yes. did it change the country in a very significant way? probably not. Unless you call 9/11 as the inciting factor for Iraq. The reality is that if you look at the US, the country is much the same as it was before 9/11.

[0wn3r]

It's funny. We have a MLK day and only one person died. From the comments you made, I don't think you really understand 911.

maybe, but i honestly don't celebrate or give a crap about MLK day either.

if you wanted to step up and say that 9/11 marked the day where the entire world united to create world peace i'd say cool let's give this holiday a shot...but the entire world didn't unite. We just have a bunch of people waving flags and putting on their magnetic "support our troops" ribbons while another side protests them for some retardedly democratic reason.

you make it a holiday before certain other things that probably deserved it more then I think the head's of terrorists would start swelling

[smockers83]

It's funny. We have a MLK day and only one person died. From the comments you made, I don't think you really understand 911.

That's true, but MLK day isn't to honor the day he died. Its to honor all that he did and what was to become of it...he's the only non-Caucasian that has a day of remembrance in this country I do believe. There's a lot more to it than just his death.

Also, I don't think its necessarily that kids don't get taught about WWII, its just that they learn it and forget about it after the final exam. It was taught in two of my required history classes in high school--was and is my most favorite subject in US history.

[heliochrome85]

how exactly does one celebrate MLK day? I always remember it because of the irony of the annual White Sales at Macys, etcs that weekend.

[numbnuts240]

MLK day isn't really a day to celebrate as much as it is a day to remember and honor all that he accomplished for the civil rights movement. i remember that the town i used to live in was the only one in the state that didn't recognize MLK day. there were protests and i think the KKK even paraded through town. they eventually folded and began recognizing it as a holiday. it all seemed foolish, especially considering this was in central ct.

12/7 was the day that the US decided to participate in WWII. that day never gets the suggestion of a national holiday. all it ever gets is a mention on the news and maybe a special documentary. oh, i'm sorry, they got a movie that focused more on a love story than the actual attack. 9/11 gets it's yearly mention, there was a movie (not about the towers, but about one of the hijackings), it has posters and car magnets, it has documentaries about the conspiracy theories behind it, and it even has little tricks showing that we could have all predicted it making paper airplanes with $20 bills. we have reminders all year round, they want to confine it all into one day, whatever, but it's pointless and completely unnecessary.

[rn79870]

MLK day isn't really a day to celebrate as much as it is a day to remember and honor all that he accomplished for the civil rights movement. .

Isn't that what the Op was about? Remembering?

We have a day celebrating Labor - anda day remembering those who died in past wars, Memorial day. We even have a day to honor veterans.

Besides, who doesn't what another paid holiday?

[heliochrome85]

ill take another holiday, but the issue i have with it is that isnt it enough that the term 9/11 has been bastardized by the Bush administration. for the last 7 years, any time any one asks a hard question about the war on terrorism or the war in iraq, the response includes mention of 9/11. They whored it out. Enough with 9/11. People act as if it changed everything. In reality little changed. 9/11 needn't be remembered with a holiday, since its unlikely that we will forget about it, (thanks to Bush admin) for quite some time.

[szh]

My kid just tested out in the 99th percentile in math, reading and writing. I won't take all the credit, but there's a lot of time spent on homework and studying.

Good Stuff™!

Z

[szh]

ill take another holiday, but the issue i have with it is that isnt it enough that the term 9/11 has been bastardized by the Bush administration. for the last 7 years, any time any one asks a hard question about the war on terrorism or the war in iraq, the response includes mention of 9/11. They whored it out. Enough with 9/11. People act as if it changed everything. In reality little changed. 9/11 needn't be remembered with a holiday, since its unlikely that we will forget about it, (thanks to Bush admin) for quite some time.

Hmmm ... I am not sure that I agree here (of course, other than the fact that I also feel that it does not need to be a National holiday).

Life in the US has been affected in both good and bad ways as a result.

Like Pearl Harbor, in some ways, it woke up people in the US to what can and does happen elsewhere in the world in terrorlst attacks - albeit not to the degree that this single event did.

The average US population has gained in their understanding as to why terrorism is a serious problem for the entire world, even though we should remember that it is still not as risky as other activities we do every day (like driving and smoking).

Perhaps, my main sense of loss has been the way 9/11 has been used to reduce the personal liberties and freedom that we take for granted under the US constitution. Beyond the degree necessary to implement safeguards ... at least, that is what my layman's reaction is!

Z

[rn79870]

I agree. The US is a different place. Gone is the innocence that we enjoyed for all those years. Anyone who flew pre 911 and post 911 sees the difference. Carrying something as benign as a water bottle on a plane gets unwarranted attention. Try getting a bank account. A drivers license. Etc. In fact, there is an entire government agency, Homeland security, that fulfils George Orwell's prophecy.

[heliochrome85]

my point was that 9/11 did not change the populus. it may have changed our governments policies, but american culture, seems to have been little effected. we award holidays to religious events, general sacrifices to our country. while yes, there are some reasons for 9/11 to be a holiday, i contend that election day should be a holiday. if this is a country of self-governing principles, how is one supposed to voice their vote, if they can not get off of work. every election ive voted in, has had major lines and polls closing as early as 6-7pm est. if i am working and dont get off til 5-530, between commute home, standing in line, etc. its tough to get your vote in before polls close. there are alot of more pressing causes that deserve a national holiday.

[numbnuts240]

Isn't that what the Op was about? Remembering?

We have a day celebrating Labor - anda day remembering those who died in past wars, Memorial day. We even have a day to honor veterans.

Besides, who doesn't what another paid holiday?

it was about remembering, but my point was, remembering MLK is a bit more deserving of a holiday than 9/11. the things he did and the ideals he represented changed american life as we know it. were it not for him, i believe de-segregation and the entire civil rights movement might have happened quite a while later, if at all. now, everyone in this country really does have equal opportunities, obama proves that (btw, that was not an endorsement, just an example, this isn't a presidential debate).

all 9/11 did was make it more of a headache for me to get to my crappy seat in coach and my half a can of soda. but what really gets me is, why no security at baggage claim?