DC bloggers react to London terrorism
The London bombings drew a variety of comments and reactions from DC Bloggers. For many, it brought back memories of 9/11 and concerns about the future. Some of these posts are touching and moving, while others are angry. These aren't all the post on this subject by DC blog writers and I'm sure I missed many good ones in my search. Apologies. Please click on these links and read the full posts, and if I missed yours please add it to the comments section. Excerpts follow.
It is hard for me to watch those images without it bringing up strong feelings in me, writes DC Girl at Two Girls in DC. I can recall my entire few days after 9/11 having had to respond to the Pentagon on the medic unit. I remember driving down the streets of DC, seeing people's faces with the look of confusion. I remember pulling up to the massive stone edifice watching the large flames erupting from the side. (Formerly named A Girl in DC. See Circle V post below for commentary on this change.)
Having lived in Washington, DC, seeing the Pentagon with its one shiny new side twice a day on my way to work and home, I know that none of those people's lives will ever be the same, even if they weren't actually on the subway when it happened, writes Rotten Eggs, in a post, Not a Funny Day
Grateful Dating writes in her post, London, The police sirens and ambulances I hear today make me jumpy. I didn't want to take the subway this morning. I'm more on edge than usual. Living in DC when bombings start is not a comfortable thing. I was here on 9/11. We're in the middle of the bullseye.
It is hard for me to watch those images without it bringing up strong feelings in me, writes DC Girl at Two Girls in DC. I can recall my entire few days after 9/11 having had to respond to the Pentagon on the medic unit. I remember driving down the streets of DC, seeing people's faces with the look of confusion. I remember pulling up to the massive stone edifice watching the large flames erupting from the side. (Formerly named A Girl in DC. See Circle V post below for commentary on this change.)
Having lived in Washington, DC, seeing the Pentagon with its one shiny new side twice a day on my way to work and home, I know that none of those people's lives will ever be the same, even if they weren't actually on the subway when it happened, writes Rotten Eggs, in a post, Not a Funny Day
Grateful Dating writes in her post, London, The police sirens and ambulances I hear today make me jumpy. I didn't want to take the subway this morning. I'm more on edge than usual. Living in DC when bombings start is not a comfortable thing. I was here on 9/11. We're in the middle of the bullseye.
DC Sleeps Alone Tonight writes: I heard the news as I rounded the 395 curve around the Pentagon, and thought back to the weekend after 9-11. I was curious to see the Pentagon, and wanted to check on Jennifer who lived by Lincoln Park in SE DC. After that, why did I move here, I wondered? What was the true motivation behind my quick, but pointed move to this city?
For those of you who live outside the Beltway, inside the lines the tension is palpable, writes Beauty and the Beltway in London Calling. As one of my neighbors told me earlier today, "Every innocent person in the District is a possible soft target, and you have to remember that or else you put yourself at risk." There are police officers with Steyr rifles patrolling my neighborhood metro stop, and snipers keeping watch atop nearby government buildings. One of my classmates from Israel says that it's reminiscent of life in the West Bank: the fear is ever present but somehow life goes on. I can't imagine that it will be easy to forget that in the District, I am a target.
Click on this art work by Conversation with Mud.
In Condolences to London, Countersignature writes about some of the political issues facing the U.S. We are faced with a huge challenge in how to keep our society's values intact while combatting a dedicated core of fundamentalists who take advantage of our openness. The Bush administration's solution, thus far, has been to curtail rights that we have often seen as foundational, such as freedom of association. As far as real advances in the War on Terror (TM), we have thus far been treated to a tremendous bait and switch called the Iraq Invasion.
I Am Not Very Good at Naming Things raises issues over the media coverage in a provocative and challenging post. It begins this way: Like Sonja, I was torn about this morning's announcement of the explosions in London. Obviously they are horrific and any pointless loss of human life is tragic, but the blatant outpouring of coverage for an incident like this, compared to the paucity of coverage of other events in non-white areas that are even more fatal and often ongoing, is jarring, to say the least.
K Street Blues sees policy failures, in his post: More on London. I don't want to jump the gun here, but let me just say that if this attack is truly linked to al Qaeda, then there ought to be riots in the streets of London and Washington. Both Tony Blair and George Bush took their eye off the ball when they got tired of playing with the Afghanistan toy and found a shiny new trinket in Iraq. Instead of finishing the job against al Qaeda when we had them against the ropes, they chose to launch a war with a country that had nothing to do with the terrorist group and no connection to any attacks on either country.
Live From the Third Rail has a list of the Worst transit disasters dating from 1903
Photos: Link to the Flickr photo pool concerning the bomb blast.
Also Noted:
Circle V has assembled some energetic commentary on the latest developments on a number blogs, including Two Girls in DC. Anyway, some insiders say this is the merger of the century. The Florist is who many of you will remember is the Senator’s lovely lady friend. She has a flower shop in G-town that I recently voted for to be best in DC (hope she wins though I have never been to her shop). DCB predicts drama, which is understandable in these types of things. But, DC Girl, The Florist and Miss Penny Lane seem pretty chummy. However, a recent posting on CPMC alluded to the fact that Penny is ready to make this duo a trio. Either way, I think it sounds like a positive thing for our little blog community.
For those of you who live outside the Beltway, inside the lines the tension is palpable, writes Beauty and the Beltway in London Calling. As one of my neighbors told me earlier today, "Every innocent person in the District is a possible soft target, and you have to remember that or else you put yourself at risk." There are police officers with Steyr rifles patrolling my neighborhood metro stop, and snipers keeping watch atop nearby government buildings. One of my classmates from Israel says that it's reminiscent of life in the West Bank: the fear is ever present but somehow life goes on. I can't imagine that it will be easy to forget that in the District, I am a target.
Click on this art work by Conversation with Mud.
In Condolences to London, Countersignature writes about some of the political issues facing the U.S. We are faced with a huge challenge in how to keep our society's values intact while combatting a dedicated core of fundamentalists who take advantage of our openness. The Bush administration's solution, thus far, has been to curtail rights that we have often seen as foundational, such as freedom of association. As far as real advances in the War on Terror (TM), we have thus far been treated to a tremendous bait and switch called the Iraq Invasion.
I Am Not Very Good at Naming Things raises issues over the media coverage in a provocative and challenging post. It begins this way: Like Sonja, I was torn about this morning's announcement of the explosions in London. Obviously they are horrific and any pointless loss of human life is tragic, but the blatant outpouring of coverage for an incident like this, compared to the paucity of coverage of other events in non-white areas that are even more fatal and often ongoing, is jarring, to say the least.
K Street Blues sees policy failures, in his post: More on London. I don't want to jump the gun here, but let me just say that if this attack is truly linked to al Qaeda, then there ought to be riots in the streets of London and Washington. Both Tony Blair and George Bush took their eye off the ball when they got tired of playing with the Afghanistan toy and found a shiny new trinket in Iraq. Instead of finishing the job against al Qaeda when we had them against the ropes, they chose to launch a war with a country that had nothing to do with the terrorist group and no connection to any attacks on either country.
Live From the Third Rail has a list of the Worst transit disasters dating from 1903
Photos: Link to the Flickr photo pool concerning the bomb blast.
Also Noted:
Circle V has assembled some energetic commentary on the latest developments on a number blogs, including Two Girls in DC. Anyway, some insiders say this is the merger of the century. The Florist is who many of you will remember is the Senator’s lovely lady friend. She has a flower shop in G-town that I recently voted for to be best in DC (hope she wins though I have never been to her shop). DCB predicts drama, which is understandable in these types of things. But, DC Girl, The Florist and Miss Penny Lane seem pretty chummy. However, a recent posting on CPMC alluded to the fact that Penny is ready to make this duo a trio. Either way, I think it sounds like a positive thing for our little blog community.
posted by kob @ 12:05 AM
5 Comments:
Since you asked, I thought I'd add my London bombing-related entry to the mix.
...
What I Know
I’ve been spending my summer days watching, transcribing, coding up and analyzing hours and hours of dialogue footage, people talking together about their experiences of 9/11. People struggling with shared grief and fear that they seem ashamed and awkward admitting, that they were surprised and relieved to find in others. They are people struggling together to make sense of the senseless.
And so I’ve been following the news of the London bombings, and in the midst of all the speculation of tactics and motive and culprits, here’s what I know from my own work…
I know it’s horrible.
It’s more horrible and painful than we acknowledge to ourselves and others.
The wounds it create, both personal and civic, run deeper and longer in our day-to-day lives than most suspect.
The wounds don’t get readily addressed, and fear festers.
I know there will be political posturing.
We’re not very sophisticated at discussing and thinking about blame and causes, and that bites us in the ass, and ultimately leaves people still hungry for justice and understanding.
People will turn to humor, or to cold analysis, or to speculation and strategizing, or to pretty much any angle other than directly talking about their fear, anger, and sorrow.
I know that people try and make sense and meaning of new tragedies through the lenses of their past tragedies.
The people of London are going to be facing not just this, but also the ghosts of past political violence.
Americans may search their memories of relevant trips and sites seen in London for context, but to make sense of this they’ll go back to their memories of 9/11. They’ll try and fit this with a story and set of meanings they’ve woven around that day, a story that itself is probably fractured, vague, and still raw.
DC residents will be having visceral memories of smoke pouring out of the Pentagon, fighter jets overhead, hushed voices and empty streets and shops on the ground. They’ll be remembering and comparing where they were when they first heard about these attacks and those on 9/11. They’ll be making a lot of the same calls to check in with family and loved ones, even if these attacks are across an ocean.
I know the expression “everything changed on 9/11″ gets overused. It’s often just sloppy thinking.
But I know that in at least one way it’s right. Americans now have a new lens they can’t help but view political violence and terrorism through. We’re going to be using 9/11 to make sense of this kind of attack from now on, and yet we haven’t made complete sense of 9/11 ourselves. We’re going to be reliving parts of 9/11, and despite being several years out, we still haven’t yet fully acknowledged or dealt with the emotions of going through it.
I know it’s horrible.
It makes sense to cry, to be afraid, to be angry, to be confused, and to try and avoid all of that.
I know it does help to talk, that there is sensemaking and healing that happens best in dialogue and community.
I know we get better and more resilient as individuals and community as a result.
And it’s still horrible, so very goddamned horrible and sad.
I enjoy your blog immensely.
Bush is already capitalizing on this tragedy, linking London, the Towers and the Pentagon to yes, you guessed it, Iraq in his weekly address. I hope the Brits don't fall into the same trap we did, which is to embrace any piece of idiocy -- be it a completely unrelated invasion of a foreign country to a reversal of fundamental civil rights -- in exchange for the illusion of safety.
yeah, I was surprised it took him that long.
Very cool design! Useful information. Go on! Comics adult 3d
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