Grief and empathy

September 11, 2016 8:05 AM

"In the past several weeks I, like countless other New Yorkers and Americans, have found solace in the epic acts of heroism displayed by the firefighters, police officers, and rescue workers who have risked their lives to save "others. My aunt's neighbors displayed a quieter, more quotidian heroism in her final weeks, setting up a cooking schedule so that a fresh dinner would always be delivered, taking turns watching the kids, and even lending my uncle a new coffee pot when his broke." -- Chris Hayes, in an unpublished article from the fall of 2001.
posted by roomthreeseventeen (9 comments total)

That is a beautiful and thoughtful piece. Thank you for posting it.
posted by Silverstone at 8:43 AM on September 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

Since we're sharing tings that moved us. I've always enjoyed this beautiful work of art.

It's hard to believe that it was 15 years ago. A few people have told me that we're now living in a world where children who were not alive during the tragic events of 9/11 are learning about it in their schools in history books.
posted by Fizz at 8:52 AM on September 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

This is a good piece. The quote you excerpted makes a very good point about constructions of "heroism" and the incredible amount of emotional labor that sought to protect and heal, as well as paid/volunteer professionalized labor.
posted by Miko at 8:54 AM on September 11, 2016

This is so moving. Thanks for posting.
posted by gt2 at 10:39 AM on September 11, 2016

I am wrestling with nationalism right now. I feel that it can be a poisonous idea. He makes a good point about communities and the limitations of size.
posted by domo at 10:45 AM on September 11, 2016 [5 favorites]

Serving each other is an idea, I think, that goes beyond national boundaries. A good reminder.
posted by ComicsSleepRepeat at 11:36 AM on September 11, 2016

Fizz, it occurred to me that my 7th graders had missed 9/11 by several years and it struck me that they'll never know the world before.

Thanks for posting this article. It was a lovely piece. The word "unpublished" stuck out in the description - was it just published or just not published in an official "publication"?
posted by guster4lovers at 4:04 PM on September 11, 2016

Fizz: "It's hard to believe that it was 15 years ago. A few people have told me that we're now living in a world where children who were not alive during the tragic events of 9/11 are learning about it in their schools in history books."

We had known my wife was pregnant for about four days on 9/11. Ryan is 14 and just started high school. I'm 45 now. Sometimes I can't believe that this young man, with whom I've had long conversations about movies, books, computers, architecture, and minecraft mods, wasn't alive when this recent event happened. I tried talking to a coworker about this strange twist of time, but he told me 9/11 was a long time ago. Doing the math in my head, I realized he was only 10 at the time. For him, it was a long time ago.
posted by double block and bleed at 4:45 PM on September 11, 2016 [4 favorites]

A few people have told me that we're now living in a world where children who were not alive during the tragic events of 9/11 are learning about it in their schools in history books.

The stat I read yesterday is 20% of Americans today were not born yet on September 11 2001.
posted by C.A.S. at 12:11 AM on September 12, 2016