tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post6881766135591910757..comments2024-03-29T02:41:52.718-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: 9/11; Did Your School Take Notice?Melissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-23796014923028036872007-09-12T07:24:00.000-07:002007-09-12T07:24:00.000-07:00To clarify, by air strike, they thought there woul...To clarify, by air strike, they thought there would be bombing next, and that other cities would be attacked.WenGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11906079716347634098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-24494064468660865102007-09-12T07:22:00.000-07:002007-09-12T07:22:00.000-07:00No, nothing was discussed. As it turned out, I did...No, nothing was discussed. <BR/><BR/>As it turned out, I did the same things yesterday that I did on Sept 11, 2001: I went to the Bellevue library, then to a violin lesson. <BR/><BR/>Two close friends of mine lived in Manhattan. In those first hours, they thought an air strike was coming. They lost friends in those buildings. To this day, they won’t talk much about it.<BR/><BR/>In 2001, I wore silk scarves quite a bit. My daughters dyed them for me and enjoyed seeing me wear them. Late that morning, as I got ready to drive to the library, it occurred to me that it might be a bad idea to wear a scarf in public, that some reactionary would mistake me for a Moslem woman. That feeling has never left me. <BR/><BR/>When I got to the library, I saw a woman get out of her van wearing a habib. I remember shadowing her for a few minutes, worried that someone would say something inflammatory to her. Nobody did.<BR/><BR/>Now that my kids are old enough to discuss news and politics, we remember the failures of our leadership as much as the day itself. I've brought two things forward to our discussions in order to dispel some popular myths: the towers weren't taken down by controlled demolition, and based on the facts at hand, the attack had nothing to do with Saddam Hussein, something our president still can't get straight. Out of this, we discuss the fact that people can always disagree, but facts are facts, and they are frequently manipulated. Critical Thinking 101.<BR/><BR/>For us, 9/11 is about death and misinformation and missed chances, and a president who stood on a pile that included human remains while politicking with a bullhorn. <BR/><BR/>My daughter had her first violin lesson yesterday; exactly what her older sister did in 2001.WenGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11906079716347634098noreply@blogger.com