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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > 9/11 not worth remembering as victims set to suffer even more ---Nothing good came out of horrible catastrophe

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

9/11 not worth remembering as victims set to suffer even more ---Nothing good came out of horrible catastrophe

Posted on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 04:56 PM

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I dread the upcoming September 11th tenth year anniversary.

I am not alone. I know several families of those killed on that day that feel the same way.

I wrote a book in 2002 about the families of Irish American cops, firemen and ordinary working folk who died that day entitled ‘Fire in the Morning’.

They impressed me back then with their incredible courage and fortitude in the face of losing loved ones.

They impress me now with their determination to move on and not let that horrific day dominate their lives.

Sure, we will have all the usual pomp and ceremony from the politicians and lots of remberances of that awful day.

But why should we remember it? Nothing good ever came of it. Do the Poles remember the day the Nazis took over?

We had Iraq and Afghanistan and missing WMD’s and an aftermath of death, destruction and billions of dollars spent that stretches right to this day.

The families I have spoken with feel as I do we are just going over old ground.

The dead should be left in peace, their sacrifice never forgotten. The living must be allowed to get on with their lives.

I have stayed close enough to some of the families to know how difficult and how awful September 11th every year is for them anyway.

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9/11 Memorial, the World Trade Attacks by numbers

Memories of New York on 9/11 - 'Ground Zero 360C°' exhibition - VIDEO

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The tenth anniversary promises to be the worst of all.

Every square inch of newspapers, every television screen will be dominated by the coverage.

Imagine if the death of your loved one was played endlessly on television on one day every year.

ABC news is trumpeting they have new footage of the first plane crashing into the towers.

How does that make the families of the victims who died horribly there feel?

We will have all the professional 9/11 hucksters back on our screen telling us what it all meant. We know what it meant—the worst day in America since Pearl Harbor.

We know that hundreds of thousands including thousands of Americans have died since in the aftermath of that awful day.

I say lets commemorate the day Bin Laden got wiped out instead.

Now that’s day to remember for anyone who wants peace in this world.

Listen to Niall O'Dowd speak on RTE's "Morning Ireland" radio show about Michele Bachman's views of Ireland

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49 comments

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ciarrai | Sep 10, 2011, 01:07 PM EDT

I agree with the sentence "nothing good came out of the horrible catastrophe." I hope we are better able, however, to deal with this sort of attack. If you listen on the New York Times website to the audio of the various military and civilian entities talking at the time of the hijackings and crashes you will be amazed at the confusion of the immediate response to the whole thing. Finally, forget 9-11? No, but let's realize that we got beat up bad that day and learn to deal with it better. BTW, how come I still have to take my shoes off at JFK and not Shannon?

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bob40wil | Sep 09, 2011, 12:25 PM EDT

Forget 9/11, never.

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peterson | Sep 05, 2011, 02:02 PM EDT

New York Mayor Berg, as seen fit to not allow a prayer to be said at the 911 Memorial Service as it may offend someone. This is the guy is in favor of the Muslims building a mosque at that location !! Some Guy, Huh ??

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FallsRNat | Sep 01, 2011, 03:54 PM EDT

The legacy of this atrocity is that the US finally woke up to the dangers of the provos & every other terrorist organisation that lives on this planet living on some outdated, fantasist version of why their rights through violence should outweigh the democratic principles of the free people to decide their own future

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citizen69 | Sep 01, 2011, 02:36 PM EDT

I agree with the article. The legacy of this terrible atrocity is the even more atrocious pointless deaths of over a million people. The vast majority of them bore no guilt for 9/11.

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YOUKAY2007 | Sep 01, 2011, 10:43 AM EDT

We must never be afraid to stand up for the TRUTH. Always remind people of the TRUTH. 'Not worth remembering as victims suffer..' is inaccurate. Everyone remembers their dead anniversies. Is not this the same. Let us not make excuses to hide and wrongly influence. Thank you.

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antoman | Aug 31, 2011, 04:34 PM EDT

10 to 15 yrs? Every year a single bagpiper should stand on the site of 9/11 and play Amazing Grace., and at the chorus 100 bagpipers kick in behind him or her. All amplified by speakers for the crowds assembled.

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jamieLM | Aug 31, 2011, 10:34 AM EDT

@antoman, as an American, I appreciate your kind thoughts. I often think about what happened on 9/ll and pray for those who survived and are still suffering. Like Pearl Harbor, 9/ll will be officially commemorated by the U.S. on a similar schedule, every 10 to 15 yrs. or so.

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antoman | Aug 31, 2011, 05:34 AM EDT

If Americans are contemplating forgetting the victims and hero's of 9/11 then us Irish must endeavour to make them remember and honour the fallen. I for one will never forget and my heart goes out to the families of all those who lost their lives so tragically on that dreadful day.

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maloney | Aug 30, 2011, 07:20 PM EDT

I understand your intent but I for one will never forget nor should the nation. It's a shame the govt. took this horrible attack as a means to take away more American freedoms and rights.

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cathy/marty | Aug 30, 2011, 10:44 AM EDT

GEE NIALL I GUESS MY ARTICAL STRUCK A LIBERAL NERVE. WE CAN'T INSULT THE POLITICANS. FROM A RETIRED NEW CITY FIREFIGHTER. WHO WILL CONTINUE TO MOURN THE VICTIMS. MAY THEY REST IN PEACE.

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cathy/marty | Aug 30, 2011, 10:32 AM EDT

As a Retired NEW YORK CITY FIREFIGHTER, I will always mourn the people who died that day.But what is happening now we can THANK the politications.Uniform personal are for bidded from attending that service. No PRAYING ALLOWED. What is this country coming to.Bloomberg is kissing the Muslims ass. And screw the AMERICAN people.

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GeorgeDillon | Aug 28, 2011, 03:24 PM EDT

Good article, O'Dowd. I'm with you. Even as I mourned 9/11 in the days after it, I remember saying to a friend: How many more are going to die in retaliation for this? And wasn't I right? You've hit the nail on the head, there's nothing to commemorate except sadness and misery and pain. Let this anniversary be the last for public commemoration, the relatives will of course always remember their loved ones but the rest of us need to move on.

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penneysue61 | Aug 28, 2011, 02:46 PM EDT

We need to remember what happened on 9/11 and the future generations being born also need to be shown what happened. We have become complacent. I am all for the videos of the planes going into the twin towers being shown so that we never forget what happened!

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peterson | Aug 28, 2011, 02:14 PM EDT

There cannot be enough PUBLIC PRAYER - ever. It is about time for us who are Christians, to pray for our countries and each other.

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