NOTE: This is not a joke piece. Sorry. But I have to post this letter somewhere. BACK STORY: This morning, I read an open letter on McSweeney’s that reflects on 9/11. It unsettled me deeply. It was written by a Californian who supposedly felt nothing that day. You can read the original piece here:

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-open-letter-to-new-yorkers-on-the-10th-anniversary-of-911

I couldn’t sit idly by and let such flawed logic go unchecked. As such, I penned the following letter and sent it directly to the head editor of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. If this costs me future pieces, so be it.

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Dear McSweeney’s,

As you know, I am an enormous fan and supporter of all things McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. The website has personally inspired me to write more, create with purpose, and contemplate a variety of topics in abstract ways. I love writing for the website. I love reading the website. 

However, when I read “An Open Letter To New Yorkers On The 10th Anniversary Of 9/11” my stomach sank. “How could they?” I honestly wondered. “How could they possibly post THIS article in light of such a delicate event?” I scratched my head. I talked to friends about it. And, finally, I figured I may as well write to you personally to express my displeasure.

Of all the articles to post on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, why one with such an obtuse, narrow-minded narrative? Full disclosure: I was born and raised in Boston, MA. Obviously, my feelings on the subject are much closer both geographically and personally. Planes left from Boston. At 9 AM, I was frantically running around trying to find a single phone that worked so I could make sure my father wasn’t flying that morning. I had family living in New York when those tragic events began to unfold at 8:46 AM. Perhaps I am too close to it. But, I don’t believe that’s where my anger lies.

I find it reprehensible for this author, and by association your website, to endorse the preposterous assertions that Californians (or, even more broadly, those outside the East Coast) felt nothing that day. His whole story hinges on the following flawed logic: “Those who were young and in high school at the time, I assume, must have felt a sort of detachment from the events. Most had no clue what had actually happened or why, and don’t for a second entertain the thought that our schools properly educated us about the complexities of the issue.”
 
I am the same age as Brian Calavan. I was a junior in High School when the attacks occurred. I have spoken at great lengths with others from my generation who were raised in a variety of states across our nation: Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Montana, California, Arizona, Maine, Texas. Not a single person I have run into in my life has said, “I didn’t feel anything that day.” The one word that kept springing to mind as I continued to read Mr. Calavan’s story was sociopath, which is defined as “someone who lacks moral responsibility and moral conscious”. Understandably Brian states that he experienced the events differently than most simply by living 3,500 miles away from Ground Zero. Everything occurred at 5:46 AM. But as the sun began to rise over the West Coast and news spread, I have an awfully hard time believing that more than 0.0000000000000001% of Americans saw the footage and said, “A couple of buildings on fire: I’d seen that before.”

Callous. Cold. Detached. Mr. Calavan goes on to state “…I had to drive my brother and myself to school 15 miles away and didn’t want to be late. On our way out, we heard Mom gasp, ‘Oh my god, oh my god, it’s falling apart!’ I slammed the door behind me.” 

To endorse this article with the highly-regarded McSweeney’s stamp of approval is to endorse the very dangerous myth and stigma that doggedly chases my generation: that we don’t care. That we are too self-involved and narcissistic to recognize the world around us. That we are too uneducated to feel worldly compassion. Beyond all, it paints an awful picture of the American spirit. The world I vividly remember that morning was covered in ash. We were all stunned. But, simultaneously, we all came together. Despite our racial, political, religious differences, we finally realized through the prism of chaos how similar we all were and are as human beings. We hugged one another. We cried together. We, as a nation, bled together.

The fact that Mr. Calavan feels compelled to watch YouTube clips of bodies falling from the sky as a means to comprehend the atrocity of 9/11 proves how ignorant he is regarding the subject. Calavan writes, “I try to find the best, the clearest, the most horrifying videos. I have seen so many people fall from towers. I have felt things, I think, but still have no answers.” Sorry, but you don’t have to watch death to feel empathy or sympathy. It is a psychopathic tendency to seek footage of violence to test ones innate ability to feel. 

When Mr. Calavan discusses his outrage at a New York performance troupe expressing the chaos of 9/11 through interpretive dance, Mr. Calavan mentions that he wanted to jump up and yell “How dare you?!” However, he “didn’t want people to yell at [him] for opening up old wounds that [he] had no business touching.” I couldn’t agree more. He spent 900 words essentially proving that point. He has no business judging New Yorkers for coping with horror by creating beauty. They took pain and filtered it through art.

I am aware and a firm-believer that every single person is entitled to his or her own opinion. In many ways, I understand why you posted the piece: Mr. Calavan’s essay truly showcases the unheard side of 9/11. But that doesn’t make my initial question any less relevant: Why THIS article at this time? Why discuss the darkness of apathy when there is so much light in the world? Why highlight the obtuse, when the reality is so tangible to the masses? Why not take pain and create art?  Why not, on the eve of tragedy, reflect on human compassion and human commonalities?  Because we need that story now more than ever. We find ourselves accepting the grandest lie of all: that our nation of citizens are inherently different. That we, as a nation, are dividing farther and farther apart over politics and finances. That we are simply red states and blue states. Because I don’t believe that blanketed logic. And on the eve of 9/11, deep down I have to hope that the majority of rational Americans don’t believe that fiction either. So on this 10th anniversary, I will not succumb to the media spectacle . Quite the opposite. I will simply pick up a phone. I will call my family and friends and remind them how much I love them all. I will thank veterans, firefighters, first responders, and police officers. And I will remind anyone within hearing distance how lucky we are to be alive.

Reeling,

Christian Lynch

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WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE AN IMPORTANT POSTSCRIPT: I discussed this whole issue at great length with a cousin of mine who lived in NYC during the attacks (in fact, he still lives in Brooklyn.) He watched the tragic event unfold firsthand from his 12th story NYU dorm room in Manhattan. While he doesn’t fully understand or sympathize with Calavan’s original argument (i.e. his interpretation of the dance performance/watching YouTube clips of “jumpers”), he doesn’t entirely agree with me either. And after analyzing the situation with my wise cousin, I believe he nailed the problem down. Quite frankly, “it took courage for Calavan to admit his initial lack of feeling and subsequent struggle to come to terms with the horror. It could have been a great piece.” However, the essay takes a turn when the author begins to half-step. “It wasn’t a full confession because he hid behind bullshit excuses and then claimed everyone else was like him, which I guess means he’s still struggling with it all. But then he continues to be unaware of the fact that he’s still making these excuses. It’s got merit, but it certainly isn’t as good as it could have been” had Calavan been more honest with himself. Wise words. I agree that this could have been a terrific piece had the author confronted his own BS a bit more openly. You didn’t have to be in NYC to realize that this was more than just another building burning. I believe Calavan’s essay to partially be the work of revisionist personal history. And that’s okay. We’re all dealing with this on our own terms. But I admit that it took courage for Calavan to write a piece with an unpopular opinion. However, my original problem remains: McSweeney’s only posted ONE article regarding 9/11 on the 10th anniversary of the attacks, and I still don’t believe that Calavan’s piece is the most clever or appropriate take on that issue. There are plenty of other stories regarding the horror that haven’t been heard and would have been far more enlightening than a sociopath’s admission of feeling nothing. Who knows? That’s just my takeaway. But I really thought my cousin raised an interesting point and figured I would share the analysis.