Originally Posted by Fredd (Post 21425103)

"PVD announcement: "Please join TSA this morning at 8:46 for a moment of silence at the TSA check point."

Just announced at PVD. We're waiting for our first flight on what will be a long day of flying for us.

I'm well aware it's September 11.

I have mixed feelings about the announcement.

IMHO it is being made with good intentions.

I will be interested to learn if this is a TSA-wide initiative and also the opinions of others.

Edited to add: To follow up, I returned to the check point while Mrs. Fredd made sure that our luggage was not left unattended.

There were no announcements, there weren't that many others who had shown up, and there was a brief bowing of heads before business resumed at the check point.

Originally Posted by InkUnderNails (Post 21425884)

I want to say this, and it may just be me. If it is that is fine.

I do not think that perpetual grief and its observance is good.

It recalls the pain and the anguish without any effort to move past the long ago moment. At some point we really do need to put the past behind us.

This is what keeps the TSA in business.

That said, if we want to commemorate the bravery exhibited on Flight 93 or by the first responders that without regard for their own safety ran up those stairwells to their death, then we should do so. But, let's not honor them with shows of grief or sadness, but let's honor them in ways that seek to lift our spirits and encourages us to emulate their bravery if and when the need arises.

Let us honor their courage more than mourn their loss.

For those with personal losses, it is entirely appropriate to remember the sadness of that day. It is not those to which I refer.

Originally Posted by coachrowsey (Post 21425581)

I'm all for a moment of silence, but I wouldn't join TSA for anything :td:

Originally Posted by N965VJ (Post 21426980)

Was a moment of silence called for by the government on December 7, 1953?

Originally Posted by mikeef (Post 21427111)

It's funny you mention that. My first thought when I saw this thread was to wonder how long people commemorated Pearl Harbor in such a public manner...

Originally Posted by Fredd (Post 21427137)

Dare I suggest my parents' generation was made of sterner stuff?

Originally Posted by mikeef (Post 21427167)

While the Marathon bombings in Boston didn't create nearly the devastation that 9/11 did, both cities reacted admirably. We mourned our loss and will no doubt remember them next year in Boston on Marathon Day, but we have moved on. We're not using those events to scare the crap out of citizens.

Originally Posted by saulblum (Post 21427255)

Really? Did you miss the State Police protection racket that forced at least one group to cancel its Hatch Shell event? And the checkpoints for the July 4 concert and for the classical concerts over the summer at the Hatch Shell?



And do you really think that marathon spectators will be allowed unfettered access to anywhere near the finish line or Boylston Street next April?

The city may have moved on and Boylston Street may be humming with activity once again, but the State Police and other authority figures have not let an opportunity go by to remind us of the dire threat we face daily.

Originally Posted by mikeef (Post 21427167)

I'll give us the benefit of the doubt. Back then, there simply weren't as many media outfits and ways of conveying information as there are now.

I guess another point is that the threat caused by Pearl Harbor was defeated. There was no bogeyman to keep around producing increases to a department's budget. We've still got the bad guys hiding behind every rock, waiting to get us.

It's worth noting that the cities in which terrorist attacks have taken place bounced back pretty quickly. While the Marathon bombings in Boston didn't create nearly the devastation that 9/11 did, both cities reacted admirably. We mourned our loss and will no doubt remember them next year in Boston on Marathon Day, but we have moved on. We're not using those events to scare the crap out of citizens.

Mike

Originally Posted by InkUnderNails (Post 21425884)

I want to say this, and it may just be me. If it is that is fine.

I do not think that perpetual grief and its observance is good.
...

Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much (Post 21426058)

This is what keeps the TSA in business.

Exactly... and I would add that we don't need the government's help -- especially the TSA's -- because their motivation for reminding us (constantly) is completely different than yours.

Originally Posted by N965VJ (Post 21426980)

Was a moment of silence called for by the government on December 7, 1953?

Originally Posted by Henry V, 25 October 1415, as channeled by Billy Shakespeare

This day is called the feast of Crispian:
...
He that shall live this day, and see old age, will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
...
This story shall the good man teach his son; and Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remember'd;