Never 'Never Forget'

I took this picture from the Brooklyn Promenade on September 11, 2003. The Promenade is about 3 blocks from my old Brooklyn apartment where I lived from 2003-2016.
It was the two year anniversary of the attacks of 2001. I was living in New York at the time, but I happened to be visiting my family in Northern Virginia that day. My mom called me from work to tell me there was a plane accident in New York, and I turned on the TV just in time to watch the second plane hit.

First of all, if you are one of the conspiracy nuts who think it was all a government ruse, FUCK OFF. I saw it happen live on air, and the Pentagon was just a couple dozen miles from my house. My mom’s company was at the Pentagon that day donating materials. I drove back to New York on September 12 and saw the hole in the ground. It was still on fire. I have no time for your crazy. Go back to talking about chem-trails or some other bat-shit ideas.

That being said…

I also don’t fall into the “never forget” camp. Saying you will never forget is condemning yourself to a lifetime of anger, despair, and a thirst for revenge. That is neither helpful or healthy.

It’s about 10pm on the sixteenth anniversary. I just was reminded that today was the day when I checked Facebook and saw all the useless temporary profile pictures. I took Facebook off my phone a while ago and have been much happier since, but I do sometimes feel like I’m a little behind on the memes.

Respect the day. Remember the people who died that day. Revere the first responders who were running up the stairs of a building that was coming down. But don’t “never forget”. It’s OK to forget now and again.