2005 | JulyTwelfth
I did find it a tad ironical that I was reading Robert Baer’s See No Evil when this happened.
If it weren’t for MSN being my startup page, I’d probably not have heard of this before I hiked on over to Jen’s blog. When September 11 happened, I was in 5th grade - we watched the news in class and my dad had the new on in the morning, but I didn’t think I fully comprehended it until much later, mostly because it was on the other side of the continent.
Actually, I’m posting this rather late. I started this draft earlier (like after reading the article) but didn’t have the heart to finish it.
But after some time to settle, I have to say that I didn’t really comprehend the attacks on London, either - a few years older now that I am. Especially since it was further away now. In another country, another continent, past an entire stretch of ocean. And I don’t think I will ever really comprehend things kind of things - at least not until I’ve experienced a version of it myself (which hopefully, I will never).
And I’ve thought about it a bit - my generation. What have we really experience? I know that my parents experienced the hardships of poverty and communism in China as they lived through a large part of those times. My grandparents even further back, what with WW II and everything. I’ve never lived through a war - not one that would affect me to where I was forced to properly turn my head toward it at any rate.
My relatives are all in China - I doubt terrorists (from the Middle East, at least) will attack in the next few years. And even there, they would attack the larger cities, and probably not the ones where my family resides.
I believe it was one of my teachers that told me that news is usually that - bad. There’s only a minuscule fraction of a chance that anything that would be news-worthy tragedy would affect you - happen to you. I admit, I was relieved that what happened in London happened in London, and not anywhere near me. Not that I am a heartless freak. But it’s human nature to be relieved about such things. And I thought that since the news has been plastered all over the place, that I’d think about how it did - in its little ways - affect me as a person. It’s caused me to analyze myself a bit more…
I can’t really imagine - can’t quite comprehend - what I would do, or feel if it happened in the US. In China. Or someone I knew had been injured in such an attack. If they died. Hopefully I never will. But those people that did get affected. Those who experienced the pain, the death - those now haunted by the images that they saw. Those people…
