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Shut up!

September 11, 2008

On the seventh anniversary of 9/11, there’s lots of blabbering and bloviating about the the terrorist attacks. To most of it — if not all of it — I have a two-word response: shut up.

Although this isn’t a political blog, it is a travel blog. And 9/11 affected our transportation infrastructure first and foremost. So I feel somewhat qualified to comment.

Let’s start with a post from The Seminal, which noted that 9/11 has expanded to 9/11 week, which the blog describes as “political opportunism” that’s become “little more than Vegas-style spectacle, stripped of the majority of their meaning.”

To those of you turning 9/11 into a sequel to Shark Week, I say: shut up.

Then there’s the Transportation Security Administration, which is marking the occasion by changing the color of its screener — uh, sorry, Transportation Security Officer — uniforms.

The most striking change is the color of the shirt – from white to blue – and a gold metal badge will replace the embroidered patch. This will better align the officer’s uniform with the other security professional positions in the Department of Homeland Security.

The costume change will cost taxpayers $12 million.

Hey, TSA — shut up.

The Air Transport Association — the airline trade group tirelessly lobbying against the basic needs of its own customers — couldn’t help itself, either. Here’s what it had to say about today’s anniversary.

The Air Transport Association of America, its member airlines and their employees join all Americans today in remembering Sept. 11, 2001. We honor the memory of those lost and the service of those whose daily efforts advance the security of our nation.

Who cares what you think? No one believes a word you say, anyway.

Shut the hell up.

Perez Hilton apparently had nothing to say about 9/11 — but still got more than 100 comments on his non-comment.

Maybe they should just shut up, too.

Why should we keep a lid on it?

Because the only fitting way to remember Sept. 11, 2001, in my opinion, is to reflect and remember, quietly. And perhaps to ask ourselves questions that few people dare ask, for fear their patriotism will be questioned.

Excuse me. I’m going to take my own advice, and shut up.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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29 comments

  • Dave

    You state this isn’t a political blog; you order a bunch of other people trying to make political hay from the 9/11 disaster to shut up (good advice), fine so far.
    Then as your parting shot, you’re unable to resist the temptation to drop a steamer touting *your* pet political agenda by referring to some nutjob 9/11 conspiracy theory website. As a result, you blew whatever minimal credibility you have to tiny shreds.
    So yes, please take your own advice and shut the heck up.

  • http://www.theluggageblog.com Jenni

    I’m not going to make any actual 9/11 comments… because I agree that it’s a good day to reflect quietly.

    But I will say I hate the “9/11 card” and how anyone who brings it up is instantly considered very deep and patriotic. The TSA blog usually has a hundreds comments about how much they suck and today, just 2 that say “thanks.” It’s nice… the post was very well thought out and touching, but it’s not going to be any less demeaning when a TSO fondles me because he’s got a patch with an eagle and the twin towers on it.

  • Christopher Elliott

    @Dave — I’d hardly call the CBC a nutjob network. Maybe you need to take my advice, too.

  • Nathan

    This is the first time I’ve felt compelled to respond to this typically fine blog.

    To Chris: I take two messages from your blog post. One, is that generally people should keep their thoughts to themselves about 9/11. And second (arguably contradictory), a plug for a news story discussing 9/11 conspiracy theories.

    Then, as a defense to a negative comment, you point out that the source of the conspiracy theories is a widely recognized legitimate news source, the CBC. Okay, that’s classic fallacy of appealing to authority. Yes, you were attacked for promoting a “nutjob 9/11 conspiracy website”, which I would not quite agree with. I would have said “nutjob 9/11 conspiracy webpage from a typically reliable news source”. SImilarly, NBC News has a UFO “nutjob” news report at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24695796. That “report” is not anything more than garden variety UFO blabber – the fact that NBC is generally not a nutjob network notwithstanding. It is not exactly unusual for a news network to produce “reports” on material of very questionable reliabiity, or even motive. Sometimes they are reporting on popular but dubious theories (legitimate), other times they are crossing into a grey area of promoting such ideas (not so legitimate in my opinion).

    In any case, if you bring up 9/11 conspiracy theories in a public forum, you will get a response from the likes of me. I do not question your patriotism, only your judgement. The basis of my counterargument to the validity of such theories has been presented elsewhere, is easily accessible and need not be repeated, and is beside the main point anyway. That point being, telling me to shut up in this way will not work.

    Thank you for the opportunity to respond and you hard work on this blog, and I look forward to informative posts in the future.

  • Dan

    HAHA. I love that someone called the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Canada’s official national public radio and television broadcaster) “some nutjob 9/11 conspiracy theory website”. Dave, you are such a card.

  • Clifford Ruddick

    Christopher,

    Why so angry? I don’t think I’ll be tuning in for awhile.

    Cliff

  • Greg

    As one who was trapped near ground zero and still feels the trauma felt by many that day–some more, some less–in New York City, I cannot help agreeing with you.

    Sadly, human nature being what it is, I witnessed tourists gawking at the site and taking photos the day and night of the attacks and for months thereafter.

    The commercial media clearly appeals to what is most base in people–the old Lowest Common Denominator notion.

    Time for me to shut up and reflect, though watching Bush and especially that dick Cheney pretend they care is a bit hard to take…

  • Shane

    Chris,

    I check out your blog every day to see if you’ve posted something interesting about the travel industry. I can see outrage at wasting $12 million on a uniform change. In fact, I am outraged by this waste of money. But, you are way out of line here. I was stationed in Washington DC and was there on 9/11/2001. I had friends in the pentagon and although none of the dead were among them I had met some of those who died. To say that the thing 9/11 affected most was the travel industry infrastructure is so disrespectful I’m not sure where to begin. Those people who died and their families were the ones affected first and foremost.

    I agree that the TSA is a misguided waste of money that could be better spent elsewhere (or better yet reduce the national debt). Still, your reaction to a commemoration of the many who died, their families who suffered, and those valiant souls who helped so many that day is unbelievable. If you think the best thing to do is be quite then you should follow your advice. Such bile is better left in places like the sewers where it belongs.

  • Robert Smith

    Recall that the decision to make TSA a government agency was that of the congressional democrats. I have some direct experience with the way the federal government bureacracy works. You would not want your local quick oil change place to be operated by the federal government.

  • Passing Through
  • Jennifer

    To Shane, I don’t believe Chris was telling the families of the victims to shut up. It is the constant usage of the “9/11 card” for political purposes that offends. The TSA offends. The wholesale destruction of our civil rights in favor of fear-mongering offends. And it should offend the families of those who died.

    Most people don’t know anyone who died that day but we all feel the effects from it. First, because we are fighting these wars at untold human and financial cost and second, when we travel. It is the reality that in our daily lives we feel the effects in our travel most. To the families, it is the loss of their family members they feel most. It is all based on perspective.

  • Eric Rosenberg

    You know what I’d like to see on 9/11? I’d like to see people asking politicians why the government spends hundreds of billions of dollars fighting something that took the lives of 2,973 people on 9/11/2001, and yet spends very little fighting things that take the lives of tens of thousands of people every year, such as heart disease, influenza, HIV/AIDS, smoking, and alcohol abuse!

    Heck, we lost 1,836 people to Hurricane Katrina – just over half the number of souls who died on 9/11 – but the Bush Administration barely noticed…until another New Orleans hurricane threatened their precious convention three years later.

    Yes, we need to secure the nation and keep people safe from rogue elements, evil people, and boogey-men. But should that take precedence over diseases and behaviors that consistently and predictably kill so many more people?

    Every time you get in your car, you’re significantly more likely to die than you are from a terrorist attack. There just aren’t enough organized terrorists to have any material affect on America! Even if every single terrorist got together one day and tried to invade the United States, it would last all of a few hours and we’d suffer a mere fraction of the casualties we’d suffered in other wars.

    Granted, a dirty or nuclear bomb would be much more catastrophic, but only Russia, China, and India have the capability to physically destroy our entire nation. Emotionally, such an attack would be hard on the psyche, but life would go on – just as it did after 9/11.

    Oh, and to return to the theme of this blog, I believe I read somewhere that you have less chance of dying on an airplane than from a terrorist attack. Of course, why anyone would subject themselves to such a horrible experience these days is beyond me! (America doesn’t torture…airlines do!)

  • Mikek

    Not one of your better posts. That’s OK everybody can get a mulligan every now and then. Looking forward to tomorrow. :-) Cheers.

  • Christopher Elliott

    I’m breaking my silence to say that I’m pleased to see a lively and generally well-reasoned discussion on this blog.

    I wouldn’t read between the lines on my post too much, though.

    But to clarify. Do I think the survivors have a right to grieve and commemorate this event publicly? Of course. Should our politicians be allowed to turn this into a circus? No way. Should the TSA and Air Transport Association exploit it? Absolutely not.

    To those of you who didn’t like this blog post, let me urge you to start your own blog — and don’t forget to enable the comments.

    Good luck. I promise to visit and let you know what I think of your posts.

  • http://candidengineer.blogspot.com Candid Engineer

    Chris, I agree with you whole-heartedly. I suppose it’s not a typical post for your blog (and thus the comment responses), but it’s not a typical day, either.

  • http://www.tedsimages.com Ted

    I’ll agree that this politically-charged occasion is an appropriate time to ask some questions. And I mean the sort of questions that would most likely provoke Bush administration officials to first impugn the patriotism of the questioner and then solemnly remind all of us that we’re At War.

    But those questions have nothing to do with conspiracy theories. Rather, they’re the questions that Congress should have had the courage to ask rather than let the sanctimonious John Ashcroft bully them into passing the so-called Patriot Act and authorizing the TSA and the rest of the Homeland Security bureaucracy. A few examples:

    Are we getting sufficient benefit to justify the cost of the TSA (including its new uniforms), measured both in taxpayer dollars and in inconvenience (along with loss of privacy and dignity) to millions of travelers?

    Have the policies and actions in response to 9/11 made the Homeland safer, stronger, or more secure?

    Has the Executive’s enhanced authority to bypass normal legal and constitutional constraints (e.g., warrantless wiretapping, “enhanced interrogation methods,” indefinite detention of terrorist suspects) given us enhanced safety and security commensurate with its costs in dollars and civil liberties?

    If the administration has made progress toward winning the War On Terror, why has the Official Terror Alert color code has not dropped below “Yellow” since the day it was created?

    That’s getting away from travel, to be sure. But changes to the way we travel are perhaps the most visible sign that “we’re At War.” As we patiently remove our shoes and let the fine Transportation Security Officers in their wonderful new uniforms confiscate our unlabeled shampoo bottles (which isn’t an official rule, but some of them do it anyway), it may be time to start asking whether the hassles we accept in the name of “the War On Terror” are actually doing us any good. Even in a time of War, our Leaders still need to be accountable to the people they protect and serve.

  • Chris

    Chris,

    I’ve never loved one of your pieces more. I connected with you at every level here and while I’m sure you appreciate all the comments people left, I must say that to me, if there were any problem with this piece whatsoever, it would be with the people who were not astute enough to understand what you were saying. That, to me, seemed to be the only issue.

    And it is no surprise really that it seemed to be more of the same we’re seeing every day from ignorant people on both sides of the fence, who want to run off at the mouth without taking the time to investigate the issues, ask questions, seek answers or at the very least (gasp! god forbid!) read something thoroughly before they pollute the atmosphere with their skewed, misinformed (and unwanted) opinions.

    But as for what you said here, I say: well done. We don’t need any more mealy mouth, pansy-pants, politically correct garbage clogging the tubes. That’s all main stream media shoves down our throats, day in and day out. Your voice is certainly a welcome refreshment and an utter necessity at this point, cutting through the crap and saying what needs to be said, be it in season, or out of season.

    The world needs more voices like yours right now.

  • Carver Farrow

    I appreciate this blog immensely. However, from a logical viewpoint, Nathan comments about the logical fallacy of appealing to authority is spot on and comports with the most basic tenents of logical debate. The fact that the CBC chooses to wade into these waters has no bearing on whether these theories are crackpot of not.

    I also agree that the tables have turned on this patriotism attack. Initially, some misguided folks questioned the patriotism of those who didn’t wrap themselves in the flag. However, today, the opposite is true. If you suggest, as I proudly do, that the 911 conspirary theories are the silliest thing I’ve seen heard since Bigfoot, you are accused of attacking one’s patriotism. To the contrary, the attack is on one’s judgment and good sense, or lack thereof. Fortunately, former-President Bill Clinton says it best,

    “Are you one of those it-was-an-inside-job guys? Let me tell you something…I let you be rude and interrupt me, scream at the top of your lungs. 9/11 was not an inside job; it was an Osama bin Laden job with 19 people from Saudi Arabia,” Clinton continued. “They murdered 3000 Americans and others foreigners, including over 200 other Muslims. And we look like idiots, folks, denying that the people who murdered our fellow citizens did it when they are continuing to murder all around the world. So we heard from you: you go away.”

    Or perhaps he should have said, just shut up?

  • Jasper

    I was in DC on 9/11, my 8th day in the US. Standing in traffic on Key bridge, I saw the smoke from the Pentagon before the reporter *in* the Pentagon know it was hit – That means that the plane flew over my head as inbound traffic for DCA has to fly over the river.

    I don’t have much with the conspiracy theories, but I do agree with Chris’ general idea.

    Why can’t we have reasonable debates about security and how much of our liberties we want to exchange for more security? Why can’t we ask questions about the nonsensical regulations of the TSA? Why do I have to throw away my airport bought bottle of soda away after going through immigration, and before my connecting flight? Why doesn’t the TSA show data on how much safer we are?

    Why can’t we just mourn that horrible day – without politics? Why do senators who have not shown themselves are commemorations in the last 6 years, suddenly show up all over the place, while having the sickening audacity of saying that they are not campaigning? Why does no single journalist ask them about that? BTW, as a foreigner, is there really no place for other flags than the stars and stripes? What about the people from the other 90+ countries that got caught in the middle? Where are their flags? Why are they ignored?

    Why does the media keep repeating the most horrific images of 9/11? Why do people keep watching them? Why doesn’t anybody tell them it is quite morbid to repeat the images of dying people? Why don’t the media figure this out themselves? There is plenty of other footage.

    Somebody brought up that a lot of people died in Katrina and that the federal response was minimal. Has anybody noticed that as of couple of months ago, more US soldiers had died in Iraq than at all the three 9/11 sites combined? Why has there been no debate whether it actually makes sense to send more soldiers to death than were killed in the first place?

    Let me finish by saying that I don’t really care about the answers on the questions that I ask above. I just wonder why these questions haven’t been asked, and debated. Some have logical answers, others don’t, some answers go left, some right – whatever.

    It’s the debate I am missing though.

    BTW, the Pentagon is in Arlington, Virginia, NOT Washington, DC
    [And for the ubernerds, yes, the Pentagon *address* (and zip code) says Washington, DC, but that's only so they can use the USPS division in DC that handles all Federal Mail, including the necessary safety precautions]

  • Jonathan

    I appreciate your need for silent remembrance. However, let us not become so silent, that others, just being born, will never know the truth.

  • Meredith P

    I was working in the travel industry on 9/11/2001 as a hotel reservation sales associate. Right before the planes hit, the phones on my row had grown eerily silent all save for one agent. Then all hell broke loose.

    I live one hour south of Boston where those planes came from. Some ijit decided to get his girlfriend out of work that day by calling in a bomb threat. Two months later we laid off an entire call center… A rather large call center. We feared we had lost someone we knew in Ground Zero (Thankfully no). My daughter barely understood what was going on. How do you explain to a 6 yr old what happened other than as gently as possible?

    TO all those that want to politicize this tragedy, here’s a big cup of STFU… Shut the f*** up.

    Bravo Chris…

  • AlisonL

    Can anyone seriously believe that our inept government is capable of pulling off the elaborate and sophisticated operation presented in the Loose Change youTube mentioned above?

  • Joe Farrell

    We shoulda just nuked the bastards 7 years ago and been done with it,

    The clean-up would have cost us less than the wars have.

    I too am tired of 9/11 ‘Remembrance.’ The biggest single remembrance is if they could get the stupid replacement building up in NY. They’ve spend more time and effort arguing over it than it took to design and build the original WTC.

  • Joshua Katt

    @Eric Rosenberg, well said.

    And Chris E, you are absolutely right. We are just a few years from 9/11 Sell-A-Brations especially if it ever becomes a National Holiday. The commerical media machine that is America will exploit anything.

  • http://www.hodgespart.com Caroline Platt

    Chris, this is a very late comment but I just got the email and linked over immediately to this headline. I couldn’t agree more with your overriding sentiment. There’s just no productive way to talk about any of this publicly (exemplified by the ensuing commentary here and everywhere) so let’s just all shut up already and reflect on where we were that day, those moments….
    Thanks.

  • EdF

    I agree completely, Chris. As an American living and working abroad, I don’t need to be reminded of 9/11. I remember. And it can’t be the excuse for every liberty-reducing scheme that someone wants to think up.

    I was on a bus on the day the London tube went bang. And that was a 50/50 chance, otherwise I would have been on one of the lines that was involved. I remember.

    9/11 was brutal, callous, tragic. We all know that. There is no need to wallow in it. It is not a badge that every American needs to flaunt, gold or embroidered.

    Thanks, Chris.

  • Skip

    Eric Rosenburg, this is not the Pain Olympics. You cannot compare suffering that has been with humans as long as there have been humans with a single act of terrorism. Besides, it’s simply untrue that “very little is spent” on diseases and world hunger.

    The images rebroadcast every year, probably for the rest of our lives, are to help us remember. We cannot grow complacent in our creature comforts and forget that terrible day. Also, there are those who were not born in 2001 who will need to know about what happened, and those photos/videos/etc are there to remind and educate us.

    As for the politicians, I won’t tell them to shut up. I won’t infringe on their (or anyone’s) freedom of speech. They have the right to talk about it, but they don’t have the right to force me to listen. Why not just turn the channel (or better yet, turn off the radio/television) or put down the newspaper and do some community volunteering if you feel that strongly about it?

  • peggy newlands

    i served in the US Army for eight years. had our appointed president spent any real time in the military, he might not have been so eager to send our soldiers to a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.

    i was unlucky enough to live in texas while shrub was governor, and his father president. then i moved to florida where jeb bush was governor when dubya needed a little help to steal the election.

    none of that compares to his despicable actions against our soldiers. if he cares so much about those in the military, how come so many of them qualify for food stamps?

    trust me i could go on forever. he and cheney should be impeached and prosecuted for war crimes.

  • Duke Nukem

    Welcome to the US of SOVIET America, komrades!!!

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