Deirdra Harris Glover
Managing Editor
If you took a plane trip on Sept. 10, 2001, you would pack a weekend carry-on bag with cuticle snips and full-sized aerosol hairspray and shampoo. You’d wear your clunkiest lace-up shoes so you didn’t take up space in your luggage.
Check-in at the airport would be brief, even though it might be difficult to juggle both your lunch and ticket at the gate. You’d keep your jewelry, shoes and belt in place.
The cockpit on your plane might remain open to view for the entirety of the trip.
You’d fly to your destination without ever wondering if an air marshal was on your plane, without ever eyeing your fellow passengers with fear or suspicion.
The next morning, everything would change.
“Instant replay wholly obliterates the suspension of disbelief I often feel with television. Over and over, I watched planes crash into buildings I’ve only seen on television and postcards.
“The amazing thing about technology is that we can replay, relive these horrific moments again and again just like events that take place in a sports arena. A part of me kept trying—keeps trying—to believe that spectacular, grotesque things like this only happened in Bruce Willis movies.
I keep trying to imagine a day when we’ll feel safe again.”
—Deirdra Harris, LiveJournal, September 11, 2001
Most students at Jackson State don’t remember the events of September 11, although it has become a national tradition to mark the day with ceremony. Many states consider it a voluntary day of community service in honor of those we lost as well as those who rose in service. First responders and untrained men and women hauled people from collapsing buildings. Nearby fishing, industrial and pleasure boats evacuated fleeing citizens in what would be the largest civilian boat operation since World War II’s Battle of Dunkirk.
9/11 was one of the first national tragedies that unfolded in real time over the Internet. Survivors and nearby New Yorkers because citizen journalists, calling friends and media to relay events. Mainstream media struggled to separate fact from fiction in the onslaught of conflicting information from officials and bystanders. News-minded bloggers took to blogging networks and personal websites to reach out to community.
World leaders struggled with words to express their determination and horror, urging the global community to unite. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, “People of all faiths and all democratic political persuasions have a common cause: to identify this machinery of terror and to dismantle it as swiftly as possible. With our American friends and other allies around the world this is the task to which we now turn.”
Visit serve.gov for 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance-related opportunities to volunteer, and join the Jackson State University Office of Veteran and Military Student Support on Monday, September 12 at 9:30 a.m. for a pancake breakfast in tribute to veterans and first responders.
Editor’s Note: This is a commentary by Deirdra Harris Glover, a non-traditional student at JSU who like many others, witnessed the 9/11 terrorist attacks via news outlets and social media outlets. The views expressed in this commentary are those of the writer.
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