A Quick Comment on 9/11

I've been in transit this weekend and have mostly been off the internet. I haven't seen any television. I have only read a few things in the newspaper, courtesy of my BlackBerry data plan (thanks Fido!). But I'm sure discussion and coverage of the tenth anniversary of 9/11 has been all over the place. 

There are only two things I want to add to the discourse:

- As I made clear on Facebook today, while I consider the loss of life a personal tragedy for those directly in relationship with the victims on that day, I also think the deterioration of our democratic rights and freedoms under the guise of security is an unprecedented pillaging of our heritage that we may never fully reverse. This long-lasting byproduct of the "war on terror" shall haunt us for a very long time until and unless we get very serious about reversing its ill effects. The fact the Harper government wants to bring back many of the old provisions of anti-terror legislation (with the support of the original Liberal architects of the provisions), and we have no way to effectively stop it, means we have a very far way to go to learn the lessons 9/11 should have taught us as a nation.

- Margaret Wente's ridiculous assertion that "[d]espite many warnings and much alarm, a backlash against Muslims in North America never materialized" has to be one of the most offensive things I have seen written anywhere about the aftermath of 9/11. I could go on a rant to make Rick Mercer proud right here, but suffice it to say that the quality of life Muslims experienced on September 10, 2001 is quite different from what it is today. For any person with the privilege, access to information and (purported) intelligence she has to write this tripe amounts to the worst kind of anti-Muslim revisionism -- a literary misadventure that treats the assaults, desecrations, racism, slander, wiretaps, unjust arrests, increased survelliance and decreased personal security Muslims confront daily as a figment of their overactive imaginations. The Islamaphobia that has become one of the most challenging social issues any citizens of any description face in contemporary Canada is as obvious as the growing length of Wente's nose anytime she writes about any topic involving "the other" in this country.

It's been ten years now. The time for overblown memorial ceremonies is over. Let the families continue to grieve in dignified privacy, and let's get on with the task of making our democracy safe for everyone who lives within our borders. That is the true debt we owe to 9/11's dead.