What we should have learned from 9/11
I think there's a lesson we should have learned from 9/11. Sadly I haven't heard anyone mention it anywhere.
https://billhulet.substack.com/p/practical-forgiveness-a-hot-take
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View original on lemmy.caI think there's a lesson we should have learned from 9/11. Sadly I haven't heard anyone mention it anywhere.
https://billhulet.substack.com/p/practical-forgiveness-a-hot-take
8 replies
What do you mean? Y'all seemed to forgive Saudi Arabia right quick for their attack.
Precisely.
The USA never attacked Saudi Arabia after 9/11. Instead, they attacked Iraq which seemed to have nothing at all to do with 9/11. So, I don't get your point.
Besides, the average citizen of Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Iraq didn't have anything to do with the attack either. Yet hundreds of thousands were killed. That's like being a hired hand or slave on a Norse farm and being killed or dragooned into killing someone else just because your chief got dissed by another chief. That's why we need to approach terrorism as a criminal justice issue instead of being a 'war' between different states.
That's my exact point. The USA seemed to immediately forgive Saudi Arabia for the attacks.
Ah yes the cycle, just as it was for:
• Taxation without Representation (revolutionary war)
• Impressment of ships (1812)
• Harpers Ferry (civil war)
• USS Maine (Spanish-American war)
• Lusitania (WW1)
• Pearl Harbor (WW2)
• Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnam)
• 9/11 (War on Terror)
I think we're well past the point of history rhyming at the point, aren't we?
There's a story that Joseph Goldstein (Buddhist meditation teacher) has told.
He was leading a retreat not long after 9/11. (If I recall correctly, it was within days after 9/11.) He was leading a group in "metta" (translated "loving kindness") meditation. It involves wishing good things ("may you be happy, well, safe, peaceful, and at ease") for yourself, then for a friend, then someone you don't have strong positive or negative feelings about, then an enemy/antagonist, then all of them together, then all sentient beings.
He said that retreat-goers objected that they couldn't possibly wish good things for people like those who hijacked the planes or for Osama Bin Laden himself. All they could have for those people in that moment was hatred. And they asked Joseph how he could possibly ask them to have any positive wishes for "the terrorists".
I mean, I don't know how many of you remember 9/11 or the years closely following. But to say the U.S. lost our collective minds is no exaggeration. And I would hope most here agree that that xenophobic fervor led only to terrible things. (Including Trump's presidential terms.)
Joseph's response was "at least I should think that you all should be able to wish for them to be free of hate".
In a way, it seems weird that it was 25 years ago. In another way, it's weird to think it was only 25 years ago.
Go home yankkkee then you won't get your ass smacked... Your own devils in your fake democracy let the towers get hit for isnotreal. 20 year war for nothing and now you are commiting a genocide for those never again types. The epstain class. Jews are people. Religion is nonsense. Israel is a mentaly ill fake ass country, Merikkka is a imperialist non democratic shithole and I have been right my whole life. In the heart of empire you will find cults. It is you merica that are the problem not me. I don't internalise the rot. There is no gawd and every new age this or that or any of these dusty belief systems will end up being the lubericant to throw us once again into a dark age. No religious person should be in a position of power. If you are religious I see you as a toddler or pdfile. Wolf or sheep! No gods No masters No idols No kings No queens No war but the class war. I want liberty mutha fuckers. Your tree of liberty needs refreshed ASAP... in the kinetic fashion. You are now all poor and you fail to realise it. 40 trillion dollars in debt with million dollar cardboard houses. Oh and 1.7 trillion in credit card debt. Idiots! You gotta be the most beta population in the world. Reationary dolts tricked by obvious bad actors all because you muthafuckers are lazy. High on the hog prayin to your gods... no more treats now kiss the feet and be the meat. The boomer pdfile rug pull. Justice will be served thank gawd all men die. What a waste of time this life. Forgive dez nuts for stinkin all over you! Gross ass libturd nonsense. The rapist just say move on! I am like don't you care who done it. The billionare counts his money. Sick sad world and thats the truth!
I mean you're not wrong but fuck... The way you're typing makes me queasy. Like machine vomit or something.