9/11 conspiracy theorists make me very cross, and other bits ...

[blamebrampton]

Am still improving on the flu front, damn post-viral cough still sticking around, but I am definitely winning the battle! However, so snowed under with catching up on work that I've been hopeless on LJ and will continue to be spotty for a bit. I have about 42 tabs open of things I must read, about a third of them from wemyss and 17catherines ... Sunday looks hopeful as a reading day!

It being the week before September 11 and the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the US, there have been a lot of stories in the news. Most of these are, as they can only be, heartbreaking, and the sort of thing that makes you want to reach out to the nearest stranger and just do something in the name of human sympathy.

And yet in the comments threads below (for I have turned into one of those people who Takes Their Papers Online), there are a staggering number of people declaring that the whole thing was a government plot and the attacks were all staged.

Which I find infuriating. I can only imagine what it must be like for the average sensible American. But I have a proposed solution.

Buzz Aldrin.

For those who have no idea what I am talking about (cut to the last 15 seconds if you want the short version):

If it were made law that Buzz Aldrin could punch every conspiracy nut who flies in the face of overwhelming evidence, the world would be a better place. I know that violence is not the solution, but he's 81, so he's very unlikely to really hurt anyone, and he's an old-fashioned gentleman, so women and children will just be given a Disappointed Look. Plus it will keep an American Treasure fit in his ninth decade! He may have to give himself a little jab over his thoughts on climate change, but he's an engineer, and engineers and geologists are the most likely to be wacky there. And at least he's of the genuine 'Eh, I'm not convinced' rather than the nutty 'It's a Scientists' Plot' set.

The next time I read 'Actually, the CIA ...' over the next few days, I am going to imagine Buzz wading in, and feel a bit better about things.

In good work news, final sales figures from my last issue brought Rare But Solid Praise from the Powers That Be, which is good news as it means I may have a next issue. Given that print is allegedly dead, this is never a certain thing. But I have the Best Ever Knitting Extract in the process of being sorted for Winter 2012, so I will cry if it doesn't go ahead. And I have both Australia and New Zealand in the office Rugby World Cup sweep, and drew South Africa for my friend. One of my work besties has England, so fingers crossed! (And sorry in advance to both Australia and New Zealand for jinxing them.)

Comments

[oldenuf2nb.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad that you're feeling better! I've missed your posts; they always make me smile.

I haven't heard the conspiracy theorists, but then, if there were any here what Buzz did would be very minor, indeed. We have our own wack-jobs; *coughglennbeckcough*.

I've lived long enough that there are three events which are branded into my memory; John Kennedy's assassination. *I was six, but I remember vividly my mother crying*. The Challenger explosion; my first thought was, OMG, that teacher is on board. And Nine Eleven. It left a scar on our national consciousness that won't begin to fade until everyone who was alive on that day is dead, and maybe not even then, although people do tend to forget things they didn't experience first hand. It was one of the few times I had no idea what to say to my children by way of reassurance; I was so devastated that there were no words. And I remain to this day so raw about it that I don't think I'll even turn on my television this weekend. It changed something about us as a people. I think some would say that we could stand to lose some of our swagger, and I can't disagree with that, but it was something else, something deeper. The belief that it's safe to get on an airplane, the belief that it's safe to go to work, the belief that it's safe to, for even a short time, be separated from your children. All of that is gone, and I know I'll probably be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I am often at odds with what my government does (believe me, they do not ask our permission for their madness or we never would have gone into Iraq; trust me) but that day the repercussions of decades long decisions was visited on people who had never done anything more heinous than go to work, and I'm not sure those of us who watched the Twin Towers fall will ever be the same. Ever.

[winstonmom.livejournal.com]

I am not much for violence, but I would have kick the annoying git where it hurts the most.
9/11 brings so many memories, my daughter was 5 months old and I remember thinking that she was going to grow up in a very different America than her father did.
Yeah! for good selling figures! print for the win!

[nursedarry.livejournal.com]

Dear Conspiracy Theorists, I knew someone who worked in the South Tower. Please to be reading the icon.

the twin towers, of course not...

[harroldsheep.livejournal.com]

...but someone took advantage of the chaos in the collapse of WTC7.

[nenne.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to hear that you are winning! :) Just get rid of that cough now.

[wenchilada.livejournal.com]

Geologists... gotta love 'em. But seriously, go Buzz!

"DON'T CALL ME COWARD!!!"

[bk7brokemybrain.livejournal.com]

This guy is really sick. Honestly, I would have done the same thing at the point of being called a coward, liar and thief. I'd regret losing my temper, but wouldn't regret teaching that sick punk a lesson. And I would have hit him harder. grrrrr.
The worst part is that Buzz kept saying "Get away from me", and trying to remove himself from the situation, and no one helped.
Are these conspiracy theorists categorized under any specific diagnosis? It's bad enough when someone's illness leads them to get wrapped up in a theory like this and troll the internet, but this guy is out in public with his bible making trouble for heroes.
No Holocaust, no moon landing, 9/11 conspiracies - it hurts the people who went through tragedy or sacrificed for their country. I'd like to put this idiot in a room with a dozen 9/11 FDNY widows and see if he comes out alive.

Now I'm getting angry.
When I think of all those get-a-life losers out there poring over hypothetical data about the melting point of steel, how there is no wind on the moon so how could the flag be flapping, or calculating how much fuel it would have taken to actually burn all those human bodies in the camps, I start to lose my shit. How dare they?
Go, Buzz!

[shu-shu-sleeps.livejournal.com]

Fabulous news about your sales figures, I shall look forward to hearing the best ever knitting extract makes it to print! Lots of positive thoughts coming your way to speed your ongoing recovery. And YAY BUZZ! I also take my papers online, but have to admit I have stopped reading the comments a while ago because I just can't be bothering giving the trolls out there that much attention! Mind you, what passes as journalistic commentary these days is at times a bit of a disgrace - something I'm sure drives you mad.

[norton-gale.livejournal.com]

My nutty in-laws both totally believed 9-11 was a government conspiracy engineered by George Bush. I don't know if they still do. I'm hoping not, but I am afraid to broach the subject. I remember my MIL passionately arguing that she "just knew" that Bin Laden was "innocent."

Glad you're on the upswing... keep getting better!

[mrsquizzical.livejournal.com]

it's an interesting turn of events when some (possibly healthy) scepticism steps over into delusion like that.

that post viral cough is such a bugger!

[jekni.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you're feeling better. Hope the cough goes away soon.

My ears (um, eyes?) perked up when you mentioned Best Ever Knitting. What magazine will it be in so I will know to buy it? (discretionary spending somewhat restricted these days and all)

[lisbet.livejournal.com]

I LOVED seeing Buzz take action in the video above:)

I've been avoiding the 9/11 anniversary news. I start crying like a baby over just the littlest things. So definitely no TV for me this weekend.

Glad to hear you are recovering!