Never Forget?

So everyone knows what today is. Everyone knows that a bunch of people died due to extremism and today everyone is going to bombarded with two things; idiotic “Never Forget,” signs, images, bumper stickers and what not as well as multiple television shows and movies attempting to retraumatize the public for cash.

And all we’re going to be told today is that we should never forget. Yeah…thanks. I needed that reminder because the image of two people holding hands as they leapt to their deaths from the higher floors of the North Tower, so as to have some human contact in their last moments on earth, was going to go away any time soon; just pop right out of my head.

You know what we shouldn’t forget?

We shouldn’t forget that there were actually three planes that crashed that day. One took out a building full of soldiers. One crashed in a field after it was retaken by the passengers. One hit two buildings full of people.

Why do so many people focus on the building full of victims rather that the building full of soldiers or a plane full of ordinary Americans who stepped up when it was necessary and made themselves heroes? I think we should never forget the other two planes that crashed.

Guess what else we shouldn’t forget?

The terrorist attack on September 11th wasn’t random. It was the result of two things; religious extremism and global politics.

Notice that I didn’t say Muslim extremism. Yes, the people who attacked the U.S. were Muslims but that is peripheral. Religious extremism isn’t exclusive to Islam as evidenced by the idiot reactions to Park 51.

As a result of the religious extremism that led to the attack on September 11th we, the United States have responded with a level of extremism that makes no logical sense and is, in fact, pathetic and sad.

Somehow, in our strong, tough response to terrorism we’ve embraced the very worst traits of those people who attacked us and shown that what we as a nation mean by strong and tough is actually acting in the most cowardly, counter-Constitutional way possible.

Never forget that in the days after September 11th people who looked like they might be Muslims were attacked and in some cases were killed.

Never forget that fear and panic are exactly the reactions that the people flying those planes on September 11th wanted.

Never forget that religious extremism is what is happening right now in the United States. Go to any right leaning website and do a search for the word Muslim. You’ll see what I mean.

Never forget that September 11th is the event that led our nation into signing away our civil rights in the form of the Patriot Act.

Never forget that September 11th is the event led directly to a war we never should have fought in which 4400 American service men and women gave their lives and countless civilians died.

Never forget that the U.S. tortured people.

Never forget that part of the reason that the U.S. was targeted was our actions. That doesn’t, in any way, justify the actions of the terrorists but it’s something that we need to cop to.

The U.S. has been meddling in the Middle East for decades and doing so with little regard for the wishes of those in the region or the sovereignty of the nations therein.

Never forget that the events of September 11th are far more nuanced and complex than any t-shirt of very special episode can possibly cover.

You want to memorialize September 11th? Remember that real patriots respect Islam. Remember pluralism, the concept that two divergent ideas can and must exist in the same nation at the same time and each be equally respected. Remember that we the people have a responsibility to the nation and the Constitution to stand up for our fellow Americans, no matter what religion or nation of origin.

Remember that. While you're at it, remember that all of the memorials that are showing on TV are happening for profit and all the memorials that are happening in the media are too.

Yeah, I know. It's been two months.

The 'Potamus has been working. Deal with it.

I've had a surprising number of people emailing me and asking when I'm going to say something about the oil spill. Apparently not a few people are waiting for me to rip into BP or expecting me to do the same to the administration.

I'm not going to do that.

Yes, BP fucked up. They were clearly negligent. Yes, the government has far less power that we would want them to have in this situation. Those things are true and they are problematic. But let's not pretend that if those things were magically solved, things would be significantly better.

This is our fault. Lots of (really stupid) politicians pay lip service to the need for the US to break its addiction to foreign oil.

Those people are saying what the voters want to hear.

The voters who want to hear that are uninformed.

There's no such thing as foreign oil There is only oil.

Every drop of oil in the world, no matter where it is drawn from or refined, is sold on the open market.

It's all the same price. That's how commodities work.

So the problem isn't the oil companies or the government. The problem is us. We're addicted to oil. Unless we commit to a course of action wherein we eventually make oil prohibitively expensive, we're never going to change anything and we won't have anyone to blame but ourselves.

I'm not interested in hearing or participating in rants against BP or the administration until Americans are ready to take responsibility.

You know what else I'm not interested in hearing ever again as long as I live? The term "reverse racism."

I know I've said this before but I'm going to keep saying it because if I don't I might have to punch someone.

There no such fucking thing as "reverse racism." The reverse of racism is respect.

I'm tired of this shit.

I'm tired of Andrew Breitbart. He's a liar. The end.

I'm tired of people who should know better tucking their tails and running at the first hysterical, bullshit accusation of "reverse racism." Yes, Obama administration and NAACP, I'm fucking looking at you.

I'm tired of everyone pretending that the Tea Baggers are motivated by anything other than racism. If they weren't willing to happily embrace the most heinous and hateful elements of American culture, they would, you know, stop fucking embracing the most heinous and hateful elements of our culture.

Most of all I'm tired of people pretending that equality is something that we should be ashamed of or that "overcoming racism," means pretending that blatantly racist shit isn't racist.

Dr. Laura, actually said, "I really thought that once we had a black president, the attempt to demonize whites hating blacks would stop, but it seems to have grown, and I don't get it," out loud in public.

Pause for just a moment and go read that quote again. Did you catch that?

Let me make this clear here and now. What that dumb cunt actually said was, "haven't we given you people enough? Can't you shut up now?"

WHAT IN THE HELL WOULD MAKE ANYONE THINK THAT THE ELECTION OF A BLACK MAN WOULD MAKE WHITES HATING BLACKS OK ALL OF A SUDDEN?!

That is some stupid, racist bullshit. America could elect Black people to every single office in the nation and stupid-ass racist statements would still be stupid-ass racist statements and they would still have negative social consequences. Anyone who can't deal with that should probably keep their stupid-ass racist comments to themselves.

She also said:

"If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race."

Um, because on planet Dumb-Bitch-With-a-Radi0-Show, all White people are eventually going to show their underlying racism? That is also some stupid, racist shit.

I honestly don't have a problem with the fact that she used the word nigger. I much prefer the use of the word nigger to the use of the term "the n-word." I'm not five. I don't need people to spell things for me. I have a problem with the other things she said, the stuff she didn't apologize for. That stuff matters and no one seems to care.