Lasher
08-22-2002, 10:50 AM
Anniversary of Sept. 11 brings up difficult memories for many
By Kitty Bean Yancey, USA TODAY
They may feel overwhelmed. Numb. Or weary of looking back.
Many Americans say they don't want to dwell on the Sept. 11 attacks, dread the upcoming one-year anniversary and plan to tune out the wall-to-wall media coverage. While they feel abiding sympathy for the victims and their families, they're ready to move on.
Among them is 45-year-old Paula Jo Anderson of Springfield, Ill. "My co-workers, family and I are, to be quite honest, sick of the ongoing Sept. 11 stories, memorials, revisiting, coverage ad nauseum. Sept. 11 was a terrible tragedy, but it is time to let it rest."
"Enough already!" agrees Wilfried Guenther, 52, of Charlotte. "I am sick and tired of just about everything being seen and talked about in the context of Sept. 11."
Valparaiso, Ind., retiree Jean Connors, who plans to keep viewing of TV news to a minimum on the anniversary, finds it hard to keep looking at the scenes of destruction. Sept. 11 "was a horrible thing, but it makes me sick to keep seeing it over and over again. I am sure the people that lost their loved ones are tired of looking at it, too. I think we should move on with our lives."
Such sentiments infused half of the 367 replies to a query posted last week on USATODAY.com eliciting comments about how the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks should be marked and thoughts about the news coverage to come.
While 163 say it is important to revisit such a horrendous historical event in detail — "The entire country was attacked that day, and to ignore it, sweep it under the carpet or avoid it is wrong," says Dianne Hepburn, 52, of Bishop, Calif. — 172 want to see some restraint in re-examining the day or feel it is time to look ahead. Thirty-two are neutral.
Respondents on both sides of the issue, however, are united in a message to the media: Please, don't hit us with a barrage of images of the World Trade Center and Pentagon crumbling.
"I never need to see the images of the twin towers or the Pentagon again, as (that) is permanently etched into my memory," says Angie Collins, 35, of Laurel, Md. "Most people I've talked to say the same thing."
"I don't want to live through that day again," agrees Kate Brown, 29, of Loveland, Colo. "America hasn't even begun to heal, and replaying the same, horrific images over and over will be like pouring salt in an open wound."
Especially vulnerable are kids terrified by the original coverage, who risk being traumatized again, says child-care provider Dawn Abel, 54, of Brussels, Wis. "This might be a huge setback for them."
Entire Story
http://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-08-21-911-backlash_x.htm
By Kitty Bean Yancey, USA TODAY
They may feel overwhelmed. Numb. Or weary of looking back.
Many Americans say they don't want to dwell on the Sept. 11 attacks, dread the upcoming one-year anniversary and plan to tune out the wall-to-wall media coverage. While they feel abiding sympathy for the victims and their families, they're ready to move on.
Among them is 45-year-old Paula Jo Anderson of Springfield, Ill. "My co-workers, family and I are, to be quite honest, sick of the ongoing Sept. 11 stories, memorials, revisiting, coverage ad nauseum. Sept. 11 was a terrible tragedy, but it is time to let it rest."
"Enough already!" agrees Wilfried Guenther, 52, of Charlotte. "I am sick and tired of just about everything being seen and talked about in the context of Sept. 11."
Valparaiso, Ind., retiree Jean Connors, who plans to keep viewing of TV news to a minimum on the anniversary, finds it hard to keep looking at the scenes of destruction. Sept. 11 "was a horrible thing, but it makes me sick to keep seeing it over and over again. I am sure the people that lost their loved ones are tired of looking at it, too. I think we should move on with our lives."
Such sentiments infused half of the 367 replies to a query posted last week on USATODAY.com eliciting comments about how the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks should be marked and thoughts about the news coverage to come.
While 163 say it is important to revisit such a horrendous historical event in detail — "The entire country was attacked that day, and to ignore it, sweep it under the carpet or avoid it is wrong," says Dianne Hepburn, 52, of Bishop, Calif. — 172 want to see some restraint in re-examining the day or feel it is time to look ahead. Thirty-two are neutral.
Respondents on both sides of the issue, however, are united in a message to the media: Please, don't hit us with a barrage of images of the World Trade Center and Pentagon crumbling.
"I never need to see the images of the twin towers or the Pentagon again, as (that) is permanently etched into my memory," says Angie Collins, 35, of Laurel, Md. "Most people I've talked to say the same thing."
"I don't want to live through that day again," agrees Kate Brown, 29, of Loveland, Colo. "America hasn't even begun to heal, and replaying the same, horrific images over and over will be like pouring salt in an open wound."
Especially vulnerable are kids terrified by the original coverage, who risk being traumatized again, says child-care provider Dawn Abel, 54, of Brussels, Wis. "This might be a huge setback for them."
Entire Story
http://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-08-21-911-backlash_x.htm