Thread by @hughhowey

9/11 used to be a somber day of remembrance for me. Ground zero was a hectic place.

But then we started having two or more 9/11s every week without much action from our leaders, and now I realize that 9/11 wasn't about the loss of life.

1/x

9/11 was about feeling violated. All those people who passed away 19 years ago were killed by a handful of religious extremists. Humans did it. And we wanted vengeance.

That thirst for blood cost trillions of dollars and thousands of lives in a war that continues today.

2/x

It's wild to me that the time when we should have done less, we went to extremes. And the time when we should have taken extreme actions, we did very little.

One month of closed borders, mandatory mask use, and hand-washing could have saved 200k - 400k American lives.

3/x

It's the least ever asked of people with the biggest payout. No one was being drafted into the military to leave their families and die overseas. Just stay at home, watch Netflix, and wear a mask. We could have prevented two or more 9/11s every week.

4/x

There's a huge difference between losing something and having it stolen from you. When you lose a thing, you think of the replacement value that's lost and there's pain associated with that. Where did I leave my $50 sunglasses? That sucks. 😰

5/x

When something is stolen from you, the violation is the thing that drives you crazy. To have someone break into your house or car, it crushes your sense of security. Your sunglasses are gone, but now you have someone to hate and fear. 🤬

6/x

It's that difference of agency and direct causation that lies at the heart of our different emotional reactions to robbery vs. misplacing an item. And it's why one 9/11 in a lifetime feels worse to most people than two or more 9/11s every week.

7/x

With the pandemic, we don't have a clear culprit to blame. The virus wasn't angry at anyone; it just did its thing. And many are convinced that our government couldn't have done anything to stop its spread, even though our results have been the worst in the world.

8/x

For most of us, we do know whom to blame. And it isn't a secret conspiracy. Donald Trump said all the dirty bits out loud. He didn't want a cruise ship to land, because "he liked the numbers where they were."

9/x

Speaking of numbers, he tweets about TV ratings and the stock market constantly, but never about the loss of life. And he told Bob Woodward that he knew this was bad, but he didn't want to create a panic. An economic panic.

10/x

Other world leaders told the hard truths, listened to scientists, recommended mask use and hand-washing, limited activities and travel, and far fewer of their people died as a result. They prevented many, many 9/11s.

We just let them happen.

11/x

That's why this is the first 9/11 where my thoughts don't go back to that day 19 years ago. They go to right now, in this moment. We are watching Americans die every day from this disease. And yes, we know who is responsible.

12/x

VOTE

13/13