Things We Do Forget On 9/11

Most people can remember where they were when the twin towers were hit. I walked the halls of my high school, moving from one class to the next. I heard the shuffles of feet and book bags around me, but something was different.

There was this thick air of worry. Some people had already heard the news and others hadn’t. Whispers filled the space around all of us, “did you hear what happened?”

“Are you scared? I’m scared.”

I was one of the kids who hadn’t yet heard. We had already lived through being in school when Columbine happened. The year after that, we had a bomb threat at my middle school. I knew those whispers and that on-edge feeling in the hall well.

I assumed that was it.

I knew I was wrong the second I stepped into my next class. It was economics and my teacher had the TV on. He stood there with his arms folded, one hand over his mouth, while we all filed in. Everyone in the class stood next to their desks in silence as the realization hit us. The headline on the screen told us nothing would ever be the same.

No school work was done that day. In each class, we all sat silently staring at the TV, watching as they told us who to blame and what to feel. Some parents came and retrieved their kids to take them home. Teachers gathered together and cried in the halls. No one misbehaved or complained. I don’t even think any of us asked to go to the bathroom.

The shock was palpable.

Every year on 9/11 since that year we are flooded with images reminding us of the tragedy, stating we will never forget - and I’m not saying we should forget- but something is amiss.

On that day, just under 3,000 people died but many more lives have been lost than that to violence and the same outcry of not forgetting doesn’t happen. Every year on 9/11 I wonder why I don’t see that same effort put in to not forget the other lives that have been lost in America (and all over the world but this story is just about the states)

When you compare the death toll to the number of kids who have died since 9/11 due to child abuse, that 3,000 looks a little different. It isn’t just abused kids that have a higher death toll either. There are many things we forget about that killed more people than 9/11.

Of course, this got me thinking about the why. Why would there be so much remembering for that attack and not this other violence going on our soil?

I’m just speculating here but it seems it’s because someone attacked us and we were told what to feel. America and its leaders have long touted this “don’t mess with us or we’ll…” attitude. It seems to me that the attitude we’ve had contributed to the level of outrage over those 3,000 deaths. It can’t be the loss of life, because more people die every year than that in tragedies without the display of patriotism.

Things we forget that killed more people than 9/11

Child neglect

One of the biggest, yet least talked about, problems in America is child abuse and neglect. As a result of the abuse, nearly 10,000 helpless kids have died since 9/11. Call me crazy, but shouldn’t we see the regular practice of abusing children to death as something we shouldn’t forget?

Seeing statistics for the awful things that happen to children makes me wonder why we aren't trying to constantly remember their lives and rallying around them the same way we do victims of 9/11.

Suicide

Nearly 50,000 Americans lose their life to suicide every year. That’s over 16x the number of lives lost in the one-time event of 9/11 - and it happens annually.

Despite the steady increases, little has been done to provide adequate healthcare or living circumstances for those who need them, which according to research could help prevent suicide.

Worse is the fact that the patriotism showed to our military on 9/11 doesn’t seem to be aware that every single year over 6,000 veterans commit suicide. That’s more than double the number of people killed on 9/11, but few people are making as big an effort to remember that.

Native American Massacres

The list of Native American Massacres that killed more people than 9/11 wouldn’t fit in this article. In total, there are hundreds of thousands of people that lost their lives in attack after attack. I find it interesting that so much effort is put into remembering such a small attack while that same level of effort has only been used to cover up other more deadly attacks.

My mind turns to the class (and likely race) of the victims of the world trade center. It's long been documented that the more well off white people of the world value non-white lives less - and I am guessing that's part of why the lives lost in Native American massacres aren't remembered like those in 9/11.

Illness

I’m not going to tally up the lives lost to illnesses like flu, cold, Covid, and pneumonia because it would take me until next 9/11 - but I can tell you that the flu alone kills over a hundred thousand people. Covid has killed over half a million in the last year and half. Despite these numbers, nearly half of Americans have chosen to slack on measures that will prevent more people from losing their life.

Aside from pandemics, many people who die from illness don’t have access to proper treatment due to financial issues or lack of insurance. That seems like something we should continue to remember and pull together to work on at least as often as 9/11 is talked about.

MMIW

More indigenous women are missing and murdered annually than there are victims of 9/11. Despite this fact, little is done to find them or put a stop to divisive legislation that doesn’t allow prosecution of the people hurting these women. Over 5,000 cases were reported in 2016 alone, but it still seems to be something that most people forget about if they even knew at all.

It seems to me that if these missing and murdered women received as much media attention as 9/11 did, we may see more change.

Gun Violence

School & mass shootings in public places continue to be on the rise. As the death tolls increase without any sign of more responsible gun legislation, I can’t help but wonder when we will start to remember all of the lives lost at the hands of a gunman. A lot more than 3,000 people have died since 9/11 as a result of gun violence, but for some reason we seem to keep forgetting those lives when it comes to making a change.

Black people who were lynched

More black people were lynched on American soil than died in the tower attacks. Sadly, most people don’t know how high that death toll really is - and that’s just the/ lynching death toll. If you add in the totals from the massacres of black people, it starts to look like something we should remember long before we even think about 9/11.

Instead of being remembered, the facts are hidden while we continue to remember the day a smaller number of lives were lost.

Domestic Violence

Every year over 4,000 people die as a result of domestic violence. Domestic violence kills many more people than 9/11 but it isn’t an issue that many people consider something they need to put time and effort into. We rarely see a “Gone but not forgotten” banner for the people who were killed by their intimate partners but they are everywhere when 9/11 rolls around.

Never forget victims & their families

Recently, they identified 2 more people from the remains they found in the rubble. Lots of people were upset and felt sad for the families because they had to wait so long but my mind just thought about how many indigenous families never heard from their kids or loved ones again. They don't have someone fighting for them to be found and identified like the 9/11 victims do. Would they if their cases had been made as a big a deal as 9/11?

Even the medical examiner in New York is dedicated to giving those families closure. She said, "Twenty years ago, we made a promise to the families of World Trade Center victims to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to identify their loved ones..." If that same enthusiasm was used to continue to remember and seek peace for the families impacted by the issues listed in this article, we may see a different humanity.

So many social issues that need to be remembered and constantly kept at the forefront of the population’s mind are not even considered day to day. I haven't listed them all, I probably couldn't if I tried. With so many lives lost and little effort to constantly remember them, I can’t help but conclude that it isn’t about the lives lost at all.

I wonder what would happen if we started to see everything that killed 3,000 people as something that should never be forgotten and forever be prevented.

Do you think we could change the world?

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My heart goes out to the families of the victims of 9/11 and to all of the families who have lost loved ones to tragedy or violence.

To those who's loss is never given the same attention or effort as tragedies tied to patriotism and mainstream media - You are seen here.

**author's note - I wanted to include statistics about deaths as a result of hate crimes committed against members of the LGBTQIA+ community but due to lack of reporting and numbers having been proven inaccurate, I omitted it from the list. This is not meant to minimize or exclude the many trans, queer and gay lives lost, which as we all well know, likely exceeds 3,000 annually.

also published on Medium.

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