I was there yesterday to introduce some pieces on the local reaction to the killing of Osama bin Laden. Television doesn't convey the emotion. The five steel plates make a powerful statement.
It makes you think about all the people who aren't here because of Osama bin Laden.
I hate to sound a depressing note, but I have a disgusting feeling that there are many ready and willing to take bin Laden's position as the world's most dangerous terrorist. He was a horrible, evil man and the world is a better place without him. We killed the terrorist. We didn't kill terrorism. I think we can control it, improve safety a bit. Hate, unfortunately, will always be with us.
Randy Tatiano writes a blog. It's called TV News Grapevine. Yesterday's entry, as they all are, was aimed at TV news people. I'm sure you'll find it interesting, so I'll post it below.
There's a difference between closure and justice...and relief
Many of you will be assigned to do a 9/11 story today.
Please leave the word "closure" out of your copy.
Closure, in the case of 9/11, doesn't exist. It never will.
Justice is a both a legal and emotional term, what is doled out by courts and what we feel when a wrong is somehow righted. But trading thousands of lives for one doesn't feel like justice.
Relief may be the proper term for this day. For those who lost loved ones, for those who love their country and feel as though it will never be the same, relief may be the proper word. Not because events have magically transported us back to the way things were before 9/11, but because we're a little less afraid that it might happen again.
Nothing can ever bring back those lost on 9/11 and those who fought for freedom in the middle east. So there is no closure for those who lost loved ones. Some measure of justice, and a good deal of relief, maybe.
