9/11 had a major impact on my life. I have never been so truly sad...
It made me open my eyes and look around. Question why this could happen, and how can/do I stop it.
I found that it had been happening for too long beyond my front yard, and that now it was in my neighbours yard. I found that it was not enough to wait for it to threaten me, and that I was wrong to ignore it elsewhere.
I don't have the answers to stop it, but I believe that communication and information sharing will help. Bring the world together; try to understand. I don't want to hate. I don't want to fight.
On a personal level, I changed my lifestyle. I don't want to be ignoring the things that matter most to me by working myself to death. I guarantee you that most of those people in the planes and towers would've given anything for a few more moments with their families. I don't want to find myself with those regrets.
I can't imagine their feeling of pure helplessness, knowing that they would not be going home. I can't imagine having to make the decision some made on Flight 93; knowing that there was no chance you would survive. Knowing that by not trying to bring down your own plane you would be condemning many more to death. I know they knew it was the right, the only, thing they could do, but their grief consumes me.
I grieve for the emrgency workers, who went about their jobs as if they could save everyone. Unselfishly doing what they had to. And failing.
I honour all of these people today.
We need to open our eyes; unite in peace. Closing our doors will only make it worse. We have to try.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
"Cell phones cause trouble in the classroom" - no dah!
According to a story in the Globe and Mail today, cell phones have had to be banned from use in the classrooms of most high schools.
You've got to be kidding! Why is this something that had to be considered? Why would they ever be allowed? "Hang on a sec, Mr. Green. I'll answer you after this call."
Okay, you know, I think we may have taken lack of discipline too far. According to the article, almost all schools have banned their use in the classroom. "Almost all"??!! And one school has changed the rules to allow students to use their phones in the hallways and cafeterias. The reasoning? This way, students won't break the rules and sneak into the washrooms to make calls. They might have camera phones, after all.
Okay, this is nuts. First off, the need for a cellphone in a school is questionable. If you really need to be contacted, there's always the school office. But, there's no reason to assume you can't have one; just don't use it on school property during school hours. If I brought a radio to school, nobody would have cared if it sat in my locker turned off. But there sure would have been issues if I propped it on my desk and turned it on.
And this bit about allowing it in the hallways to prevent people from breaking rules is crazy. If they break the rules, deal with them. They sure didn't allow smoking in the hallways to stop kids from sneaking to the washroom. Now, part of this washroom thing was to deal with bullies. Apparently, some of the new camera phones have been used to bully other students. While I deplore bullying, deal with the bullies. As far as I know, there have always been bullies in washrooms. I would have been very stressed if we dealt with them by giving them an official bullying room instead.
I think its time we unite as a society to deal with kids and discipline.
You've got to be kidding! Why is this something that had to be considered? Why would they ever be allowed? "Hang on a sec, Mr. Green. I'll answer you after this call."
Okay, you know, I think we may have taken lack of discipline too far. According to the article, almost all schools have banned their use in the classroom. "Almost all"??!! And one school has changed the rules to allow students to use their phones in the hallways and cafeterias. The reasoning? This way, students won't break the rules and sneak into the washrooms to make calls. They might have camera phones, after all.
Okay, this is nuts. First off, the need for a cellphone in a school is questionable. If you really need to be contacted, there's always the school office. But, there's no reason to assume you can't have one; just don't use it on school property during school hours. If I brought a radio to school, nobody would have cared if it sat in my locker turned off. But there sure would have been issues if I propped it on my desk and turned it on.
And this bit about allowing it in the hallways to prevent people from breaking rules is crazy. If they break the rules, deal with them. They sure didn't allow smoking in the hallways to stop kids from sneaking to the washroom. Now, part of this washroom thing was to deal with bullies. Apparently, some of the new camera phones have been used to bully other students. While I deplore bullying, deal with the bullies. As far as I know, there have always been bullies in washrooms. I would have been very stressed if we dealt with them by giving them an official bullying room instead.
I think its time we unite as a society to deal with kids and discipline.
Friday, September 03, 2004
I'm Angry
I'm angry. I'm very angry. I'm so angry, that I don't know how to react.
Once again, terrorists have taken the lives of innocents. This time, hundreds of children. Suicide bombers seized a school in Russia, holding as many as 1200 hostages - most of them children and their parents. Their demands were unclear, and changed often. I have just read that Russian forces tried to take back the school and hundreds have been killed.
What the hell is wrong with these people? Are they just bent on killing as many people as they can? How do we deal with this? How do we deal with people who don't value anything? All they seem to want to do is exterminate everyone who doesn't belong to their.... what? I can't even define what it is they hate!
The only common denominator to this is that they are all Muslim. They fight under the auspices of protecting their religion. But their own religion abhores the taking of innocent lives. And they kill their own children by strapping bombs to them and using them as human weapons. How do we deal with people who don't even love their own children?
I find myself starting to react badly. I want to believe that these are totally irrational people hiding behind a religion that they don't believe in, but I'm finding that more and more difficult. They don't seem to have any real demands. Their only goal seems to be the complete extermination of non-muslims. And yet they also kill muslims.
I need to hear from Muslim leaders. I need to hear them stand up and decry these actions loudly. I need to hear them tell other Muslims that these are sins they are commiting. They will not be welcome into heaven as martyrs. They are killers, murderes and monsters. And that's how they will be dealt with.
Without these voices, I can see no other path but the one that leads to total mistrust of all muslims. It will come down to self-preservation. When no other path is left, it is in our nature to fight. I'm afraid the rest of the world will have no choice but to attack the muslim world in order to preserve our lives. I don't want this.
Once again, terrorists have taken the lives of innocents. This time, hundreds of children. Suicide bombers seized a school in Russia, holding as many as 1200 hostages - most of them children and their parents. Their demands were unclear, and changed often. I have just read that Russian forces tried to take back the school and hundreds have been killed.
What the hell is wrong with these people? Are they just bent on killing as many people as they can? How do we deal with this? How do we deal with people who don't value anything? All they seem to want to do is exterminate everyone who doesn't belong to their.... what? I can't even define what it is they hate!
The only common denominator to this is that they are all Muslim. They fight under the auspices of protecting their religion. But their own religion abhores the taking of innocent lives. And they kill their own children by strapping bombs to them and using them as human weapons. How do we deal with people who don't even love their own children?
I find myself starting to react badly. I want to believe that these are totally irrational people hiding behind a religion that they don't believe in, but I'm finding that more and more difficult. They don't seem to have any real demands. Their only goal seems to be the complete extermination of non-muslims. And yet they also kill muslims.
I need to hear from Muslim leaders. I need to hear them stand up and decry these actions loudly. I need to hear them tell other Muslims that these are sins they are commiting. They will not be welcome into heaven as martyrs. They are killers, murderes and monsters. And that's how they will be dealt with.
Without these voices, I can see no other path but the one that leads to total mistrust of all muslims. It will come down to self-preservation. When no other path is left, it is in our nature to fight. I'm afraid the rest of the world will have no choice but to attack the muslim world in order to preserve our lives. I don't want this.
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