[nabs-l] 9/11- Call to reason

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Angela,

You've point-blank stated the absurdity of this downward-spiral of a
thread, but as usual, most fail to grasp your meaning. While I
whole-heartedly support intellectual discussions and debates on most
topics, there is nothing intellectual or meaningful growing from this
discussion, if one can call it that. I post this message with trembling
hands because I am outraged and saddened by many of the inane, ignorant
comments and mindsets prevailing within this thread. And the inability
to comprehend your, Angela's, intent, and what this thread has derailed
into, is disturbing. While 9/11 will certainly always be a controversial
topic, what has happened on this list is appalling and wildly
inappropriate.

Conservative or liberal, regardless of religious affiliations, no one
wishes for a 9/11 repeat. No one wishes to find themselves in a similar
situation. As many of you were children and babies when the attacks
occurred, much of what you know, feel, think is based on the environment
that surrounded you at the time. After the attacks, after the frantic
scurry to determine what happened, who did it, after days, weeks, months
and even years, of dark, fear-filled moments of not knowing, simply
waiting for more attacks, our country experienced a debilitating illness
that threatened to degenerate into our destruction. All sides-
conservative, liberal, Christian, atheist, rich, poor- came together to
commiserate, to mourn , to support and finally, to rebuild. In the
beginning, it was bipartisan. In the years since, as many of you grew
into your teens and twenties, lines were drawn, fingers pointed and
opinions solidified capitulating into the current mess now surrounding
the debate of why 9/11 happened and who's fault it was.

Angela is completely accurate in her observation on this thread, and I
agree no good has grown from it. We've left our senses and entered
something that's foundation is shaky at best. Stop the ridiculous
arguments, stop the mud-slinging  that only detracts from anything
positive, stop attempting to weave in political and religious rhetoric
that, not only tends to be built on faulty, one-sided information, but
contributes in no way to this list, or society for that matter.

If you wish to discuss and debate our right to carry a cane onto a
plane, leave 9/11 out of it- it's tacky, particularly in light of the
recent anniversary. Grow up folks and learn to temper responses
especially if you choose to bring in topics based in nature on political
or religious or any other agenda-driven arguments to the discussion.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog for Live Well Nebraska.com at
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/

Message: 3
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:26:52 -0700
From: "Angela Fowler" <fowlers at syix.com>
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [nabs-l] re. 9/11, call to reason
Message-ID: <13535880DD2D4FBF8F6FB07E6A9198EF at AngelaPC>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Hello folks,
First let me say that, though flight attendants have tried to take my
cane
and put it up, I have only to firmly but politely tell them that we
always
have our canes with us, and demonstrate how easy it is to lay it along
the
side of the plane by the window, no danger nor inconvenience to anyone.
They
never give me any trouble beyond that point. 
    Second, the issues surrounding 9/11 are controversial at best, and
arguing about them at this point will do nothing to further our common
cause
which is, need I remind folks, changing what it means to be blind for
all
blind people. I have seen this discussion degenerate into liberal verses
conservative mud slinging, and feel that it has become anti-productive.
Please folks, let's stop fighting over things we can't at this point
change,
and focus on the things we can.
Angela