This content was originally posted at my AC page.
I never use my blog to write anything remotely political. But this situation is so outrageous, I felt compelled to speak out.
This afternoon a friend of mine posted the following message on Facebook:
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that New York firefighters and Police officers would not be invited to tenth anniversary memorial ceremony commemorating 9/11 at ground zero because “there isn’t enough room”. They weren’t invited ten years ago but they showed up anyway. Repost if you think the firefighters and police officers should be invited instead of the politicians.
When I read the post, I was suspicious. It sounded like one of those things that circulate on Facebook but that are totally untrue. Seriously, Mayor Bloomberg couldn’t ever do anything this stupid, could he?
So I did what I normally do in these situations, I checked it out on Snopes.com. To my surprise Snopes said the message was true and that CNN had reported the story earlier this week. I still couldn’t believe it, so I checked out CNN.com. To my horror, the story was correctly reported.
On August 30, 2011, CNN correspondent Jeff Stein broke a story titled First responders Decry Exclusion From 9/11 Ceremony. According to Stein, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office confirmed that first responders were not being invited to this year's September 11 memorial ceremony at Ground Zero. Stein called this a “painful insult for many of the approximately 3,000 men and women who risked their lives, limbs and lungs on that monumental day, puncturing another hole in a still searing wound.”
I remember 9/11. I remember being stunned as I watched smoke pour from the first tower. I remember being shocked as a plane plunged in second tower. I remember being horrified as both towers disintegrate right before my eyes. I remember crying for each and every soul that was lost that day.
But I also remember feeling proud. I saw the people of our country come together, join hands and support each other. I saw the people of New York reaching out their hands to strangers on the street. And I saw firefighters, police officers, EMTs and others risking their own lives just for the chance to save one more soul.
That was probably the first time I ever really considered what it meant to be a firefighter or police officer. The thought that stuck in my mind that day, the thought that has never left me, is what it means to go to work each day as a police officer or firefighter. And it means simply this. Every day when these brave citizens leave their homes to go to work, they are making a decision to die.
On the day the towers crumbled, thousands of people rushed down the stairs of the World Trade Center trying to escape the attack. Some made it out the door. Others perished inside. They were victims of a horrible act of cowardice and violence.
On the day the towers crumbled, hundreds of firefighters and police officers rushed into the carnage. They carried out the injured. They administered to the sick. The helped those who needed help. And they did it without concern for their own safety. And many of them died trying.
Two thousand, eight hundred and nineteen people died on September 11, 2011. Three hundred and forty three of them were firefighters. Twenty three were New York Police Officers. Thirty seven were Port Authority Officers. All of them were heroes.
Mayor Bloomberg, shame on you. Shame on you for neglecting the heroes who sacrificed their future. Shame on you for failing to recognize the significance of their contributions. Shame on you for neglecting the officers and firefighters who lost their friends, family, brothers and sisters on that fatal day.
The people of this country will never forget the courage of the dedicated public servants who rushed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. And we will never forget the cowardice of Mayor Bloomberg who, ten years after the event, has shunned the heroes.
Photo obtained subject to GNU license on wikipedia.org. ({{Information |Description=World trade center arial view March 2001 |Source=self-made |Date=March 2001 |Author= User:Jeffmock }} )
