United States: Latino Perspectives on the Anniversary of 9/11

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices 9/11 Retrospective.

The year 2011 is an unforgettable year in regards to the 9/11 attacks. The death of Osama Bin Laden in the beginning of May, the announcement of President Obama to withdraw troop from Afghanistan for the third trimester of 2012, the advancement of the reconstruction of the World Trade Center, and particularly because it marks the 10th anniversary of the attempts in New York and Washington that changed the course of history.

Latinos (the name used by many Latin American and Caribbean people to identify themselves in the US) in the United States have honoured the victims, as there were so many of them affected as well. The radio station WNYC started a series of interviews on the “9/11 generation” which includes Latino families, and Univisión is airing a week [es] of transmissions dedicated to the 10th anniversary. And while the media remembers victims and historical days, what can be found on the Latino blogosphere are posts on the famous conspiration theories. For example, bloggers Julio Plaza, Josué Belda and Pedro Gimeno explain in a series of articles for the 11-S [es] blog the possible causes that led to the fall of the towers.

Una de las creencias más comunes ligadas a las teorías conspirativas sobre el 11-S, si no la más, es que se emplearon explosivos para ayudar a que las Torres cayeran. Dejando aparte el edificio 7 del WTC, cuya caída merece un análisis separado, vamos a dar un pequeño repaso histórico a estas afirmaciones y a analizar su mérito.

One of the most common beliefs tied to the conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11, if not for the most common, is that explosives aided in the collapse of the towers. Leaving apart building number 7 of the WTC, whose collapse merits a separate analysis, we are going to give a short historical flashback at these ideas and analyse their plausibility.

The blog “Movimiento Anti-NWO” (Anti-NWO Movement) makes mention of [es] one song that uses an allegory of the September 11th attacks called “Pero no lo contó la TV” (But the TV didn't say anything) which summarises, in 10 paragraphs, the alleged scheming of the U.S. government behind the attacks:

Más allá de que pueda gustar musicalmente o no, resulta admirable la capacidad de síntesis y la frescura con la que este video toca el tema de la mentada conspiración del 11 de septiembre del 2001, el día en que muchos despertaron a la conciencia forzadamente, ante la artera manifestación de un grupo élite que controla el planeta como si fuera un rebaño de ovejas —con una mezcla de brujería y lobotomía.

Besides liking it musically or not, the synthesis and novelty is refreshing and admirable in the way that this video broaches the topic of the conspiracy of the September 11, 2001 attacks, a day when many were forcibly brought to consciousness, before the evident manifestation of an elite group that controls the planet as if it were a flock of sheep- with a mixture of witchcraft and lobotomy.

Jesús Silva-Herzog Márquez‘ [es] blog cites the British/American writer Christopher Hitchens, who in his work on Slate has defended the United Staes and its authorities for its life-saving heroism:

Pero la lección de aquella mañana [del 11 de septiembre] fue para él [Hitchens] que tampoco debía olvidarse lo obvio. Para Hitchens, los atentados terroristas significaron dos novedades. Por primera vez apareció respaldando a las “fuerzas del orden,” del lado de soldados y policías y defendiendo con vehemencia a su país adoptivo.

But the lesson of that morning [of September 11] for him [Hitchens] was that the obvious shouldn't be forgotten. For Hitchens, the attacks symbolised two novelties. For the first time, he backed the “forces of law and order” on the side of police and military, and defended his adoptive country with vehemence.

Finally, Mexican journalist León Krauze in his blog [es] mentions that one of the evils that often followed the commemoration of September 11 is the relativisation of evil:

En un afán torpe de corrección política, la sociedad moderna ha tendido con alarmante frecuencia a olvidar que el mal —o alguna vertiente del mal— no permite matiz alguno: se gesta como un intento de dañar al prójimo de la manera más cruel, y relativizarlo es, inevitablemente, difuminarlo, minimizarlo.

In a clumsy attempt at political correctness, modern society has with alarming frequency forgotten that evil- or some aspects of evil- has no nuances: it is created as an intent to harm another in the most grievous way possible, and to rationalize it, is, inevitably, to diffuse it, minimise it.

On Twitter, it was the Latin American media that mentioned the September 11 commemorations most prolifically. CNN México (@CNNMex) replayed an interview of George W. Bush by National Geographic:

Si te lo perdiste: George W. Bush habla por primera vez de los ataques terroristas del 11 de septiembre http://cnn.mx/n000RWH

In case you missed it: George W. Bush speaks for the first time about the September 11 terrorist attacks http://cnn.mx/n000RWH

El Universal de México (@El_Universal_Mx) released an edition about September 11 for all it's followers:

Siga nuestro especial a 10 años del 11 de septiembre, testimonios, galerías y videos http://bit.ly/qz4ReC

Follow our special on the 10th anniversary of September 11, testimonies, photos and videos http://bit.ly/qz4ReC

The NY Latino newspaper (@eldiariony) opened a series of tweets and articles on 9/11 with the following question:

¿Quién se hizo rico tras los atentadosdeSeptiembre11? #s11latino bit.ly/nji92e

Who got rich from the September 11 attacks?#s11latino bit.ly/nji92e

Ude Picart (@UdePicart) seems to display incertitude in face of the approaching date:

Qué será de este 11 de Septiembre?

What will become of this September 11?

A reporter who calls herself DwllC (@DwllC) affirms that the U.S. government remains alert for possible reprisals during the commemoration:

Emite Estados Unidos alerta mundial por posibles atentados, en vísperas del 11 de Septiembre.

The United States is on a global alert for possible attempts on the eve of September 11.

The secretary of external relations of Mexico, Patricia Espinosa (@PEspinosaC) compiled a summary of the bilateral relations between her country and the United States on the eve of 9/11:

Les comparto unas breves reflexiones sobre la relación México-EUA a una década de los atentados del 11deseptiembre: bit.ly/qrsAbM.

I want to share some brief reflections related to the relations between Mexico and the United States a decade after the September 11 attacks bit.ly/qrsAbM.

According to a conspiracy theory shared by Mario Lopez (@MariofLopez) there is an internet page that promises new revelations about events:

115 mentiras sobre los atentados del 11septiembre- voltairenet.org/115-mentiras-s… a lo menos 6 de los supuestos secuestradores aéreos están vivos

115 lies about the 9/11 attacks – voltairenet.org/115-mentiras-s… at least 6 of the supposed airborne hijackers are alive

Various publications from the United States also commemorated the anniversary in special editions, for example New York Magazine and it's “Encyclopedia of 9/11,” the New York Times features visual arts inspired by 9/11, and Foreign Affairs magazine published a “Did you know?” series of essays related to what 9/11 means at the global level. The Washington Post shares a human interest perspective of nine families seeking normality after the attack on the Pentagon. Among all this, a wide range of television programs have honoured the memory of those involved in the events of that tragic day.

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices 9/11 Retrospective.