Comments on: those changed forever http://fridayplaydate.com/those-changed-forever/ entirely true, but exaggerated for comic effect Tue, 22 May 2012 10:50:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Susan http://fridayplaydate.com/those-changed-forever/#comment-9 Susan Wed, 20 Apr 2005 22:27:00 +0000 http://fridayplaydate.com/those-changed-forever/#comment-9 Tisha, I think you're on to something. I think that, in some ways, the 9/11 attacks were so huge (and, for most of us, so far away from our suburban lives) that it was nearly incomprehensible. But Oklahoma City is my home, and even ten years ago, before I ever imagined I would live here, I was shocked that anyone could do that to a place I loved. And THEN to find out that it wasn't some stranger, but just another guy--<br/><br/>I think, for me, the worst part is Tim McVeigh's matter-of-fact statement that the children at America Cares were 'collateral damage'. He chose the Murrah building not because it had a daycare or even because these particular federal employees had more to do with Waco than others in the region, but because it was the least secure of all the facilities he looked at. He could park the truck right outside the building and do more damage than, say, in Kansas City (another possible site for this attack). The tragedy then becomes that this community, which is loving and welcoming, made itself a target specifically by being so welcoming.<br/><br/>At the new federal campus, that isn't so true. There are thick reinforced concrete barriers and walls. It is really a beautifully designed fortress.<br/><br/>Whew. Didn't realize I still had so much to say! Tisha, I think you’re on to something. I think that, in some ways, the 9/11 attacks were so huge (and, for most of us, so far away from our suburban lives) that it was nearly incomprehensible. But Oklahoma City is my home, and even ten years ago, before I ever imagined I would live here, I was shocked that anyone could do that to a place I loved. And THEN to find out that it wasn’t some stranger, but just another guy–

I think, for me, the worst part is Tim McVeigh’s matter-of-fact statement that the children at America Cares were ‘collateral damage’. He chose the Murrah building not because it had a daycare or even because these particular federal employees had more to do with Waco than others in the region, but because it was the least secure of all the facilities he looked at. He could park the truck right outside the building and do more damage than, say, in Kansas City (another possible site for this attack). The tragedy then becomes that this community, which is loving and welcoming, made itself a target specifically by being so welcoming.

At the new federal campus, that isn’t so true. There are thick reinforced concrete barriers and walls. It is really a beautifully designed fortress.

Whew. Didn’t realize I still had so much to say!

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