This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated September 10, 2021
As we pause this weekend to remember the tragic events of 9/11 and honor the thousands of New Yorkers lost twenty years ago on that day, it seems that far too many people have lost site of the most important lessons we learned as a community here in New York. We will all no doubt hear comments celebrating how we all pulled together during those dark days from people who cannot be bothered to do a damn thing to look out for the wellbeing of others during the pandemic we are still living through.
You cannot talk about how you are proud to be a New Yorker because of the way our community responded to the deadliest terrorist attack in our nation’s history, while chastising those who are taking steps to keep a deadly virus from spreading throughout the community. You cannot brag on September 11 about how living through that day makes you “New York Strong,” while bellyaching that it is too difficult to wear a piece of cloth over your nose and mouth when you are in public, indoor areas.
Well, I guess you can actually say all of those things in reference to 9/11 while being completely selfish and lazy when it comes to preventing COVID-19 from spreading, as many will surely do this week, but if you are one such person who does, you are a hypocrite. Caring about your neighbors and making small sacrifices for the good of your community in trying times is not something you can go all out for when you feel like it and then just shrug off and endanger people when you find it inconvenient.
“Nothing should take away from remembrances of the September 11 attacks, but they should steal everyone’s resolve to pull together and protect our fellow New Yorkers during the pandemic.”
The events of September 11, 2001 need to be remembered, especially as we mark the solemn 20th anniversary of that day. It is unfortunate that as we do so this year there is this stark contrast between how some fetishize 9/11, while ignoring what we need to do to keep everyone safe during a tragedy that has taken the lives of eighteen times as many New York City residents as 9/11 did.
Nothing should take away from remembrances of the September 11 attacks, but they should steal everyone’s resolve to pull together and protect our fellow New Yorkers during the pandemic. Unfortunately, many people are simply done looking out for the health of their neighbors and have moved on from caring less, to being openly hostile to those who do still care enough to do the right things to look out for the collective wellbeing of their community.
When a Bay Ridge eatery recently made headlines for making spectacles of the fact they would flout the new indoor dining vaccination requirement and turned it into numerous media appearances and political campaign events, as they invited the unvaccinated to dine indoors at their establishment, I would not mention their name in this column and give them any more of the notoriety they were so eagerly seeking. This past week, the owner gave an interview where she said asking diners for proof of vaccination is the same as how Jews were made to wear yellow stars during the holocaust.
It is nothing like that and drawing comparisons to the slaughter of six million Jews that was based on genocidal antisemitism is in no way similar to trying to prevent people from becoming infected with a virus that has killed over 4.5 million during the course of the past 18 months. People need to stop being poor excuses for human beings just because they are being asked to bear a few small inconveniences or told that they will need to eat outdoors if they choose not to get a vaccine that is the best mitigation tool we currently have against this virus.
Acting like you are the victim in all of this just because you are required to wear a mask or eat outside if you choose not to be vaccinated, is like complaining on September 12, 2001 that it is so unfair to you that you cannot eat at your favorite restaurant in the financial center. If you want to say “Never forget” this weekend, start remembering what you need to do for your community.
