Go ahead and flame away, but I would like to know why we as Americans are being so nasty to each other? We lost 7,000+ fellow Americans in a terrorist attack. The 7,000 fellow Americans who were brutally murdered, also left behind family and friends. They/we have all become victims of this terrible holocaust. Why is it that we have to belittle, flame, and harrass each other? Can't we be be nice and loving to each other for just a few threads? Is that asking too much?

-- (peacetoall@peace.peace), October 06, 2001

Answers

Peace,

Please look again. A broad paintbrush of "all" does not fit here. Find the gems among the rocks. They are there. But it takes work and patience in these parts nowadays.

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), October 06, 2001.

I think many people are on edge. We don't have a clear villain like Japan after Pearl Harbor, we don't understand why others hate us, we are anxiety wracked wondering what and when will be next, we are in denial, we don't have quite the same reservoir of faith and patriotism that we did 60 years ago (or maybe we do, it's not clear to me), we want to blame someone else (almost anyone will do), yadda, yadda, psychobabble, psychobable........

I have not seen any data on national sociopathology changes. It's too soon, I know. I wonder how data on crime, suicide, alcoholism, divorce, sales of Prozac, church attendence, etc will change.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), October 06, 2001.

You sound like Rodney King... "C-c-can't w-w-we all j-j-just get along?"

Liberals, sheesh! LOL

-- libs are idiots (moreinterpretation@ugly.com), October 06, 2001.

Can't we be be nice and loving to each other for just a few threads?

People will be people to the bitter end. What else did you expect? Maybe in the next life the angry war-mongers will be another rung higher on the spiritual evolutionary ladder and finally ready for what you propose. Patience, grasshopper. Patience.

-- Kung (Fu@Caradine.com), October 06, 2001.

I think most of the country is being pretty nice to each other. I hear New Yorkers say that there's an increased sense of community, less random rudeness, and more patience there than before. And I know locally, here, (Mpls/St Paul) there seems to be less derision in the press, a few more smiles on the street, etc.

This forum has always been a skewed microcosm of society in general, so I hope you're not judging the our national mood towards each other based on what you see here...

-- Bemused (and_amazed@you.people), October 06, 2001.

Maybe materialism,replaced the good ol'pre t.v. days when folks enjoyed each other's company.

What's more precious,than a [true]friend????

-- al-d. (dogs@zianet.com), October 06, 2001.

Why are we doing this to each other?

Bottom-line is we are all bored silly sitting and waiting for our impotent leaders to do the obvious(kick some Bin Laden ass). Instead they tell us in no certain terms nothing has changed and they still cannot do their basic job of defending us(they feel the need to broadcast they are failures).

We are also fed a non-stop documentary of how big and badass a bunch of homeless whackos are and how our trillion dollar armed forces will have a really hardtime defeating these warriors. Not funny, it is utterly ridiculous but they feel the need to share their fantasy with us 24/7.

People are fighting because we are angry. I suspect more so with our own government at this point then with any alleged hijackers.

-- (psa@fortheterminallydense.com), October 06, 2001.