I dunno if I'll be writing an annual 9/11 commemoration piece because I wrote extensively about my experiences on that fateful day last year in this blog and for the majority of Americans, 9/11 was such a traumatic, life-altering experience that I feel one should only write about it when a personal chord within ourselves is struck. Such is the case with me this year because there is something indirectly related to the same timeframe as 9/11 that I'd like to talk about.
Birthdays. I suspect there are many other people out there who feel the same exact way as I do on this issue, yet they continue to remain mute on the subject outta fear of being lamblasted by others, but for myself, enough is enough. I am extremely sick-n-tired of 9/11 casting this dark, looming, impenetrable black cloud over those of us who have birthdays on or near the date of September 11th. I know alotta you out there are probaly thinking "Well, people have the right to mourn and commemorate that day any way they damn well please!" Yes, they most certainly do; however, unless you yourself are one of those people whose special day is eclipsed by the tragic events of 9/11, you need to shut the fuck up because if it was happening to you, year in and year out, you'd be pretty damn piss-elegant about it too.
I'm
going to continue to be in a happy, festive on my birthday this year and every year because not only is it my right to do so, but after all I've been through in my lifetime, I cant think of a better day to celebrate my life. Naturally, living with Hiv for 22 years and being consciously alive to talk about it also puts one helluva huge feather in one's cap. Yet with the way that people react regarding anything directly or indirectly connected to 9/11, you'd think that even smiling on or around that date would be warrant enough for a person getting publicly chastised or even arrested on the spot. Quite frankly, I think alotta people take the 9/11 commemoration stuff to the extreme, to the point where it actually borderlines mental illness. Hey, if folks wanna behave that way, fine with me, but they aren't gonna piss on my birthday cake anymore.
M
ake no mistakes, I was in Boston, where 2 of the planes which crashed on 9/11 originated from, and it was totally unnerving and heartwrenching to experience everything that most of us did that day; but, just because all that stuff went down so close to my birthday doesnt mean I'm gonna automatically dress in black and contemplate slitting my wrists every year around 9/11. In fact, I refuse to give up celebrating my birthday just because some terrorist buttmunches responsible for such an unimaginable catastrophic act of hatred and murder decided to pick out a certain date near my birthday to carry-out their Nazi-like vendettas.
What happened to the United States of America on September 11, 2001 gave a totally new meaning to the word "unforgettable." From that day onward we as Americans have never lived in our cities and metropolises with the same sense of security we had grown so accustomed to decades before. We were told by our government to be more aware and alert of what happens in our own immediate surroundings, in our own backyards and I think we as a nation have continued to do just that. We also have been told over and over again to simply go about our lives as usual, without allowing the fear spread on by terrorists to control our lives. Slowly but surely, even in spite of all the international conflicts that America is currently embroiled in, we have indeed managed to regain a fair degree of normalcy both in this country and in our lives. And that is why I plan to celebrate my birthday in a cheerful, positive way from here on out because for me personally that too is something that needed to be taken back too. Thank you for reading.
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