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I was 21 on 9/11, living in Vancouver and very into US politics for a non-American. I had CNN on all the time and watched live as the second tower fell. I didn't sleep for over 24 hours that day, glued to the TV. I remember trying to tell a Norwegian friend on ICQ about the importance of the attack, and how it could lead to World War 3. He had never heard of the WTC and didn't understand/didn't believe how earth-shattering it was. I was very upset when Jeb Bush decided that his brother won the 2000 election (how does this poo poo happen in first world nations?!) and saw 9/11 as expected blowback for decades of US meddling in the middle east - as visually/emotionally upsetting as it was. I was dismayed by how many friends saw it as an attack on "us" and were in favour of nuking the whole region. Canadian kids who didn't pay any attention to politics on either side of the border and poo poo on Americans their whole life (as is Canadian tradition) suddenly saw themselves as brothers in arms and wanted to fight the evil muslims. I got in a lot of heated arguments in the weeks and months following. The Iraq war of course was just more meddling for control of oil and regional power. I was confused that Americans saw it as retaliation rather than further provocation. All the 9/11 attackers were Saudi, after all. I was very proud that my government decided not to be part of the "coalition of the willing." I was more shocked by Bush getting re-elected in 2004 than I was by 9/11. I just couldn't understand it. He was so dumb, so insincere, and he was re-eelected by a larger margin than last time. I've learned to never underestimate the stupidity of the general populace on either side of the border since. We elected a similar hawkish conservative for Prime Minister (Stephen Harper), and both countries lost a whole decade+ of prosperity as a result. Now, while the US finally seems to be recovering by the damage done by Bush, my city is in a tailspin, with a real estate bubble that makes 2008 in America look like nothing. Houses average $3,000,000, two bedroom condos are $1,000,000, and the provincial government just panicked and put a 15% tax on foreigner home purchases - even applying it retroactively - which has caused people to back out of deals, causing a chain reaction that may have popped the bubble. We're in for a world of pain either way. I've grown extremely bitter towards anti-regulation, free market conservatives. A whole generation is hosed. No one can afford to live, jobs are disappearing, the economy and culture of the city is disintegrating, and it's too late to do anything now.
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Aug 5, 2016 11:33
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| # ¿ May 18, 2024 23:39 |
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