TW: Mentions of September 11, harm, islamophobia.

I remember the events of September 11, 2001, vividly.

I was at work, sitting in the break room, about to eat lunch when I looked up at the television and witnessed one of the most horrific events of my lifetime. Everyone in the break room stopped what they were doing. No one knew what to say, what to do. We all felt powerless, small, insignificant, and scared.

Scared of the reality we were now living in.

Scared of what this means for us as citizens.

Scared of the unknown.

So people were driven to come together, to face the unknown. And on paper, that kind of mutual support and solidarity sounds great. In reality, though?

It was far from great.

Some people view 9/11 as a dark moment in U.S. history that "united us all as [U.S.] Americans." And it did unite a lot of U.S. Americans. We came together. But it also united some folx in some other ways.

It united them in a campaign of hate against their fellow citizens.

What unfolded in the years that followed was a level of islamophobia and hate that still shakes me to my core because it's still happening every day. I have so many friends and colleagues who still fear for their lives and safety because the level of "national sentiment" and "U.S. pride" that flooded this country after 9/11 fed into the casual, everyday racism and xenophobia that the United States was built on in such a way that it has never truly petered out or died down. I have witnessed "good people" and "patriots" harass folx and resort to violence without thinking just because they believe they've pegged someone as a "terorist" or "not a 'real' American."

And I've witnessed this in 2025.

Truth is, the United States is a country built on hate and too many of its citizens are more than willing to participate in said hate. We could be better but it's much easier for many of us not to be.

If you decide to sit and reflect on September 11, 2001, I want you to also reflect on how complicit you were in getting caught up in the wave of "American pride" that swept this country. I want you to reflect on how much of this you still prescribe to. And I want you to realize one thing:

Pride in one's home or way of life does not, and never has had to, represent harming others.

I wish more U.S. Americans understood that, but their ancestors and forefathers didn't get it either, so...

Love and strength to all of those personally impacted by the tragedies of September 11. May today provide you peace and healing.