The following debate originally took place on my Facebook wall, upon my post, “Eleventh Year Since 9/11“…
Death Toll Continues after 8 Years for 9/11 Responders:
Rayn: As I lament the great and senseless loss of life that took place on this day in history, I also do my best to celebrate our “Ground Zero” responders, as well. And, since so many are STILL sick and dying as a direct result of their valiant and noble efforts in the weeks and months following 9/11/01, the battles they have been fighting since then should not be ignored! Their betrayal by our federal government is nothing less than criminal, and continues to go largely unnoticed!
EPA Misled Public on 9/11 Pollution, White House Ordered False Assurances on Air Quality:
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/EPA-misled-public-on-9-11-pollution-White-House-2560252.phpWhile these fire fighters, peace officers, paramedics, rescue dogs, and others, worked day and night in the ruins of the World Trade Center, seeking out survivors, and collecting remains for identification, the White House and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, motivated by their single-minded notion of self-preservation over public interest, quietly colluded to deceive and harm the public, deliberately concealing the fact that “Ground Zero,” and the surrounding area, were HIGHLY contaminated with toxins. And, of course, within just a week of the atrocity, the EPA began to publicly propagate the “official” myth that the lead and asbestos particle-filled air of lower Manhattan was “safe” to breathe – a blatant conspiracy to defraud that has so far resulted in the loss of over a thousand more lives to date!
As Death Toll of 9/11 Responders Nears 1000, Pols Want Autopsy Standards to Pinpoint Causes:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/death-toll-9-11-responders-nears-1-000-pols-autopsy-standards-pinpoint-article-1.453796Sadly, surviving 9/11 first responders have never even been formally invited to a single 9/11 memorial ceremony. And, though a large number of them had been attending unofficially in spite of it, just last year, they were actually denied entry for the first time.
Flashback 2011: First Responders Decry Exclusion from 9/11 Ceremony:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/16/new.york.911.memorial/index.html?iref=obnetworkTruly harrowing is the fact that only JUST YESTERDAY cancer was FINALLY added to the list of illnesses caused by exposure to the “Ground Zero” area. 14 catergories of it are being recognized, for now. Yet, this is just a single step in a major battle by 9/11 responders, their families, and advocates, to ensure proper health coverage for those responders and residents who are now sick, as well as those still yet undiagnosed.
US Adds Cancer to List of Illnesses Linked to 9/11 Terror Attacks:
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/10/13783417-us-adds-cancer-to-list-of-illnesses-linked-to-911-terror-attacks?lite
Patricia C.: Wow! I cannot believe, with ALL that id going on in the World, today, how CALM the Collective Is…. Especially in America! Like, they sprayed a mind-numbing chemical to induce a wake-state coma-like existence 🙁 … All that “dust” from the imploded explosions could’ve done the trick … Ma’atTrix at their Best to Fool The Restless who need no Beast Left Inside to Fight Good Right Up Against Dark Might. Light Will Always Prevail… No Matter What … Keep Shinnin’ Rayn 😀 …. Skillzzz Yo ^_^
Stephen K.: That was obviously an extremely hazardous site. Anyone who went there knew fully well what they were getting into their lungs, but they chose to gamble their lives away anyway because they wanted to be heroes. The U.S. government should make a statement along these lines if they want to restore an illusion of credibility. Why should such reckless behavior be a taxpayer responsibility?
Patricia C.: Really Stephen??? So I guess, if You had Survived the explosion and collapse, but were trapped and laying under rubble and debris, though ALIVE, injured, bleeding for 4 days with no water, food, light, scarce air, you would be totally ok, understanding if no one took the time, effort, bravery, Risk to Rescue You??? Really? Please tell me I read your post totally wrong because I take you for a very, feeling, sensitive kind of Individual.
Stephen K.: This was so obvious. Patricia, are you one of the people who wanted to be there too, willing to sacrifice your own life inside of that hellhole? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_September_11_attacks “The last survivor to be removed alive from the WTC collapse debris was removed from the ruins of the North Tower 27 hours after its collapse.” The survivors who were found there 4 days after the attacks could not be rescued. “The search for survivors did find others who had survived for days under the rubble pile. These people were found with “Life Detector” listening equipment. With this special equipment, their voices could be heard. Rescuers at the surface told them, “If you can hear me, tap on a pipe” and metallic taps were heard in response. But a path through the debris could not be cleared quickly enough to get to them before they succumbed to their injuries.[citation needed]”
Patricia C.: I was living in FL at the time. I think it is just not a situation where you can arguably Judge another’s reason, motivation for doing a thing. Simply state Your Position and instead, given the circumstances of This Particular Event, SEE the Good that came out of it, For There Is and Always Will Be GOOD In Everything, No Matter What. This is a classic example of Where shear, Humane Empathy is called for; not a synopsis and critique on Why or Who Should Do A Thing. At Times Like This, Logic, Intellect, Reason have no place; only the HEART.
Stephen K.: Labor was needed at the site, and hopefully appropriate safeguards were eventually put into place. Were there any hazmat suits that failed?
Rayn: Regardless of your own view that it was “obviously an extremely hazardous site,” Stephen, the Environmental Protection Agency, under direction of the White House, concealed the truth of the matter by declaring the air within and around the “Ground Zero” area to be safe. And, due to their deadly deception, the proper contamination protocols were not implemented full-scale, in response. Measures such as the immediate use of “Level A” hazmat protective clothing for all responders, and a more long-term evacuation of the surrounding residential areas would have significantly lessened the degree of exotic cancers that have now become prevalent in the 9/11 responder community, as well as those who quickly returned to their lower Manhattan apartments and jobs!
As for your suggestion that responders “knew fully well what they were getting into their lungs, but they chose to gamble their lives away anyway because they wanted to be heroes,” this is speculative, and highly doubtful. To begin, there is no evidence to indicate that 9/11 responders held such a level of knowledge about the air quality as you describe – though, the same cannot be said for the White House, nor the EPA! With emergency radio transcripts, you’ll find no warnings being circulated about the level of air toxicity. Second, 9/11 first responders, in particular, were doing their JOBS when they evacuated the WTC and surrounding buildings, and sought out wounded for treatment. And, with the events of 9/11 representing an attack against the entire country, all responders, in fact, were doing their job when they looked for buried survivors in and around “Ground Zero” after the towers, and WTC7 came down, and when they set up triage tents in the area to treat more of the wounded! Firefighters also did their job as they put out the hundreds of cars that were on fire after the Twin Towers came down:
http://chazzsongs911.blogspot.com/2007/03/what-melted-cop-cars-7-blocks-from-wtc.html
Firefighters also remained at “Ground Zero” for over six weeks, working to cool down the pools of molten steel that burned away within the footprints of WTC 1, 2 & 7 after they came down:
Roaring Bright Red-Orange 1500°F Core in WTC Ruins 6 Weeks Later:
These men and women are our civil servants – trained in their duty, and PAID through our tax dollars to respond to emergencies! The dangerous, but important assistance that they provided on 9/11 saved many lives, and is PRECISELY “a taxpayer responsibility.” That 9/11 responders were ill-equipped to do their job was not based upon “reckless behavior,” but rather, the decisions of the higher-up administrative officials overseeing the completely unprecedented, extensive, rescue efforts. And, the lack of hazmat suits on-site was not the only equipment short-coming that should be addressed…
Giuliani Claims It Would Have Been ‘Impossible’ To Give 9/11 Firefighters Working Radios:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2007/12/23/18491/giuliani-radios/
City bureaucrats couldn’t even bother to equip firefighters with working radios, even with almost a decade of knowledge about the need for a solution! As you can read in the article above, “the firefighters on 9/11 were forced to use old equipment that had malfunctioned eight years earlier, during the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Center. But it wasn’t ‘impossible’ to get new radios to these firefighters, as Giuliani tried to claim. After the 1993 incident, Giuliani gave Motorola a $14-million no-bid contract. Despite this exorbitant sum, the radios were faulty and had to be taken out of service in March 2001, after a ‘distress call from a firefighter trapped in a burning house’ went unheard.”
Stephen K.: I was being a contrarian and was in a bad mood. At least we brought out some information regarding out our government’s incompetence. I still say that many of victims had the option of quitting their jobs and not showing up at that site if they valued their lives. I wonder if any of them did such a thing.
Patricia C.: Stephen, when it comes to Being Human, Instinct becomes the Driving Force Of Nature as it was Intended by the Source Of ALL LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE. Logic and Reason DO NOT EXIST when it comes to Unconditional Love. Therefore, there is no argument here. Just People Loving People. …. …. …. …. …. LOVE IS LOVE.
Patricia C.: Rayn, You are My Eloquent Hero. Thank You for your extremely informative, exceptionally well written and loving tribute, in Your Way, Your Words, surrounding the Events of 9/11/2001 in New York City, NY!
Stephen K.: Flaming debris shot outward from the points of the airplanes’ impact, similar to volcanic bombs. This might account for a tiny fraction of the uneven burning patterns seen on some of the vehicles. Also, what happened to the drivers of the vehicles found on the FDR drive? Also, Patricia, never underestimate the power of self preservation or self love. Not everyone is willing to take unnecessary risks with their own lives when no family members’ lives are at stake.
Patricia C.: Stephen, your last sentence is irrelevant because it doesn’t make sense to me; so, I will leave it at that.
Patricia C.: Rayn, I posted my response also on your web site. Thank you again.
Stephen K.: Although not everyone who chose to continue to work at the 9/11 site without adequate protection was suicidal, reckless, irresponsible and lacking common sense, we as a society have an obligation to continue to care for them. The government and the victims are now paying for their own mistakes.
(All original portions of this work, by Rayn Kleipe, are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, while all redistributed links, images, sounds, videos, and writings are protected under 17 U.S.C. § 107: Fair Use, or under Public Domain)
