Understand younger generations? Experiences with 9/11

The way we define generations can seem arbitrary

911 memorial lights in New York City

Photo by Flickr/Kamau Z Akabueze
Story by Paul Baribeau

We often define generations based on demographic trends. The baby boomers are a cohesive generation because they were born during an upswing in birth rates immediately after WWII. Generation X includes people born when birthrates went back down.

Generation Y is more difficult to define

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, I was sitting in class. School had been back in for less than 2 weeks.

Generations can supposedly be identified by their common experiences. The baby boomers, my parents’ generation, are relatively united by their experiences with The Beatles, Woodstock, or the Vietnam War.

I remember our teacher being called down to the principal’s office. The second plane had just hit.

Nothing has shaped today’s society more than the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Hundreds of thousands have died in the ensuing wars. Governments have spent trillions in new security measures. Civil liberties have been sacrificed in the name of public safety.

I remember seeing the teachers gathered in the library during recess, pressed around a single TV.

The conventional span of birth years for Generation Y ranges somewhere from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s. Generation Z supposedly comes next.

I remember a cast of characters passing through our classroom throughout the day, so that different staff had the opportunity to follow the news. 

Somewhere in between Generation Y and Generation Z is a forgotten group of people—a generation of children who, unlike Generation Z, were old enough to remember 9/11, but unlike Generation Y, were not old enough to understand its significance.

I remember our teacher trying, soberly, to explain what had happened.

On 9/11, the loss of life, of innocence, and of a sense of personal and public safety, was catastrophic. Nations wept. Normally sane, levelheaded people did irrational things. Coming to terms with what had happened—and what would happen—would be difficult. 

I remember my mother contextualizing the day in vain, by comparing it to Princess Diana’s death—an event I barely remember at all.

It’s hard for a child to understand the complexities of geopolitics, religious extremism, international transportation, and pure unbridled hate. Men and women who are now in their late teens and early 20s were forced to do so long before anyone should have to. 

I remember watching a war begin on TV—a war that my generation would grow up to fight in, and die for.

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to remember the lives that were lost on that day, to honour the courage that shone through, and to reflect on how it affected the lives of everyone around you. 

I remember being scared.

 

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