TOPPLING TOWERS, TESTED POWER
BY JULIANNE MALVEAUX
I returned from my walk Tuesday morning, convinced that all was right
with the world. It took a phone call to pierce my complacency, to inform me
that terrorists had aimed a plane at the two Word Trade Center towers, and
that thousands of lives were put in jeopardy as those buildings toppled.
Then the day spiraled downward. At least two more planes were hijacked and
crashed, one into the Pentagon. Camp David was attacked. Lower Manhattan
was evacuated, as was the White House and just about every office building in
downtown Washington. The United States has not been attacked on its own soil
since Pearl Harbor, more than 60 years ago. We’ve never had war or this kind
of uncertainty on our own land. Now, we are feeling what Brits felt during
World War II, the fear and the uncertainty of random attacks.
I am first chilled by the magnitude of this damage. The death toll is
high, and it will climb. There were hundreds of people on the planes that
crashed, thousands working in the office buildings in the World Trade Center.
My mind reviews my rolodex, calling up the names and faces of friends who
work in lower Manhattan. My heart stops when I think of them, their
families, and the devastation that may be caused if they are hurt by an
attack. I try to call out, but circuits are busy. I hold my breath.
My second reaction is a stunned outrage. Whatever happened to US
intelligence? We spend billions of dollars annually -- $27 billion for CIA
operations in 1999 -- spying and interfering in the operations of other
countries. How could we have known nothing about this? President Bush has
said we need more money for the military. This attack will make the
appropriation of more money a cakewalk. AT the same time, where are our
accountability standards! Does the military do the best it can with the
money it has? Why did we know absolutely nothing about such a comprehensive,
well-executed, coordinated attack?
As outraged as I am, I am also reconciled to the fact that this attack,
despicable as it is, was also provoked. The United States has insisted on
playing 700-pound gorilla with the rest of the world, failing to cooperate
with international treaties, to participate in international conference. Our
message has been “our way or the highway,” and it seems that such a message
begs someone to humble us. Our grandmas used to tell us that the bigger you
are the harder you fall. No one hoped that the World Trade Center would come
toppling down, but many wondered how the hubris the US has showed the world
would play itself out. You can’t be the biggest, the baddest, the strongest,
the mightiest, without having a corner of compassion, cooperation or hum
ility. Or, your opponents look for cracks in your armor. Sadly, startling,
it looks like they found ours.
Finally, I realize that these attacks are an explicit declaration of war
against the United States. What does war mean for black people? It means the
declaration of martial law, and that regular rules (already unfair) may be
bent because we are living in a state of emergency. If our last wars
(including Vietnam and the Persian Gulf) are any indication, it means that
black troops will serve more, harder, and at greater risk, with less
protection and remuneration than other troops. It means that folks who seem
or look “suspicious” will be treated suspiciously. And it means that,
because we, too, sing America, we will be expected to stifle any complaint;
swallow any ill treatment, in the name of the “greater good.”
Afghanistan, the Taliban, and other Middle Easterners are suspect for
this terrorism, especially since the 1978 Camp David Accord took place on
September 11. Those African Americans who have expressed some sympathy with
Palestinian and Middle Eastern causes will be as suspect as the causes
they’ve embraced. Those progressives who have not deified Israel, but instead
brought balanced focus to Middle Eastern matters, are likely to find their
words and their work scrutinized. Our collective horror at the toppling of
the twin towers is likely to howl back at those who put these tragedies in
context. We won’t necessarily tie yellow ribbons around trees, or wear
symbols on our chests, but this crisis will engender a loyalty test that some
will not be able to pass. If they have one strike against them because they
are black, they’ll get another for failing to toe a rabidly nationalist line.
The tenor of discourse is likely to be tempered by grief and conformity.
WEB DuBois talked about the duality of our African American existence, of
“two warring souls in one black body.” Even as our American nationalism and
outrage at this sneak attack anger us, our African identities must allow us
to put this foul attack in context. We cannot condone the hijacking of
airplanes, the bombing of buildings, and the loss of innocent life. But we
must acknowledge that our nations own hubris may have pushed others into
testing our power and exposing our vulnerabilities.