Needless to say, the most famous date of the 00s was a terrible day for lots of reasons. The death and destruction, the fear, the realization that people hated Americans enough to kill themselves in order to kill us too. Looking back, one of the terrible things that followed that terrible day felt, at the time, like the most comforting thing-the only comforting thing, really, about it at all. It was the great respect and affection I felt for Rudy Giuliani.
That day, while-well, you know what happened-and while the United States government was exposing itself as confused and incompetent and of no help at all, the mayor of the city where I lived came on TV and made feel better. I watched him on the screen-this man who I thought was a closed-minded, freedom-squelching, paternalistic bully of a politician-and I thought, thank you, Rudy Giuliani. Rudy Giuliani, racist despot, thank you.
Worst of all, it was just that paternalism that I was thankful for. Someone, on this frighteningly chaotic day, was taking control. Calm, strong control. And that's what I wanted. Not knowing what was going on, not knowing what to do, I wanted someone to tell me what was going on, and to tell me what to do. While so many other people on the TV that day spoke in grave tones and struggled to project an air of authority, the mayor spoke plainly and honestly, and did project an air of authority. He stood up.
This is not fun to think about. It gives me a clearer understanding than I would probably want to have of how a public could fall under the rule of fascism. What if, in the ensuing days, planes had kept flying into skyscrapers? What if terrorists had kept blowing stuff up? How quickly would we have, would I have, lined up and, I don't know, registered for an ID card, put on a uniform, submitted to retina scan? I'd like to think "not immediately"? But I don't really know.
This is one of the very grimmest things about remembering that grim, grim day. For the rest of my life, I think, whenever I see Rudy Giuliani's face on the television or in a magazine or wherever, along with all the anger and disgust and other appropriately negative emotions, I will remember again, and feel a sense of gratitude. And that sucks.
Yes, and then Rudy tried the power grab to hold onto office and everyone (including our current mayor despot) cried out in dismay and disillusionment.
Not everyone--don't forget Mark Green.
Yeah, I was thinking similarly: Why isn't the fucking president on fucking tv?! Why is he in a hidey-hole?! *Reagan* would certainly have been on tv! Oy.
Exactly. Apparently, the modern Republican Officeholder Litany of "but what would (hushed tones) Reagan do?" only goes so far when the Shit gets Real, as the kids say. I mean, yeah, say what you will about Rudy, but he sure manned up when the answer to "WWRD?" was "get out there and exude reassurance and strength in a frankly uncertain situation."
Also, @oudemia -- I have to point this out somewhere, so it might be here: Little My is totally my hero. You rule.
Yay! I managed to spend most of the 90s in baby doll dresses, combat boots, and a ponytail -- so my affinity for her is vast and unbreakable. (And of course Little My is nicely prickly and Snork Maiden is a big drip.)
I always felt Little My and Snufkin should kiss off Moominvalley and go wander the world together.
Ooof this was a gut punch!
It is so terrifying how quickly the appeal of one man's Feudal leadership style can grip us in moments of turmoil (also shocking that we had no moral/transformational leader to stand up in that vacuum). So fucking grim.
Succinct!
yes.
and then I try to remember when it started to wear off. In october, when he was making ads encouraging people to go shopping? Ah, I kind of liked him still because I am on the side of chinatown. It took a WHILE - maybe even up to the beginnings of Presidential rumors.
I find this so depressing, especially since I like to think of myself as a cliched East Coast social libertarian/fiscal conservative, but on who cannot deny that Rudy Giuliani had his appeal for me at one time. Now he scares the fuck out of me.
STRONGLY AGREE.
Dave, this was really excellent.
Rudy's rotting, lopsided grille is truly one of horrors of modern life.
How can you say 'no' to a man with a bullhorn?
Strongly disagree! That clearer understanding of how a public could fall under the rule of fascism is an excellent thing to have, given that it came without any publics falling under the rule of fascism. And although Rudy turned out to be a douche later, his actions on 9/11 in and of themselves were probably more or less a net positive, for all the reasons you state.
I mean, I get what you're saying, but.
Agree! (Mostly!) I mean, it was unnerving, but edifying, to realize that that slide would be easy and everyone would nod along approvingly to the sound of the jackboots in places where a society has a series of 9/11-ish social disruption in succession. Come back, crazy people who won't give anyone their social security number, I never understood before!
You are both taking about it as if it isn't still kinda' happening.
@Abe: Ha! Fair enough.
Yes! Abe, good point. I had thought about expanding this to at least mention the ways that we all did, in some ways, fall under this kind of horriblism. but then i thought better to keep in short and personal. the bush years, though, speak even more to the reason whyâ€"despite moff and oudemania's astute argument that it is better to know the dangers than to notâ€"i do wish we'd all never seen such a crisis, and so never had to learn what the affects can be. Pollyanna of me, maybe. But still...
I would LOVE to read some Glad Books by Dave Bry.
Can you IMAGINE if he had become President!?!?!
(this statement has nothing to do with his politics, just looking at that smile so close up and then imagining it the size of Mount Rushmore).
That still looks like it was pulled from one of those jumpy TV-channel montages that horror movies sometimes use to fill in the backstory. Like, here's a CNN anchor telling us that the military is cordoning off Philadelphia, here's President Guiliani telling us that everything is OK, and here's a nice jump cut to a near-subliminal closeup of his teeth just before the handheld video of people lurching down the street and OH GOD SOMETHING LUNGES AT THE CAMERAMAN, AND THEN STATIC.
I may or may not have used the words 'smart' and 'grandfatherly' when I referred to Rumsfeld in October 2001.
When did a big city Mayor -- particularly during 2 wars -- ever head straight to the White House?
Rudy was tripping.
He was the Mayor of 9/11. That's the biggest city in the universe.
Is this the very same Rudy Giuliani that let his Fire Department place their make-shift emergency "command center" in the lobby of the very building that was already then on-fire, only to have the team lost when that building came down? And is this the same Rudy Giuliani that so admirably made tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars consulting under the new firm named "Giuliani Capital Partners"-- advising firms, governments and world leaders on how to watch their people (under the guise of "safety" and move out of dangerous buildings-- from their safe office in Chicago-- having subleased office space for pennies on the dollar from investment bank that moved out of the Sears Tower as soon as humanly possible?
Grabs for power from politicians in the form of extending self-serving terms in office I understand, almost expect (now that the current Mayor of New York pulled off what Rudy could not), but incompetence that masquerades as "doing good" is beyond the pale.
I find it hard to associate the word "gratitude" with a man who should be known for fooling people into thinking he had it all under control.
DAVE BRY FOR 9/11 MAYOR.
//you deserve a promotion