Do, or should, American Catholics abstain from flying on September 11?

[on_the_hill]

To not fly on a September 11 isn’t an “observance” as much as a superstition.

 

[redbetta]

Copy cat attacks are a very real thing. Just earlier this year, schools in Colorado were put on lockdown because a Columbine fan girl traveled there near the anniversary of the Columbine shooting, bought a gun, and threatened nearby schools. She wound up only taking her own life, but, I would not be surprised if Colorado students, if they haven’t been already, from now on will be more uneasy going to school on the anniversary of the attacks. I know that, if I were in that situation, I’d be extra cautious. Same with 9/11, but, I do not usually go to crowded places anyway.

 

[Dhc8_Type]

I myself specifically bid to fly on 9/11. If I have it off because my bid pack didn’t go right I take up a private aircraft and fly that for an hour.

 

[Dhc8_Type]

Once the air space closed at at approx 945am edt all flights were ordered to land at the nearest suitable airport. That’s how the 4 cities in new foundland got all the North Atlantic track aircraft. As American and eventually Canadian air space closed. Anyone past their point of no return went to the closest suitable airport the rest returned to Europe. Coming from Asia the Aleutian Islands and western Canada took those flights including Korean 85 which mistakenly squawked that they were hijacked resulting in Canadian Forces Fighters escorting them all the way to the ground in white horse Yukon.

 

[DeniseNY]

I’m not getting the Catholic angle to this.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m not getting the Catholic angle to this.

That’s because there isn’t any. The OP didn’t know whether there was or not and we’re here to tell him there’s nothing Catholic about refusing to fly on 9/11.

 

[Londoner]

Sounds a lot like superstition to me.

Sounds like superstition or unease of a personal nature to me.

To not fly on a September 11 isn’t an “observance” as much as a superstition.

Interesting that superstition is mentioned. I would assume that Catholics do not believe in superstitions, although I may be wrong. I think “unease of a personal nature” is a good way of putting it. You may not actually be superstitious about the date September 11, but you may feel, personally, that carrying on with your normal routines on that date is somehow inappropriate or you may just experience a heightened sense of anxiety due to traumatic memories.

I’m not getting the Catholic angle to this.

That’s because there isn’t any. The OP didn’t know whether there was or not and we’re here to tell him there’s nothing Catholic about refusing to fly on 9/11.

Exactly. My friend is a very conservative Catholic, which is why I was ruling out superstition as a factor. I wasn’t sure whether there was something I don’t know about US Catholic customs with regard to mourning to dead or something. It was just the way my friend said “of course”, as if I’d know what she was talking about. It sounds like the risk of an attack planned to coincide with the anniversary would be the most likely explanation. Personally, I have always made a point of not changing my plans when there have been terrorist attacks in London, whether Irish republican, Islamist, or right-wing extremist. Partly I feel the likelihood of being involved in a terrorist attack is actually very small and I am more likely to be randomly murdered than killed in a terrorist attack. Partly I feel that every time we restrict our freedoms we are little the terrorists win just that little bit more.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Personally, I have always made a point of not changing my plans when there have been terrorist attacks in London, whether Irish republican, Islamist, or right-wing extremist. Partly I feel the likelihood of being involved in a terrorist attack is actually very small and I am more likely to be randomly murdered than killed in a terrorist attack. Partly I feel that every time we restrict our freedoms we are little the terrorists win just that little bit more.

These are my sentiments exactly. I have great admiration for the way London handled the Blitz. There have been other cities in Europe and the Middle East where people pretty much try to just go about their business in the middle of great destruction/ war zone. When I think my troubles are big or I have a big mess on my hands, I think of pictures like the “London milkman” (yes I know it was staged but it was still awesome, plus there was a real milkman out there who provided the props) and all the other films and photos of women in places like postwar Rome and postwar other cities cleaning up the mess, stone by stone, brick by brick, carrying water over heaps of debris and such. They coped in such terrible circumstances, I can do it too with Jesus’ help.

My husband and I also felt it was almost our patriotic duty to carry on with our daily lives and we also didn’t see much of a threat once all the planes were grounded. We recognize that other people may have had a different emotional reaction. My husband and I were both defense engineers for years and spent all day dealing with the military in and around the Beltway. A certain mindset comes with that sort of job. Therefore we carried on with our scheduled trip to New York City and frankly I expected to see many other citizens out and about, for the reasons you posted. I was quite shocked when we went to a well-known restaurant there and we were one of only two couples dining. We had about 10 waiters serving us and when we paid our bill and got ready to leave they all gathered at our table and thanked us for coming out. I didn’t understand what was going on but I was later told by a friend who worked in the restaurant industry there that the workers were afraid of losing their jobs if people got scared and stayed in.

 

[DeniseNY]

thank you. I wasn’t sure if I was missing something

 

[HeDa]

I would ask for two/three days of holiday and fly earlier if it is a place I haven’t been to already or if it is a place that I would like to go back to. Especially if I am travelling over more than three time zones. Knowing that I wake up at 3 am with a lot of energy and want a cooked dinner and then be completely knocked out by 10 am.

 

[MagdalenaRita]

There are people who fly for their job and that might be the only day that can get to where they need to be, either to their job or back home.

 

[Emeraldlady]

Ironically, I felt very safe flying in the US. There is so much security checking. We weren’t there on September 11 but I imagine that the security might be upped on that day in case of copy cats etc. We were far more anxious about guns. In fact the Las Vegas shooting happened not long after we left Las Vegas so that was a bit hair raising.