On September 11, 2001, I boarded a flight from Newark to Dallas. Although on a different airline, I didn’t learn until later that I left from the same terminal at around the same time as Flight 93. Four hours later, when we were grounded in Memphis told about the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, I knew the Twin Towers had come down via cell phone but did not fully grasp what was told to me until we got off the plane and saw the CNN footage on a television in the terminal.
Though it’s been 12 years next month, like most Americans, September 11th is a day that I will never forget. In the months that followed September 11th, for the briefest of moments, our nation was united as one people, one party–all American.
Now, however, despite the fact that we are a nation politically divided, I still believe that most Americans have not forgotten September 11th. Regardless of political view, most Americans view Sept. 11 as a day of mourning, of sadness for America. It is, for most, a sacred day.
This is why the American Muslim’s Political Action Committee‘s planned “Million Muslim March” in Washington, DC on Wednesday, September 11th is ill-conceived, distasteful and, quite frankly, antagonistically insulting to many Americans.
While Muslim Americans have the same First Amendment rights as any other American, AMPAC’s protest on September 11th is a slap in the face to many Americans–and, moreso, to those whose lives were lost on that sunny Tuesday twelve years ago.
This is also why an ad hoc group of bikers is organizing a counter-protest through Facebook to respond to AMPAC’s disdainful disrespect for what most Americans view as a day of mourning.
Just as the Million Muslim March most assuredly won’t get a million Muslims in Washington on Sept. 11th, there probably won’t be the hoped-for two million bikers riding in either.
However, it appears, based on the 22,000 and growing Facebook likes, the bikers’ ranks are growing rapidly.
Although Washington bureaucrats have not given the bikers a permit (so far), that is not stopping the riders from descending on the Capitol for a “riding event” to make their…er…voices heard (the louder the pipes, the louder the roar).
Whether you have two wheels or four*, if you support this event and can make it to DC on September 11th, you can go to the group’s Facebook page and join the event–regardless whether Washington bureaucrats “approve” of the ride. [America was founded on 'civil disobedience' after all.]
- * Note – For those who are not bikers in fact (but bikers in spirit), four-wheeled vehicles often attend these types of events. When they do, cars typically stay behind the bikes for safety reasons. If you do choose to attend in a car, please be mindful of the bikes and, if you are in a vehicle behind the bikes–please keep a safe distance as sudden ‘accordion-like’ stops do occur frequently on large rides.
If you’re inclined to go, ride safe!
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