Some Rudeness During My Visit to a 9/11 Memorial in Boston

My annual 9/11 piece is up and is devoted to those who believe we ought not make a public spectacle of mourning those who were murdered seven years ago. I specifically cite the case of Garrison Keillor, the host of A Prairie Home Companion, based on a portion of speech he gave last year at Northeastern University which I attended.

Given that I had written about the importance of remembering those who perished on September 11th, I thought it only fitting that I visit The Garden of Remembrance which is located at the foot of the Boston Public Garden. This memorial commemorates those people from Massachusetts who died on September 11th. Remember that two of the hijacked planes (American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175) departed from Logan International Airport here in Boston.

As I approached the memorial, I came upon an older woman (I would guess to be in her 60s) railing about President Bush and how he supposedly let our guard down on September 11th. I wanted to tell her the shut the hell up and be considerate of other people trying to pay their respects. But I also did not want to become a distraction or spectacle. Fortunately, she went away. Yet talk about rudeness. If you want to spout your loony opinion then fine. But don't do it in a place where people are paying their solemn respect. Sadly, some people will never learn.