10 years ago - and now
Ten years ago I got to see the Manhattan skyline for myself. This photo was taken with not so good camera 10 years ago this month. Two months later, the two characteristic towers of the World Trade Center were gone.
I bring this up now because, right now, as I type, rescue workers are still searching through the office buildings belonging to the Norwegian parliament, looking for more explosives, as well as injured or killed. The main theory is that a car bomb went off around 3:30 pm today in downtown Oslo and blasted out windows in a 1 kilometer radius. The pictures of twisted metal window frames many floors up on a run-of-the-mill office building coupled with the knowledge that this is taking place in quiet, out-of-the-way Oslo is both unbelievable and upsetting.
I hate that this is happening here. I hate that this is happening again.
Bizarrely, someone dressed as police are shooting at a summer camp for Labor party youth while the bomb search goes on. A talking head on the news has just informed me that this is typical of Al- oh, fuck them. They don't get their name mentioned.
The truth is, we don't yet know yet who will claim responsibility for this, or why. A common denominator is the Labor Party, and although I don't much care for our prime minister, who is Labor, I do not envy him this nightmare one bit. It may not even be directly political; another theory harkens back to the debacle around Danish and Norwegian papers publishing cartoons bashing Moha--, naw, won't mention him, either. Let the search engines find somebody else's site.
The only bright spot in this is that it is vacation time in Norway, and most offices were empty.
My heart isn't pounding as hard now, as I get ready to publish. I know that the most important thing to do is to not hate, not feed into whatever in our minds and societies has let something like this happen in the first place.
My sympathies to everyone in Oslo.
Footnote: Wikipedia's entry on our worst day since WWII
Comments
I am so thankful it is fellesferie, so that most offices were empty.
My thoughts and prayers go to the victims and their families, and to all of Norway.
Sending thoughts and <3 to Norway.
One friend wanted to know who would want to harm Norway. A Norwegian, that's who.
I am, however, relieved that this is the work of one nutjob, one arrested nutjob. If it were the work of some vague, unseen terrorist cell, the fear would be gripping. Now we just have to deal with shock, grief and more grief.
Elyrest, CIDU
Today I think a lot of us turned a corner towards a lighter heart; there were memorial marches all over Norway this evening. The togetherness with thousands of others with the same intention is so healing.