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Ava Harmon: Most people around for the 9/11 attacks on America, can remember exactly where they were in 2001 and how they felt. But to those who were born after that day, grasping the severity of the tragedy may be harder to understand.
AH: To get a better perspective from two different generations, WCMU invited 49-year old Erin Bjerke and 19- year old Alana "Laney" Harsh, both from Mount Pleasant, into WCMU to talk about what the day means to them.
AH: Harsh starts the discussion by explaining how she first learned about the event.
Laney Harsh: The first time I really remember learning about it was probably when I was 11 or 12 in history class. We had a whole day that we just kind of talked about it, but it was a little different than our other history lessons, because most of our other history lessons, we didn't spend the entire day talking about it. But I remember very vividly, like every single class we went to... we talked about that.
Erin Bjerke: Yeah, and so how many years ago would that be for you?
LH: I'm 19 now, so.
EB: About 8 years ago.
LH: Yeah, 8 years. Like you said, you remember where you were and everybody remembers where they were, but we're just learning about it from their perspective versus learning about it through a textbook like our other lessons.
EB: Exactly. So for me, learning about World War II, I wasn't born then. Where were you when this happened and do you remember?
LH: Absolutely. So where were you when you found out about it?
EB: Well, I was at home and my kids were outside playing on the swing set. I had a five-year-old, a three-year-old and one-year-old. My oldest was outside with some other daycare kids that I was taking care of. And I was early 20s. And I remember seeing something on TV as I had the news going and I thought, oh my, like I attributed it to like, but like FAA, like something happened and this went awry. And then the second one happened. And my heart dropped and I rushed outside and I grabbed my kids and I rushed them inside because I didn't know if everywhere in America is getting attacked. I lived in North Dakota at the time and not far from me within the state, they had missile silos and that's where they had the stuff stored. So that area was very likely to be attacked if it was going to be. And so I had a great fear and I brought the kids in and I stayed hunkered down and I was watching the TV and as things kept happening it was just... this dread and this uncertainty and thinking, is it safe to go outside? It was scary.
LH: Absolutely.
EB: So when you first saw footage, I was telling you as I saw it, was so frightening for me. Like, what were your thoughts on that? And how did it make you feel?
LH: I mean, when I first watched it, just kind of made me sick, like to my stomach. It just made me sick and I was devastated almost. Like I wasn't there, but like you still have empathy for that. And it just, It's horrifying.
EB: Do you notice a difference in you processing 9/11?
LH: I think the fact that my generation not being around for it definitely, we kind of inherited it rather than experienced it. And I feel like my generation is a lot more detached from it. Not saying like we don't care, because we definitely do. We understand that these horrible things happen, but I don't think it comes in as a shock. My generation jokes about it a lot.
EB: I've seen them. I've seen the jokes on social media.
LH: Yeah. And I also feel like those jokes have definitely like desensitized us.
EB: Yeah, well and dark humor is a really big thing with people because it can kind of , kind of helps you get through.
LH: Yeah.
EB: So what do you think is a positive thing that could possibly have come out of such a tragic event?
LH: I think definitely the community that was built in having to help with what had happened. I mean, people stuck together, people helped when they.. first responders, like everybody became a community in that moment and they all helped each other. And I think that was a very important thing for our country because it showed other countries, I guess, that, hey, we're unified, we're one.
EB: I noticed a big positive that came out of it was seeing how the world reacted. The aid that was sent. multiple countries coming together to go, yeah, we got to help. Laney, I really appreciate you sitting down to talk with me about this. It's wonderful to hear another perspective and to kind of get an idea of what you feel going forward.
LH: Yeah, I had an amazing time hearing your perspective of things and it was quite beautiful.
AH: That was Laney Harsh and Erin Bjerke from Mount Pleasant talking about 9/11 from their own generations' perspectives. This story was produced by WCMU's Tina Sawyer.
