Every year on Sept. 11, we pause and take time to remember and honor the loved ones, family members, friends and heroes who lost their lives. We pay tribute and commemorate these 2,996 individuals who were killed. We consider who they really were — what they contributed to other people, how they made a difference in the world and how they are missed. They must be remembered, and that is what the 9/11 memorials are about.

A controversial Sept. 10 tweet from Jenn Jackson, an assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University, described 9/11 as “… an attack on the heteropatriarchal capitalistic systems …” that “… many white Americans fight to protect.” This tweet is insensitive to the raw wounds that exist 20 years later and disrespects the memories of the innocent victims who died in the terror attacks.

The victims and survivors of the attacks were not all white, they were not all American and they may not have embraced the heteropatriarchal capitalistic systems that Jackson mentions.

Not only does Jackson’s tweet completely disregard the true meaning behind memorializing 9/11, but they boldly shove race, sexuality and patriarchy into the tweet without any consideration of al-Qaida’s other motivations. Jackson sounds more like a performative activist passionate about personal causes as opposed to an educated professor who has studied the history, economics, politics and nationalism that went into the attack.

While America does in fact live in a heteropatriarchal society, the tweet does not reflect the many layers to the complicated history that led to the attacks. It sounds naive, if not hypocritical, to argue that the attacks were against patriarchal systems while Osama bin Laden had five wives, and women had minimal rights in al-Qaida’s territories. 

While it can be argued that 9/11 was an attack on capitalism, another major purpose behind it was to instill fear in Americans and knock down America’s standing worldwide by showing that America can be defeated. By making the absolute statement that 9/11 was motivated by anti-capitalism when there was more than just one motivation, Jackson shows a lack of understanding.

The internet was quick to respond after word of the tweet got around, with angry users responding back. User @ComfortablySmug replied, “These were the leaders and moral authority on that day. Have some respect if you have no shame.” Others took a more sarcastic approach with their responses, as user @mtaibbi tweeted, “Of course, because if Osama bin Laden was about anything, it was striking down heteropatriarchy…”

Jackson’s tweet is a poor reflection upon SU alone, and moving forward, SU students must hold our professors to a higher standard. The SU community must work together to memorialize 9/11 as the tragic and important event in U.S. history that it was.

Allison Jacobs is a freshman in the Newhouse School of Public Communications. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at ajjacobs@syr.edu.

Published on September 14, 2021 at 10:10 pm