Jeremiah McKinney
Staff Reporter
I have heard many people repeatedly comparing this COVID-19 pandemic to previous pandemics, namely the Black Plague and the Spanish Flu. However, if I were to compare the current pandemic to any previous event, it would be the September Eleventh attacks of 2001. Now, the events are being compared not in severity, but in some of their outcomes.
As many American citizens know, 9/11 had some wide-ranging effects on society. For one, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) formed in November of 2001, as the attacks had been carried out through the use of hijacked airplanes. Whilst the TSA is the focus of many jokes and some more serious complaints, it has made air travel safer, as, according to Laura Santhanam and Larisa Epatko from pbs.org/newshour, “only 5 percent of checked bags were screened before 9/11, whereas all are screened for dangerous materials today.” Another, much worse, affect of 9/11 was an increase in anti-Muslim violence in the United States. “Four days after the attacks,” tell Santhanam and Epatko, “Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh-American man, was shot and killed in Mesa, Arizona.” Sodhi had been wearing a turban (a typically-male headdress worn primarily by Muslims and Sikhs) and the gunman assumed he was a Muslim. Balbir Singh Sodhi is considered the first victim of a hate crime committed in response to the September Eleventh attacks.
The COVID-19 pandemic is also expected to cause massive changes in how people all over the world live their lives. One of the expected changes is a general shift towards online life, be it shopping, working, or even socializing. Suzy Taherian with forbes.com states: “retailers with physical stores were already struggling to compete with online shopping,” and insinuates that the shelter-in-place (and similar) orders will serve to exacerbate the falling-behind of brick-and-mortar stores. For many born into the younger generations, this will have little-to-no effect, but some of the elder members of society may have to get used to emptier stores. Even more dramatic a predicted effect is a loss in trust among many thousands of people. “How long will it take before folks are comfortable going on a cruise again?” asks Taherian, “Or when will homeowners feel comfortable letting a stranger into their house to rent it for a weekend?” Some of this caution may end up being permanent, with there already being a large uptick in personal hygiene.
As bleak as much of the previous sounds, not all outcomes were negative. Due to both the September Eleventh attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic, quite a lot of human-kindness has been shown. Thathelps.com asks readers to remember acts of kindness that came after 9/11, including children around the US and the world writing, “letters of support to the workers in the recovery effort,” and the fact that after 9/11, “over 250 non-profit organizations were founded, raising over $700 million in just two years.” Similarly, there have been many recent instances of people showing genuine care and kindness. Insider.com writer Talia Lakritz showed public responses to Covid-19: “fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at St. Anthony's Home and School in Columbus, Nebraska, made get well soon cards for people affected by the coronavirus,” and their teacher then sent them to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. “Rabbi Dan Margulies and congregants from The Riverdale Minyan in the Bronx delivered pizza to quarantined families on March 10,” said Lakritz in another entry.
While 9/11 and the coronavirus have caused a lot of change for the negative, human-kindness and willpower has shone through the dark times to comfort those in need. Do your part by reaching out to friends, family, and other community members or supporting one of many charities that are just a google search away. And most importantly, slow the spread of Covid-19 by complying with local and national health official’s recommendations. Stay healthy and safe, Eagles!
Image Credit: Jason Dent on Unsplash
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