The following is an excerpt from a Maneater editorial printed Sept. 14, 2001, addressing the Sept. 11 attacks:
“When President Bush spoke to the country Tuesday night, he told all Americans what we wanted to hear — that our government will find and punish those responsible. But he did not tell Americans what we needed to hear — that our government is working to find those responsible, but what Americans must concentrate on now is finding and helping the thousands directly affected by this tragedy…
As more and more public officials speak, they seem to reinforce this idea of vengeance. It’s this attitude that’s causing attacks on Arab Americans and Muslims throughout the country… Just like us, they watched the buildings fall, the people jump from the flames, the firemen search through city blocks filled with rubble. And just like us, these people, in the span of a couple hours, had their safety, their control ripped away…
That’s what Bush needed to tell Americans on Tuesday… That, yes, the government and the military will deal with this tragedy, but what the Joe Q. Americans need to look at now is not revenge, but rebuilding…
Control and security have been ripped violently away from all Americans this week, and we must regain it, but not with violence. We must do what we can to feel like we’re doing something. Whether that’s donating blood, saying a prayer or throwing a shovel in your Honda Civic and driving two days to New York to do whatever you can, do it.
Show the people who did this that while they can rip buildings apart at their seams, they cannot tear America or our belief in equality and love for all cultures an inch.
This is the defining moment of our generation. WE must define this moment as one of unity, not one of hate. We owe it to ourselves, and we owe it to the thousands of Americans under that rubble.”