Susan Faludi's Terror Dream

I’m currently reading The Terror Dream by Susan Faludi, and she points out and analyzes things that were going on around me right after 9/11 that I was vaguely aware of but didn’t study, research, and analyze. On 9/12/01, I suddenly felt like the only sane person in a lunatic asylum. I have continued to feel that way much of the time since, though fortunately I read plenty of books and magazines that remind me otherwise.

Susan Faludi describes how the misogynists majorly jumped out of the closet, starting minutes after the planes hit the World Trade Center, and ludicrously crowed about the alleged demise of feminism because they were under the psychotic impression that anyone who has a uterus needs to be under the protection of a Mr. Macho Butch. On the contrary: 9/11, the insane patriarchal reaction to it, the attack on Afghanistan, the attack on Iraq, and the tortures at Abu Ghraib have all been gigantic neon signs announcing: PATRIARCHY MUST DIE!

It is additionally blatantly obvious to me that not only do we need compassion and nonviolent communication skills to be required studying in all schools worldwide, starting with kindergarten, but also everyone female needs to take self-defense classes regularly. I’m thinking I’d like to take up a martial art, such as aikido or tai chi, although karate might be the only martial art available locally.

Faludi, Susan. The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America. Metropolitan Books, NY, 2007.