Joe Biden just said 200 million people could die from the coronavirus by the time he finishes his speech.
That’s almost two-thirds of the United States’ population. pic.twitter.com/dEovz2VVnE
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) September 20, 2020
UPDATE: Two senior officials MTA & NYPD tell me a suspect is in custody after he was seen placing a object over the track bed prior to the train entering the station. He’s also believed to have placed a sandbag on the tracks at Fulton Street. https://t.co/gMl1K0k1Ks
— 𝐌𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐍. 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 (@MylesMill) September 20, 2020
Manhattan subway train derails after laughing saboteur throws metal clamps on tracks:
A Manhattan subway train derailed Sunday morning after a maniacal, laughing vandal tossed metal clamps onto the tracks, police sources said. The uptown A train was about 50 feet into the 14th St. station in the West Village when it ran into the metal tie plates, also known as D plates, at 8:14 a.m.
Three passengers suffered minor injuries. One refused medical attention, another was treated at the scene and the third was taken to Bellevue Hospital for further treatment, officials said.
The saboteur tossed them onto the tracks, but a bystander leapt onto the roadbed to clear the debris before the train pulled in, a police source said. The vandal — a 30-year-old homeless man sources said has an extensive criminal history — was undeterred. He threw more clamps just as the A train roared into the station, the source said.
Commuters saw the suspect laughing at the disaster he unleashed, sources said. Good Samaritans held him at the station until cops took him into custody.
“Why should it matter that the people who gave us modern architecture in the 20th century had traumatic brain damage and disorders? For one, the information reframes our understanding of how modern architecture came to be.” https://t.co/vcZLcBxK4L
— Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) September 18, 2020
Before a major storm or hurricane, remember to secure your garden tools, your window shutters and your flotilla of construction barges. https://t.co/kR62kJ2ncq
— Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) September 18, 2020
Invite the jungle into the city and you also get the mosquitoes. This particular species is adept at surviving in modern cities: vertical gardens and concrete = jackpot. And do wear a helmet if you walk around beneath the buildings, especially windy days. https://t.co/OdxdD2t4mH
— Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) September 16, 2020
Let’s roll. pic.twitter.com/uClE5zzkjl
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) September 18, 2020
Charleston was once the rage, uh huh
History has turned the page, uh huh
The mini skirts, the current thing, uh huh
Teenybopper is our newborn king, uh huh
And the beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da
Another “sane” reaction to RBG’s death 😂 pic.twitter.com/GGt3fq6Mx8
— Amy (@MaybeAmes) September 19, 2020
Wow. The moment President Trump found out that RBG died.
Don’t ever try to tell me this man doesn’t care.
pic.twitter.com/DpbJ7So4Tl— JT Lewis (@thejtlewis) September 19, 2020
Blue Checks Vow Violence If Mitch McConnell Tries to Replace Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Arrogant Dying Wish
“Just days before her death, as her strength waned, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: ‘My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.’” [Suspiciously apt and probably just a bit of political theater]
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dead at 87
“The line, it is drawn, the curse, it is cast
The slow one now will later be fast
As the present now will later be past
The order is rapidly fading
And the first one now will later be last
For the times, they are a-changin'”
These 3 cars are probably just Biden campaign stafferspic.twitter.com/BQzVDjtH6y
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) September 17, 2020
Army dad comes home 🥰 pic.twitter.com/DOTD5X2pXP
— ⚒❤AnnieRieHammer❤⚒ (@AnnieRieHammer) September 17, 2020
This should repeat. Let it. It’ll get a little blurry, but that’s all right.
Naturally the Democrats will work with Twitter to take this down, so watch it quick. It’s over the top, but shockingly, every clip (after Rod Serling, of course) is real. pic.twitter.com/6EFCgCbKMJ
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) September 18, 2020
So, How Do They Dump Biden? We’re days away from them pulling Grandpa Badfinger out of the debate. My money is still on the “I won’t normalize Trump’s racist cisgender sexism by appearing on stage with him” excuse, but “I fear the flu” is a close second. His recent catastrophic appearances outside his dungeon lair demonstrate that this guy couldn’t hack a debate if he was snorting rails of Namenda like Hunter hoovering blow on New Year’s Eve in Medellin. Trump holds an indisputable edge in other important areas, too, like enthusiasm, ground game, and continence.
Protesters demand cops let themselves be stabbed or shot If the nation’s police officers walked off the job today, it would be hard to blame them. Sunday’s anti-cop riots in Lancaster, Pa., have made the current de facto rules of engagement clear: Officers may never defend themselves against lethal force if their attacker is a minority. They should simply accept being shot or stabbed as penance for their alleged racism.
This woman pretty much says it all. These people just want you dead. pic.twitter.com/ZjTZ0gLJzc
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 18, 2020
“There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.”—George Orwell, 1984
California Forest Fires, High Taxes, Homelessness — Same Old Fall Problems A cynical interpretation of the eco-agenda was that doing nothing to clean up the mess was cheap for a broke state eager to spend billions on high-speed rail and the consequences of open borders.
The even more cynical take would be that dead trees served as green napalm during fire season to discourage the unwanted hoi polloi from living in the hill and mountain cabins that in a more perfect world would properly belong, in Sheriff of Nottingham style, to the Sierra Club. And indeed, the unspoken aftermath of this latest round of conflagrations is that insurance rates will soar even higher and make it nearly impossible to live in rural hills and mountains.
Apparently, our ancestral, Neanderthal foresters once upon a time believed in the time-tried lore of removing dead brush, cutting down withered trees for needed lumber, and allowing grazing to clear foothills of dead grasses and low vegetation. But then again, the old-breed thinking has been seen as obsolete by today’s brilliant new progressive consultants, professors, and activists. They were too eager to implement a natural strategy of letting medicinal fires periodically burn forest fuel to remind us that millions of trees are not for living among, or logging or recreating amid, or for anything much human-orientated other than a week or so a year backpacking.
If you believe in symbolism the three rainbows in this recent photo taken in Israel could easily represent; the UAE-Israel Peace Deal, the Bahrain-Israel Peace Deal, and the Kosovo-Serbia Peace deal where both nations agreed to recognize Israel and place diplomatic missions in Jerusalem. A Large Regular: Triple Rainbow
America — according to Accordian Trump… pic.twitter.com/hcMHu40Gnl
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) September 17, 2020
John Kerry with a 2016 Middle East take that aged like milk in a sauna. pic.twitter.com/2Vae6yDJFt
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) September 16, 2020
Good Gals With Guns Protect Lives And Property
Model that predicted 5 of past 6 presidential elections has Trump in 2020 by ‘landslide’
Dems Call Trump a Mass-Murdering Racist; His Poll Numbers Rise
**
Yosemitebear’s Mountain Double Rainbow of 1-8-10 is now north of 43,600,000 views on Youtube. Sadly, Yosemitebear passed away in May of this year.
“Whatever happens I’m ready for it, I’m happy to experience it all, it might only be pollen and I’ll have more time in my apartment, if it’s the virus and it’s my time to recycle I look forward to coming back to a new body and starting over, whatever happens I’m enjoying the ride,” part of the May 3 post reads.
If you want more endless war, vote for Harris/Biden.
“There is no… sound reason for the United States to continue sacrificing precious lives and treasure in a conflict not directly connected to our safety or other vital national interests.”
So said William Ruger about Afghanistan, our longest war.
What makes this statement significant is that President Donald Trump has ordered a drawdown by mid-October of half of the 8,600 troops still in the country. And Ruger was just named U.S. ambassador to Kabul.
The selection of Ruger to oversee the U.S. withdrawal came as Gen. Frank McKenzie of Central Command announced plans to cut the U.S. troop presence in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 by the end of September.
On that first day, they continued to try to provoke a response from the Officers and the Guardsman. NO ONE PROVIDED A RESPONSE. I was on the line, near the center right. I remember a plastic water bottle being thrown across the line by the “protesters” on my right side towards a Police Officer. Soon after, a bottle landed on the left side, right behind our line. I yelled out “SHIELDS UP!” Without hesitation, our ENTIRE LINE of Guardsman moved forward, and placed ourselves between the rioters and the Police Officers.
The “protesters” began throwing rocks, glass bottles, and chunks of concrete. I was out there ALL day. There wasn’t any construction going on. There wasn’t a pile of concrete or bricks anywhere to be seen. All I saw were younger people with heavy backpacks. THEY WERE GRABBING CHUNKS OF CONCRETE FROM THEIR BACKPACKS TO THROW AT US. Why is that important? Why would you carry chunks of concrete to a protest? Because you PLAN on using/throwing the concrete… When the concrete began to rain down on us, it came from ALL directions. What does that mean? It was COORDINATED. THEY PLANNED TO ASSAULT US WITH CONCRETE. I didn’t realize until later, but I have to tell you… it really pissed me off when I thought about the situation I had just experienced. As they were throwing these items, the Officers tried to protect us by using less-lethal means (OC/CS/etc). NO LETHAL FORCE WAS USED. Could the Seattle Police Department use lethal force in that situation? Absolutely… a chunk of concrete to the head can KILL someone…
What NO ONE realizes, because the media is bias as hell, at least three police officers were injured that day before SPD used less-lethal means to de-escalate the situation. One Officer took a chunk of concrete to his right eye… last I heard, he’s expected to LOSE his eye. I retrieved a video from that confrontation with the “protesters.” You can see items flying towards us as SPD deploys OC (pepper spray). Notice the second use of OC, the long burst? That was over my right shoulder next to my head. I got some OC contamination from that, which was okay because I was trained for it… The crowd continued to throw concrete. At least two pieces of concrete hit my shield. I later took a picture of my shield, WHICH WAS BRAND NEW, to show the extent of crap being thrown at us.
SPD then deployed CS gas. We had planned for this possibility, telling the squad on deck to come relieve us after they put their mask on. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. As CS was deployed, the crowd began to throw the CS canisters back towards us along with more concrete. I couldn’t put my mask on since I would have had to drop my shield to do so. I was currently protecting SPD Officers and I wasn’t going to allow the Officers behind me to get hurt. So, as Guardsman were pulled off the line by other Guardsman and SPD, I HELD MY GROUND. I’ve been through the CS gas chamber with the U.S. Army, but this was so much worse. I stood there, trying to breathe for as long as I could.
At one point, I looked forward, and saw a female pointing a black pipe towards me. My thought in that moment: “You’ve got to be kidding me… they’re using potato guns too?!” As she turned to her right, I noticed it was a leaf blower. A “PROTESTER” brought a leaf blower to blow CS gas towards us… (It’s not like they were anticipating that, right?!) As the clouds of CS were parting due to her efforts, I saw a male… wearing a black hoodie, with the hoodie up, a bandanna, black pants, and a black backpack, in a throwing position. I watched as he threw a large piece of concrete (at least 5” x 5”), that was shaped in a triangle, directly at me. As it hit my shield (notice the white impact mark on the picture), I thought to myself… if I was armed, I would have shot him… The cloud of CS overtook me. As I struggled to breathe, I looked to my left and NO ONE was there. I looked to my right and saw only ONE OTHER SOLDIER. I began to fall back as a sea of navy blue rushed forward. SPD and the Washington State Patrol to the rescue! I returned to a rally point, dropped my shield, put on my gas mask, and began helping other soldiers that had been out on the line. As the smoke began to clear, I took a couple photos to remember this moment and the anger that flooded my emotions.
RTWT AT Eye-Witness Account: What’s REALLY Happening During the Seattle Riots
“It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody,” as gentle reader may recall from the lyrics of Mr Bob Dylan. The song, from what the smug call Dylan’s “gospel period,” was written so long ago that it was able to get up John Lennon’s nose. I think of it as the antidote to Lennon’s dark satanic hymn, “Imagine.”…
We gotta serve somebody: this is the way of the world. So long as we must eat and breathe, it will be that way. We may put our faith in God, or in Rebellion. There are many illusions, but there is no third choice. — David Warren An old song: Essays in Idleness
You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody [continue reading…]
He was in Chicago lootin’ stores at night
Britches hangin’ off of his behind
But the day that he didn’t loot no more
Was the day he walked in Jimmy’s Hardware Store
You see Jimmy did two tours in Iraq
He closed the store but he slept there in the back
So when a brick came through his windowpane
Jimmy grabbed a two by four and then he sang [continue reading…]
Today on the 16th of September via Don Surber: Highlights of the News
ITEM 14: Zero Hedge reported, “Hours after her unceremonious Twitter ban for, we assume, presenting evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was created in a Wuhan lab, Chinese virologist Dr. Li-Meng Yan appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight, where she told the Fox News host that the virus is a Frankenstein, which was designed to target humans and, which was intentionally released.
“‘It could never come from nature, Yan said. She is an MD/PhD who worked with corona virus at the University of Hong Kong
“‘There is evidence left in the genome’ — which Yan detailed in a 26-page scientific paper co-written with three other Chinese scientists. ‘They don’t want people to know this truth. Also, that’s why I get suspended [from Twitter], I get suppression. I am the target that the Chinese Communist Party wants disappeared.’
“When Carlson asked her why she believes the virus made its way out of the Wuhan lab, Dr. Yan said ‘I worked in the WHO reference lab, which is the top corona virus lab in the world at the University of Hong Kong. And the things I got deeply into such investigation in secret from the early beginning of this outbreak — I had my intelligence through my network in China, involved in the hospitals, institutes and also government.
“‘Together with my experience, I can tell you — this is created in a lab.'”
This is biomedical warfare — approved by WHO, which has run interference for Red China.
And just last month on the 17th, I noted here on American Digest with no evidence at all in Communism As It Is Done Has Always Been “Communism Done Right!”
It was until 2020 when Communist China became the best example of “Communism Done Right!” Communist China has not only has slaughtered more than 65 million of its citizens to make communism right, but this year it has also been able to get away (so far) with a deliberate stealth-bio attack on the United States at the cost of a mere 100 to 200 thousand of its own ever-disposable people. (The Inner Core of the Politburo and their extended families*** already have the vaccine so they are not worried.) It goes without saying that the deliberate bio-attack on the United States is the “most right thing” Communist China could have done to reverse its fortunes in the fall of 2019. The move had the added advantage of insulating Communist China since the knowledge of the deliberate nature of the attack is now the best-kept secret on the planet. It is so secret that I have absolutely no evidence or source for the truth of their attack at all. Neither do you nor anyone you know. Those that do know hold this terrible secret very very close since were it to become an open secret, it would necessitate a nuclear response from the US. That would be communism undone right.
Over 10 years ago, Steven Pressfield — Author of Gates of Fire, the Afghan Campaign, and The Legend of Baggerr Vance, offered these thoughts on how to bring the war in Afghanistan to a close.
Joe Biden has just ONE thing to say and it ain’t good. Listen to this pic.twitter.com/3nE1hHF1uS
— The United Spot (@TheUnitedSpot1) September 16, 2020
The old Hillary trick. Point, wave, smile. Nobody there. Total political malarkey. pic.twitter.com/UMCRi4uH4Q
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) September 16, 2020
Joe Biden: "Cause if you could take care, if you were a quartermaster, you can sure in hell take care runnin' a, you know, a department store uh, thing, you know, where, in the second floor of the ladies department or whatever, you know what I mean?" pic.twitter.com/tAAK2XbhrE
— Ella Mizrahi (@EllaMizrahi12) September 15, 2020
Jerisalem old city walls, tonight#AbrahamAccords pic.twitter.com/ua5rhvCO0t
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) September 15, 2020
John Kerry and the the kicker is perfectpic.twitter.com/s2pHPFWw5g
— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) September 15, 2020
Now Democrats Are Stuck With Biden So, now the bar is raised for the debates since Kierkegaard’s fanboy is the master of rhetoric and the font of all wisdom. He can’t just come out, stand there, and win by not forgetting to zip up his fly or by foregoing groping a production assistant. He’s going to have to deal with Trump, who is as vital and focused as Biden is desiccated and lost. Sure, Joe will have the moderators Candy Crowleying for him big time, trying to cover for his incoherence and take Trump off his game. If Trump is cunning and bloodthirsty, which he is, he’ll ignore the media offensive line, blitz right at Biden, and smear him all over the field. Trump has achievements, promises he’s kept, and if you listen to his speeches (he’s back on the road with smaller crowds), he’s making more promises that he’l keep. What’s Mr. Jill got? His theme is ”I’m kind of nice, and pay no attention to the agenda of the communists pulling my strings.” He’ll raise your taxes, ban fracking, suck up to the ChiComs, let rioters run rampant, defund the cops, and try to take your guns. And the Dems’ plan has worked so well that they literally have the worst possible candidate to defend this idiotic agenda against the best and most aggressive GOP politician in decades.
Omgawd he’s waving to a empty field! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/3kJ11eRmCh
— Karli 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) September 15, 2020
Biden Speaks to the Crowd
BLM is one of the most morally depraved political movements in American history. Rarely have we seen a group that is so cartoonishly evil with no redeeming qualities at all. They have no valid points. They should not be listened to or respected. They deserve scorn and only scorn.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 14, 2020
Lancaster PA police have snipers on the roof of police HQ.
A few protesters are taunting them.
Historically, not a good move to taunt snipers. IJS. pic.twitter.com/6XivlTt1o9
— Lancaster Patriot (@thelancpatriot) September 14, 2020
Don’t fatshame communists. https://t.co/xd8Gsnlv1n
— 🌹Dr. Karin Baker-Thompkins for Congress🏳️🌈🌊🌹 (@ResitsTrump) September 15, 2020
Reality has been Cancelled Some bits of the postmodernism taught to me appealed. I liked the notion that language could construct reality. I was writing a novel at the time and every author wants access to a form of word-magic, one where storytellers can make the world. However, I thought this applied only to fiction, not the real world my Statistics II textbook delineated. Once again, I made the mistake of saying so; another argument ensued. This is a sure-fire way to get a reputation as a pain in the arse, so I buttoned my lip. The fact I won a university medal (equivalent of class valedictorian or starred/congratulatory first) was entirely down to (a) being creative (b) doing the reading (c) taking many, many bong hits before I wrote my papers and sat exams. Yes, I turned up to central examination venues smelling like weed and stoned out of my tree. [continue reading…]
This one goes out to Emma Jean who saved my life… and then saved my life. And who has managed to put up with me longer than both my marriages put together.
Looks like we made it
Look how far we’ve come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we’d get there someday
They said, “I bet they’ll never make it”
But just look at us holding on
We’re still together still going strong [continue reading…]
BREAKING: Judge Rules Gov. Wolf, Secretary Levine’s COVID-19 Restrictions Unconstitutional –
“The liberties protected by the Constitution are not fair-weather freedoms — in place when times are good but able to be cast aside in times of trouble,” Stickman wrote. “There is no question that this country has faced, and will face, emergencies of every sort. But the solution to a national crisis can never be permitted to supersede the commitment to individual liberty that stands as the foundation of the American experiment.
“The constitution cannot accept the concept of a ‘new normal’ where the basic liberties of the people can be subordinated to open-ended emergency mitigation measures,” Stickman wrote. “Rather, the Constitution sets certain lines that may not be crossed, even in an emergency. Actions taken by defendants crossed those lines. It is the duty of the court to declare those actions unconstitutional.”
One of the finest speeches you will hear in this or any other year. His ancestors came via the Middle Passage. Mine came via the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It’s almost four centuries later and we are, now, all Americans. It’s time to retire the hyphen.
HT: Abigail Adams
Wow. This was the line to get into the Trump Rally in Minden, Nevada today.
VC: @cuorerosso_us2020 (Instagram) pic.twitter.com/4CFbrl7Y7U
— Courtney Holland 🇺🇸 Text COURTNEY to 88022 (@hollandcourtney) September 13, 2020
Night of the Comet
“If you are going to find racism everywhere, then you are going to find the real racists nowhere.” — Sam Harris, author and neuroscientist
I just hope that whoever is tasked with eradicating this insect lets him burn for a bit before putting a round in his head. Prof: “Nothing Wrong With” Murder Of Right-Wing “Fascist… From A Moral Perspective” |
Unusual Features of the SARS-CoV-2 Genome Suggesting Sophisticated Laboratory Modification Rather Than Natural Evolution and Delineation of Its Probable Synthetic Route Despite its tremendous impact, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 has remained mysterious and controversial. The natural origin theory, although widely accepted, lacks substantial support. The alternative theory that the virus may have come from a research laboratory is, however, strictly censored on peer-reviewed scientific journals. Nonetheless, SARS-CoV-2 shows biological characteristics that are inconsistent with a naturally occurring, zoonotic virus. In this report, we describe the genomic, structural, medical, and literature evidence, which, when considered together, strongly contradicts the natural origin theory. The evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 should be a laboratory product created by using bat coronaviruses ZC45 and/or ZXC21 as a template and/or backbone. Building upon the evidence, we further postulate a synthetic route for SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that the laboratory-creation of this coronavirus is convenient and can be accomplished in approximately six months.
Upside-Down Planet GSTAAD—It snowed during the last two days of August up here, and why not? We’ve traded freedom of speech for “freedom from speech,” so on an upside-down planet, snow in the Alps in August is the new normal. The world is suddenly a grim place, a sick prank when you think of it, a kamikaze fantasy with the bad guys winning and being cheered on by the left and the media. The virus is now a metaphor, religion having been cast aside by the global elite who follow only their interests and think of the rest of us as cannon fodder.
JoAnn Hardesty. Portland Police Commissioner. Any questions?
After all these years of Antifa violence in the streets, we still know very little about their makeup because the press hasn’t been interested in reporting on them. Judging from mug shots, they tend to be ugly people with bad teeth and even worse taste in grooming. A remarkable fraction in Portland are some version of transgender. Oregon has offered free transsexual health services for several years, so perhaps the state attracts this type of mentally ill person from across the country? Also common are drug addicts, sex offenders, punk rock fans, educators, and general lowlifes who have personal reasons for hating cops. On the other hand, they don’t seem particularly interested in stealing nice things the way the black looters are.
Vox Popoli: Next time it will be fire God gave Noah the rainbow sign / No more water but the fire next time. Some will say that it is “ironic” that concerns over air quality have led to the burning of these Promethean-run states. But it is the rejection of God that is the beginning of blindness.
God’s Grandeur
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
BY GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS
Do you remember this photograph? In the United States, people have taken pains to banish it from the record of September 11, 2001. The story behind it, though, and the search for the man pictured in it, are our most intimate connection to the horror of that day.
In the picture, he departs from this earth like an arrow. Although he has not chosen his fate, he appears to have, in his last instants of life, embraced it. If he were not falling, he might very well be flying. He appears relaxed, hurtling through the air. He appears comfortable in the grip of unimaginable motion. He does not appear intimidated by gravity’s divine suction or by what awaits him. His arms are by his side, only slightly outriggered. His left leg is bent at the knee, almost casually. His white shirt, or jacket, or frock, is billowing free of his black pants. His black high-tops are still on his feet. In all the other pictures, the people who did what he did—who jumped—appear to be struggling against horrific discrepancies of scale. They are made puny by the backdrop of the towers, which loom like colossi, and then by the event itself. Some of them are shirtless; their shoes fly off as they flail and fall; they look confused, as though trying to swim down the side of a mountain. The man in the picture, by contrast, is perfectly vertical, and so is in accord with the lines of the buildings behind him. He splits them, bisects them: Everything to the left of him in the picture is the North Tower; everything to the right, the South. Though oblivious to the geometric balance he has achieved, he is the essential element in the creation of a new flag, a banner composed entirely of steel bars shining in the sun. Some people who look at the picture see stoicism, willpower, a portrait of resignation; others see something else—something discordant and therefore terrible: freedom. There is something almost rebellious in the man’s posture, as though once faced with the inevitability of death, he decided to get on with it; as though he were a missile, a spear, bent on attaining his own end. He is, fifteen seconds past 9:41 a.m. EST, the moment the picture is taken, in the clutches of pure physics, accelerating at a rate of thirty-two feet per second squared. He will soon be traveling at upwards of 150 miles per hour, and he is upside down. In the picture, he is frozen; in his life outside the frame, he drops and keeps dropping until he disappears…
RTWT: Who Was the Falling Man from 9/11? – Falling Man Identity Revealed
Your Say