September 11th and the White American Delusion

Examining the American experience regarding the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 from an outsider’s perspective beckons many questions surrounding the priorities, mindsets and perspectives held by an overwhelming majority of white Americans and provides valuable insight into the delusions white American society intentionally perpetuates. While the circumstances leading up to the attacks are complicated and multifaceted, the many falsifications surrounding the history, patterns and inequalities that have existed in the United States since its inception illuminate how the tragedies of September 11th were a culmination of the oppression that this nation has imposed on both itself and the rest of the world for a very long time. The United States is the single greatest producer of homegrown domestic terrorism in the world via white supremacy, yet Americans plainly fail to see the role this plays on the world scale. Instead, Americans will often use the events of 9/11 to victimize America as a nation while failing to acknowledge or even question how the United States got to a place for such events to transpire in the first place, which is an issue because it ignores the fact that white supremacy is the greatest form of terrorism the world has ever known—and is largely responsible for what happened that day. 

To better understand the chronology of events that led to the acts of terror on September 11th of 2001, it is important to retrace the emergence of the Taliban and its original motives. Many historians will point to its inception in the early 1990’s during the Afghan civil war because it was the first time the Taliban made a lasting impression on both their home country and the world. However, to truly understand its origins history must be traced back to the mid-1970’s, during which time Afghanistan was at the brink of internal revolution. This moment in time is important because it illustrates how the Taliban, and later its ally Al Qaeda, began as a result of international involvement in Afghanistan—namely by American and Soviet Union forces, both of which hoped to modernize Afghanistan and claim a foothold in the country as a statement of power. The United States and the Soviet Union fought to obtain dominance over Afghanistan at this time, not because of their interests in the welfare of Afghani people but because of imperialistic tendencies to claim what they considered small and undeveloped nations, as they were easy to conquer and would lead either country to achieve greater world power. As a result of the influx of foreign aid, the Afghan government struggled to help its country avoid endemic corruption, which then set into motion the ideal circumstances for a revolution to emerge—including the birth of the Taliban. The impact of the Taliban on Afghani people since the late 1990’s has proved in many ways to be extremely oppressive, limiting and dangerous, especially to Afghani women and children, despite their claim to liberate the country from former, even more oppressive powers. The Al Qaeda, backed by its ally the Taliban, hold responsibility for the terrorist attacks of September 11th, fueled by their animosity towards Americans and oppressive American culture.

With rampant racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia, oppression of people of color, and white supremacy present as ever in American society, it is important to critically examine the nation and the connections these oppressive qualities have, especially in light of September 11th. Using the tragedies of that day to understand typical white American behavior, it becomes evident that Americans will use that day to memorialize the several thousand lives lost, which is natural and rightfully so in instances of tragedy. Yet, the memorialization is always focused solely on the victims of the events, and never extends to all of the thousands of other American lives lost due to violent white supremacy, racism, and structural and systemic inequalities—nor does it ever take into account the hundreds of thousands of lives lost collectively worldwide due to these same American values magnified under the notion of imperialism, westernization and worldwide domination. White Americans are quick to believe that September 11th was an isolated act of terror and not a product of decades of imperialistic abuse imposed on other nations in the chase for worldwide ascendancy, and fail to connect these various crimes against humanity under its one glaringly obvious uniter—white supremacy. The events of September 11th were a culmination of all the wrongdoings of the United States, namely in international affairs, and the destruction the American government sanctioned in the Middle East years before that ultimately helped lead to the events that transpired that day. Under the guise of democratizing developing nations, the American government willingly meddled in international affairs and attempted to impose its agenda on the Middle East, which in reality left Afghanistan much worse off. The emergence of the Taliban and other international terrorist organizations were a result of American imposition on international matters, and the attacks of September 11th were a symbolic representation of the consequences of doing so. 

The propagation of white supremacy is at the forefront of every action taken by the United States government both domestically and internationally, yet it is never addressed nor spoken about by the overwhelming white American majority because, whether knowingly or not, they benefit from it in various ways. The American government amplifies already existing sentiments of Islamophobia, racism, and general fear mongering towards all people of color to conveniently obtain approval for its involvement in international affairs, then when animosity towards Americans grows in other areas of the world strongly enough to even cause horrific acts of terror, Americans completely fail to make these connections and instead lean into their racist tendencies of othering—in this case those of Muslim or Middle Eastern descent. Yet white supremacy is at the basis of every agenda pushed by the United States government, whether domestically or abroad, and always proves to have devastating effects on people of color. Fueled by capitalism, the American government and its sociopolitical structure functions successfully only if it oppresses a minority group, and coupled with its damaging history of racism makes it easy to target various groups of color, both at home and in other countries with a predominantly non-white majority. There are virtually no instances throughout American history in which the American government invaded another nation that had a majority white population; only where it saw the capacity to dominate poor, seemingly uncivilized people of color would the United States involve itself in an effort to take its control, by implementing westernization tactics—that which history has proven time and again does more harm than good. White supremacy is at the center of all American colonialism and imperialism, and it informs every decision made by the United States government here and abroad, yet white Americans overwhelmingly fail to see the connection, let alone question themselves and how they benefit from their light skinned privileges. Until white Americans brace the reality that their white privileges—whether by choice or not—have negatively impacted people of color at home and abroad, a productive discussion surrounding the far reaching impacts of white supremacy cannot happen, and violent acts of terror will continue.

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