Students: GOP takes advantage of 9/11

Repeated references to the Sept. 11 attacks and its victims by Republicans over the past week prompted angry criticism yesterday from some local residents who were among those who stood witness that day.
Sanjaya Punyasena remembers sitting in gym and physics class at Stuyvesant High School when the planes hit the Twin Towers. "It still brings back bad memories. We went through a lot," said Punyasena, 19, referring to his classmates.

Less than two weeks before the third anniversary of the attack, Punyasena and about 30 current and former Stuyvesant students rallied against President George W. Bush.Chanting "Go away, GOP, stop using NYC" and "Hey, Bush, go to hell, where were you when the towers fell?" they marched eight blocks from the school to Ground Zero.

"They're using it as a political platform," said Katie Shelly, 17, a senior from Douglaston. "When they leave the city and go home to their nice, safe suburbs, we have to deal with the chaos they leave behind.
Students emphasized that they were on the scene when the attack occurred, and Bush was not. "What Bush is doing has mobilized a lot of kids who wouldn't otherwise be protesting," said graduate Patrick Robbins, 18, in a voice hoarse from chanting.



http://www.nynewsday.com/news/politics/rnc/nyc-nysept023950982sep02,0,7490797.story?coll=nyc-homepage-headlines

This country did not rally together because of anything Bush did. It would have been the same had he never shown up to trumpet through his megaphone at Ground Zero.

What inspired us was the selfless bravery of the firefighters and police officers who sacrificed themselves that day. And the office workers and citizens who helped each other escape the buildings. And the passengers on board the airplanes who had the courage to make calls and give valuable information and even try to overpower their hijackers. And the people who poured into New York offering their services in any way they could.

It was the American people we celebrated and rallied around, not Mr. Seven Minutes. That really burns me when he uses it as a personal glory note because it degrades the true heroism of that awful, awful day.