I stumbled across this article the other day from the Tampa Bay Times about a WTC survivor.

In it, he talks about his life since 9/11 and his experience in post-9/11 NYC and why he moved out of Brooklyn and down to Florida. His journey from the 68th floor of WTC2 to being an RN in the Tampa area.

Something in the article stood out to me, because he was the first time I saw anyone else say it.

“The 9/11 victims and survivors and first responders weren't respected”

It’s nice to hear (and see in print) someone else express the same sentiment that I have.

Survivors of the attack never got the same level of support as the victims’ families.

To a certain extent, this makes sense: we survived. We got to see another day.

But remember, many of us lost our jobs, our homes, our friends and co-workers.

We had to live with the vivid memories, the PTSD, and survivor’s guilt.

From a blog post I wrote in 2004:

As a living survivor of 9/11, my path has been a difficult one.  Like tens of thousands of New Yorkers, I had to witness the event firsthand.  I had to see people jumping and hear their bodies hit the ground.  I had to run for my life as a 110 story sky scraper came crashing down less than a block away from me.  I had to breathe in the dust which included asbestos, concrete, and ashes of the dead.   I've had to pack up all my worldly belongings and walk to a friend's apartment on the Upper West Side. 

Since I did not die or suffer visible injuries, I have not received a penny in compensation. I lost my high powered job at a major international bank and I was out of work for 10 months. As the months wore on, each day became a struggle for survival.  My savings dwindled, my career stalled, and my family had to deal with me and the problems that arise from living such an ordeal.

When victims’ families would make television appearances and complain that their multi-million dollar payouts “weren’t enough,” it stung pretty hard to a guy who was just laid off and couldn’t pay his rent.

Their incessant appearances on TV and political clout their new found wealth granted them made everything seem very lop sided and disingenuous.

First Responders Also Get Snubbed

Last year, there was a great deal of controversy when firefighters were not invited to the ceremony.  If that weren’t enough, firefighters and first responders only recently secured coverage for various 9/11 related diseases – eleven years after the fact. Eleven years.

The Odds Favor You Being a Survivor

The 9/11 attacks claimed roughly 3000 lives, but there were 90,000 firefighters, police, and volunteers who worked the Ground Zero site tirelessly for months. Additionally, there are many more people who were there, lost their homes, and/or jobs.

This means that in any given attack, there are far more survivors than victims. 

Should another attack occur (and it will), it’s likely that the same lop-sided compensation model will be used. Check out who’s been running the show at a few other “Memorial Funds.”

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

This means that you one day are far more likely to get bamboozled by people trying to help you than killed by homicidal terrorists.

Don’t believe me? Ask the NYFD.