According to the Routledge Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals Communitas is “the sense of sharing and intimacy that develops among persona who experience liminality as a group (pg. 97)” and is commonly found during times of great crisis. During the liminal period people are deindividuated, the existing social hierarchy somewhat unravels, and roles shift and change. The American public experienced liminality as it was caught up the shock and grief of 9-11. Muslims in America, an already marginalized group, were further marginalized. Following September 11th there was a resurge of patriotism. Social distinctions seemed to lessen and people idientified themselves as Americans. Some people dealt in a small part with the horrors of that day through online communities and blogs. The ability to reach out and communicate with others and to be able to express themselves, even for just a little bit, was essential.
Most American’s can tell you where they were on the morning of September 11th, 2001. People were in bed, waking up in dorm rooms, were on there way to work or finishing the late shift. Within an hour most of the nation was glued to their television. And not just the TV. The internet received such heavy usage that “on the day the U.S. actually was attacked – September 11, 2001 – the Internet was clogged and unresponsive to many of us beyond and utility (Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2001). So many users tried to get information about the terrorist attacks and to see the multimedia views of the World Trade Center that the Internet system built to withstand attack turned out to be a victim of its own success.” (pg. 646)
The blog Micro persuasion discusses the role of blogging during the World Trade Center attacks. On September 11th some of the most personal entries came from the blogging community as individuals wrote about ongoing events. When the phone lines were down it was a way for individuals on the scene to produce massive amount of information. Part of a nation engaging in collective mourning consisted of soft, irregular clicking as people typed up their experiences. Even today people have spent time reminiscing over their feelings concerning the attack.
And while blogs have gotten a lion’s share of the attention for what was going on in cyberspace on September 11th, I remember something else, something I had actually forgotten I’d done until today. That Tuesday afternoon I logged on to a Muslim discussion board from my dormitory. At that point no one knew if the attackers had been associated with Islam but there was a speculation and I was interested as to how the Muslim community was reacting. What I found was both predictable and surprising.
First, there were the typical hate messages scrawled across the boards. Idiots screaming about towel heads and camel jockeys. Second, there were the Muslims who had circled their wagons and were defending Islam by informing curious individuals that Islam did not promote the taking of life. Finally, there was a suprising (at least unexpected from my perspective) outpouring of support to the Muslim community by non-Muslims who were decrying the hateful statements of others. However, almost everyone expressed shock, pain, and grief.
Walther, J. B., Gay, G., & Hancock J. T. (2005). How do communication and technology researchers study the internet?. Journal of Communication,632-657.
Most American’s can tell you where they were on the morning of September 11th, 2001. People were in bed, waking up in dorm rooms, were on there way to work or finishing the late shift. Within an hour most of the nation was glued to their television. And not just the TV. The internet received such heavy usage that “on the day the U.S. actually was attacked – September 11, 2001 – the Internet was clogged and unresponsive to many of us beyond and utility (Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2001). So many users tried to get information about the terrorist attacks and to see the multimedia views of the World Trade Center that the Internet system built to withstand attack turned out to be a victim of its own success.” (pg. 646)
The blog Micro persuasion discusses the role of blogging during the World Trade Center attacks. On September 11th some of the most personal entries came from the blogging community as individuals wrote about ongoing events. When the phone lines were down it was a way for individuals on the scene to produce massive amount of information. Part of a nation engaging in collective mourning consisted of soft, irregular clicking as people typed up their experiences. Even today people have spent time reminiscing over their feelings concerning the attack.
And while blogs have gotten a lion’s share of the attention for what was going on in cyberspace on September 11th, I remember something else, something I had actually forgotten I’d done until today. That Tuesday afternoon I logged on to a Muslim discussion board from my dormitory. At that point no one knew if the attackers had been associated with Islam but there was a speculation and I was interested as to how the Muslim community was reacting. What I found was both predictable and surprising.
First, there were the typical hate messages scrawled across the boards. Idiots screaming about towel heads and camel jockeys. Second, there were the Muslims who had circled their wagons and were defending Islam by informing curious individuals that Islam did not promote the taking of life. Finally, there was a suprising (at least unexpected from my perspective) outpouring of support to the Muslim community by non-Muslims who were decrying the hateful statements of others. However, almost everyone expressed shock, pain, and grief.
Walther, J. B., Gay, G., & Hancock J. T. (2005). How do communication and technology researchers study the internet?. Journal of Communication,632-657.
