Traditionally, “writer’s block” has referred to feeling stuck during the writing process due to lack of inspiration, motivation, or other useful ideas. I wonder, though, if the writer’s block of the post-9/11 United States has more to do with paralysis in the face of a vague sense of inappropriateness. In the face of incomprehensible tragedy, nontraditional news sources like The Daily Show and Bill Maher’s show suddenly just clammed up, offering no perspective on the unfolding events until after a short time had passed. I can’t know what was going on in the writers’ and hosts’ minds during this time. Perhaps they thought it inappropriate for a comedic program to even air during such a time, perhaps they were directly affected by the tragedy and had to regroup, or perhaps they just had no idea what would be appropriate to say. When the satirists did regroup, we did see some pretty good stuff – I hear that the Daily Show had a very different tone, but was good about not backing down too long, and The Onion’s 9/11 theme issue (returning after one missed issue, and titled “Holy Fucking Shit: Attack on America”) somehow struck a good balance between satire and sensitivity. (It’s not longer available online, but there’s still a pretty good writeup at Wired.)

I wonder about these things today as reports filter in about a terrorist attack in London, leaving no fewer than 33 dead and probably hundreds injured. I read one article that mentioned the attacks and London’s winning Olympic bid in the same sentence, suggesting a possible connection, but this was a pretty coordinated effort, involving bombs in the subway and one on a bus all at rush hour; I have to imagine it has more to do with the G8 summit and/or just general hatred of England, America, Western culture, or what have you. Nobody I know was hurt in the attacks.

So now it’s a Thursday afternoon. I have never been to London, and I have no idea what else to say about terrorist attacks, or even if it’s my responsibility to write anything about terrorist attacks in a little blog (still pending a redesign) read only by close personal friends, so far as I know. Yet it seems a little improper to click “publish” on the post I wrote with quirky little links and jokes, knowing that people are getting bombed in London. Even as I write this, and every time I think it, I realize that there are people being bombed (and otherwise injured or killed) constantly throughout the world, and yet I do little or nothing to respond to genocide in Darfur, for example. I suppose it’s just the sudden and unexpected nature of terrorist attacks that is particularly jarring, probably combined with the fact that this sort of thing is still relatively quite rare in countries like England and the U.S., though I offer these as honest reasons, not excuses.

I’ll post my silly links sometime later, after I get some lunch I suppose. I won’t act like my day is wholly consumed by an event that has not wholly consumed it, even if I am a little nervous that maybe I’m supposed to (and even if I was a little nervous walking past tall buildings in my new neighborhood today, recalling events from the not so distant past). Would our president (or some analogous, maligned computer magnate – Bill Gates, maybe?) say that when you stop blogging, the terrorists have won? Beats me. But I knew that the only way I would get past “the new writer’s block” would be to address what was blocking me through writing, and so I hope you can forgive the selfish indulgence on my part. I extend my sympathy and hope to everyone directly or indirectly affected by today’s events, and I welcome you to let me know via email (jason@ this domain) if you have any thoughts on the matter.

Update, 2:50 PM: I dropped by a local bookstore to pick something up and saw someone I met recently. I asked how she was doing, and she said okay, except for everything going on today in London. She also said that the woman at the fruit salad cart where she got her lunch said today’s been bad for business because people seem sad and uninterested in going out. I thought it worth noting, though I’m not sure what else to say on the matter. Maybe it’s healthier not to compartmentalize nervousness, fear, and sadness about tragic events in the world, and maybe such events should provide some perspective. Maybe it’s bad that my reaction is to put such thoughts aside so I can get work done. Or maybe I just think too much. Perhaps I spoke too soon when I said this wouldn’t consume my day.