---
title: September 11 Nostalgia
date: "2003-09-11T12:00:00Z"
categories:
  - links
wp_id: 891
description: I reflect on why I remember 9/11 more vividly than the Gujarat earthquakes while at a New York airport. I examine how branding, geographic prominence, and the nature of an event dictate our collective memory of tragedy.
keywords: [9/11, gujarat earthquakes, collective memory, disaster branding, new york city, historical memory]
---

I'm at the New York airport. It's [9/11](http://www.google.com/search?q=september+11). The city is having a bout of nostalgia. While I'm watching all this, I wonder: when were the [Gujarat earthquakes](http://www.google.com/search?q=Gujarat earthquakes)? Why do I (and the world) remember 9/11 better? Probably because terrorist attacks are more glamorous than natural disasters. Because New York is more top-of-mind than Gujarat. But mostly, because 9/11 became a way of referring to the event and 1/26 did not. Interesting... that what you choose to remember an event by can impact when it's remembered.