Published October 27, 2008 in the Chicago Sun Times and Reuters
Erik Lawyer, a 12 year veteran of the Seattle Fire Department with Truck 3, founded Firefighters for 9/11 Truth and their website went up in August, 2008. Erik's essay about how he came to 9/11 Truth is both moving and deeply honest. He admits that he was blind, that he hadn't wanted to really look at the facts, that he in fact thought that 9/11 truthers were somehow unpatriotic or assisting the enemy.
Eventually, at the prodding of a friend, he DID look at the facts and what he learned changed his life. He is now on a mission to inspire other firefighters to stand up for the truth, and to harness their trademark courage into a mission more important than a single burning building; for right now our entire democracy and way of life is going up in flames.
An excerpt from Erik's story is below. The full text can be found here.
Erik Lawyer
Founding Member, Firefighters for 9/11 Truth
August 23, 2008
"I’ve been a conservative my entire life; a registered Republican since I could vote. I am a self proclaimed Patriot with George Washington as one of my all time heroes. So when conspiracy theories quickly surfaced, and “Liberals” cried foul on the erosion of civil liberties, I chalked it up to their political beliefs and bitterness towards the Republican President. I read many debunking articles - including Popular Mechanics - and watched many debunking videos including, Farenhype 9/11. I was convinced that these “Liberals” were misinformed and were grasping at straws to discredit the “official” story. Like most people with strong opinions, instead of looking at all the facts, I was specifically looking for anything that supported my own beliefs. As soon as I discovered any inaccuracy in a conspiracy claim, I wrote it off. My father, a big city cop and Korean War veteran, loved to say, “don’t confuse me with the facts, I have my mind made up!” Well, I had my mind made up. I told conspiracy theorists like my own Truck Officer, Lt. Earl Emerson, that they were insane if they thought anyone other than the terrorists did this. Heck, we have ID cards, security camera videos, Bin Laden confession tapes - how much clearer did they need it? The years went on and I was satisfied in my beliefs. I even believed these “Wackos” that doubted the “official” story were distracting our country from focusing on the real threat of terrorism.
"Fast forward to March of 2008. A great friend of mine with a Business degree from West Point, as conservative and non-conspiratorial as they get, came over one night to talk about what he saw happening in the economy. He provided some disconcerting evidence that we as a nation are at risk of entering into another depression; he pointed out historical parallels where other countries, such as Germany, suffered economic collapse. THAT was my eye opener. I became obsessed researching things such as economies, who is in control of currencies, what causes depressions, who profits during war, etc. So many things kept pointing to 9/11. Another one of my dad’s favorite quotes was, “believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.” So, I looked at both sides and quickly noticed a pattern. On one side, the general media ignores some of the most compelling evidence that contradicts the “official” story. On the other side, science based conspiracy sites such as Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth and Scholars for 911 Truth and Justice, along with the experience based sites such as Patriots Question 911 and Pilots for 911 Truth, fully explore the evidence. Their research points out numerous inconsistencies and raised serious questions about the “official” story. To be fair, I looked at the debunking sites again. On Popular Mechanics (the source often quoted for confirmation of the “official” story), as well as most debunking sites I usually found name calling and smear tactics. In my own personal experience, as soon as someone needs to resort to name calling and smearing during a debate, they’re not very secure in their “facts” or the “truth.” I found that many of these debunking sites also failed to tackle some of the most compelling evidence. They would often bring up the most ludicrous of conspiracy claims, debunk those, offer far reaching explanations, or never fully explain the “how.” They often made you really have to stretch to believe that so many catastrophic failures - which had never happened before - could all occur separately, on one day, and multiple times (e.g. failure to intercept aircraft x 4 for the first time in history; complete collapses x 3 for the first time; no obvious plane wreckage x 2 for first time, etc.). Even the NIST report only describes the EVENTS that led to the moment of collapse of Towers 1 & 2, not the SCIENCE behind the instantaneous collapse of the cold steel below the impact zone…because it is that obvious? How does that teach us how to improve building safety?
"The clincher for me was when I learned that the lead investigators on the crime - the FBI - do not even have the 9/11 attacks mentioned on the Bin Laden page of the FBI’s Most Wanted website list due to LACK OF EVIDENCE. How can it be that we were led to believe Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, yet the FBI doesn’t publicly accuse him? Remind me again why we are at war and have given up so many rights our Founding Fathers gave us???
"When I voiced my new opinion and concerns most of my friends listened. I think because they were shocked that a staunch Conservative could have such a major shift, or because they thought I had lost my mind and wanted to diagnose the cause. Curiously, some became angry at my new questions and actually thought I was supporting Terrorists with my concerns. Being a part of that same mindset myself only a few weeks ago, and then having a major shift in consciousness, really shook me to the core. What has happened to our collective consciousness that we believe anyone who doubts the “official” story or what the government tells us is an enemy? Anyone who asks for the Truth is labeled a “Wacko” or “Terrorist Sympathizer?” What has happened to us? Are we not founded on Freedom of Speech and taught to check our Government?
"Through my research I learned that many mainstream people, government officials, pilots and regular “Joes” actually doubt the “official” story. Yet the media still treats “Truth” seekers like they have a mental disorder, are few and far between, and even dangerous. I’ve since learned there are major news stories concerning 9/11 that the media won’t cover. Do you know about Tower 7? And, did you know that Japan, who lost 24 of their citizens in the 9/11 attacks, has held hearings this year on the possibility that the “official” story isn’t the truth? Why hasn’t the media covered THIS? I’ve since learned about the whistleblowers that have been silenced. There are many top pilots (including pilots who have flown those specific aircraft) who say they could not have performed the maneuvers at those speeds while physically encountering the G-Loads and overcoming control issues associated with high speeds. Now, I’ve been a private pilot for over 20 years and have competed in spot landing, aerobatic and maneuver contests. I know how difficult it is to perform precision maneuvers at moderate speeds, let alone full speed, and I would never dream I could do the same in a jumbo jet.
"To be honest, I was asleep at the wheel, and relied on what I was being told by mainstream media. The same media, whose parent corporations, are some of the largest suppliers of weapons in this war..."
continue Erik's essay here .
