Families intimately involved in the disaster are facing the shock and grief of their loss, compounded by uncertainty and the horrific cause of their loved ones demise. Don t feel guilty if you can t explain why this happened. But talk with your children about the difference between anger and hate. Anger is a normal, human feeling that arises when we feel violated or cheated or harmed in some way. Anger can often lead to constructive solutions to problems and can motivate people to work constructively to change societal ills.
Hatred is taught.
In the eyes of the hater, certain people or groups of people are seen as less than human and therefore not worthy of respect, compassion, kindness or even life. The bombings were acts of hate directed at innocent people who were killed just because they were Americans, or happened to work in the buildings. To condemn all Arabs, Muslims or any racial or ethnic group for the acts of a few is equally harmful and can lead to terrorism or smaller scale hate crimes. Talk with your children about the horrible consequences of race hatred and other kinds of bigotry. General Conversation Tips Ask children what they know about the attacks before you begin to explain it.