On a typical morning walking to campus, I came across a large group of around 50 people at the intersection of Jefferson and Hoover. Some were holding signs with “9/11 – MURDER” written across the fronts in bright red letters. Others were simply passing out pamphlets to the students crossing the street. One man had a megaphone pressed to his lips, and was shouting the same phrase again and again “Because it burned, we will learn”. This saying caught my attention; I had heard it before. While visiting my Dad in Aspen last Christmas, a group of 9/11 conspiracy protestors were demonstrating not much unlike the group that I came across on my way to class. There was also a man on a megaphone, shouting again and again, “Why they burned, you will learn!” Normally I would not have remembered this detail, but I am particularly interested in these types of conspiracies, and spent an hour talking to the demonstrators in Aspen. After hearing that same phrase again and again for that long, it’s hard to forget.

Although I was not able to get a release form for this piece of my collection, I really wanted to include it. This piece of folklore does more than simply illustrate how chants can mutate across geographical regions. It serves the purpose of uniting and mobilizing an entire movement of people.