What kind of culture gives nicknames to tragedies?

Though my list of pet peeves is now so long that it could wrap around the whole state of California several times, one that I have to deal with on a daily basis is the giving of cute names to tragic events and circumstances.

"9-11" drives me crazy. Especially since I know how it started, which is even more sickening than the nickname itself. I remember when, not long after the attacks, some talking head with the creative genius of a third grader referred to the tragedy as "9-1-1"--get it? A few others joined in, but it seems that even the hay-for-brains crash test dummies who report the "news" couldn't stomach such an idiotic perversion, so they shortened it to "9-11." My problem is that I pay attention, and I saw and heard this evolve with my own eyes and ears, and it made me ill.

I have considered referring to the Pearl Harbor attack as "12-7" and to D-Day as "6-6." How about "4-4" as our national day of independence, or let's just take this to its logical conclusion and celebrate "12-25." The uneducated among the Christians are already upset that Christ has been "taken out" of Christmas because they have no clue what the "X" means. We might as well reduce it to the numbers.

Then there is "Gitmo." What a perfectly ridiculous name, when it takes so little time to say "Guantanamo." And how adorable--to give a nickname to a torture chamber.

This seems to be the current American way. Through merchandising and nicknames, we can make anything really cute. Cute terrorism, cute war, cute prison. Cute nation.