Does this line make sense?

Question

From my novel:

"But I thought that there was no such thing as July Thirtieth turning into the modern version of September eleventh."

In the book i'm referring to when i was at yankee stadium and people were fussing over people if they had violations, weapons, ect.

Answer 1

It is odd to see someone think that 9/11 is not still modern history.

But we are already 7 years into history so I guess  we could conclude this was a teenager who might know that 9/11 had occurred but have no sense that it was so recent.

Having July 30 turn into a 9/11  would mean something to people who spent days watching reruns of it on TV.

Using this term to evoke strong reactions does make sense. It tells us of emotions that people actually have in large public gatherings when people with weapons are present, or when too little care is taken to screen participants who might bring in bombs or biological weapons.

Answer 2

Not really -- plus I think that using comparisons to September 11 should be avoided.  Comparing any emotions or feelings in your novel to an event as traumatic as 9-11 might seem to be trivializing it.  You probably didn't intend it that way, but it might seem that to readers.

If there were violations, etc. -- you could conjure up comparisons to the Department of Homeland Security or the FBI or CIA or just some kind of police state.