View Full Version : 9/11 - Seven years on
Seems like just yesterday :( Where were you all when it happened?
I was sat at my desk in my first job out of college, when a workmates husband called to tell her. He called back 15 minutes later to say it was no accident, another plane had hit the second tower. Noone could quite believe it.
I got home that night to find my dad at the door, asking if I had heard the news. I was fighting back tears at this point, horrible, horrible day :(
I will be observing a silence later.
I was working in a call centre for HSBC. I'd just come out of a training session and someone started telling us about it. I was actually waiting for the punchline, I found it so unbelievable.
It was a quiet day as everyone was watching the news and not ringing us, but we were asked to do overtime as they expected it to get busy later.
Next day, we were given instructions what to do if someone rang with a bomb threat :/
leowyatt
11-09-2008, 11:44
I was back at Uni on a summer school for our department. Attempting to learn about java virtual machines sat on IRC when an american lad came into the channel and told us what happened.
I was sitting at my desk in the office in Paris pondering what would be happing if my planned business trip to New York hadn't been cancelled at the last minute. Had ti gone to plan I would have flown into NYC the day before it happened.
AboveTheSalt
11-09-2008, 11:50
I was in a meeting at a client's office when someone came in to say that a plane had flown into the "Empire State Building" in New York.
Everybody had a good laugh. A short while later, we heard the true extent of the horror.
Was having a simillar conversation this morning at work with some of my mates. Ironicially the one's who I was having lunch with at the very time it all started to go off. I remember very clearly having a discussion about the state of the world and saying that I thought there wouldn't be any major conflicts as a lot of the wars would be fought between big businesses rather than nations. Low and behold I get back from lunch to a load of people round my desk as I was one of the only people to have internet access in the building at the time.
Before I got home I knew I had to goto the Trafford Centre(local shopping mall) to pick up a replacement phone that I kept meaning to collect for two weeks. A call the previous day said if I didn't collect it it would be sent back. It was like something out of a horror movie. Not the usual bustling crowds. Empty carparks, shops and walkways. The odd staff member watching the TV's for a glimpse of the news. Other than that you could have heard a pin drop from one side to the other.
When I got home I just remember sitting watching Sky News with Sarah and then an 8 month old Alexander thinking what had I done bringing a child into such a wretched world.
The most eerie thing was taking the dog for a walk the following morning. I think you take a lot of things for granted and dismiss a lot of the hustle and bustle as background noise. I remember walking across the field seeing that there wasn't a jet stream in the sky nor was there any planes at all. That was certainly a sobering moment as the events of the previous day had really sunk in
I was working in a factory making some cash until I went back to uni, someone from the office brought in a print out from the BBC website so we turned the radio on. I remember after about half an hour someone turned the radio off and put on a cd or something, uttering the words 'so the american's got ****ed'. I nearly smacked the ignorant ****.
At my desk when the news hit and we all dashed up to the kitchen where the telly was.
A week or so later I flew to the USA for the Grand Prix. Security was a bit tight and I didn't manage to get my usual flight deck visit (the previous year I'd had the jump seat for landings in both KIAD and EGLL).
semi-pro waster
11-09-2008, 11:54
Summer holidays before uni started for the first time for me, was spending the day messing about with a mate enjoying the last few days before moving away. Came in for a drink of juice and switched on the TV and couldn't believe it was real at first, realised rapidly that it was and thought "that's the World changed irreperably".
I have no idea where I was... until I looked it up on my outlook diary, I was in France at the time so probably working on a yacht. I didn't hear all the fuss until I got home - whilst I thought it was awful at the lives lost, I wasn't TOO affected by it somehow? In fact it wasn't until I saw this thread that I realised what the date was. I'm sorry for being heartless :(
Was working at Maccys that day, someone was on their break, put the telly on and it was all over everything - was after the first tower got hit. The telly got dragged out into the kitchen, and we watched the second plane hit live. Wasn't a great angle but it was pretty mortifying to watch.
I agree Will - not denying that what happened is terrible, but no one is observing a minute's silence for the genocide in Rwanda for example, and the scale of the atrocity and the inhumanity of it was far more wide-reaching.. We are definitely more affected by 9/11 (as a nation) because it happened in the developed world, and it was a precursor to July 4th in London.
leowyatt
11-09-2008, 12:07
I was sitting at my desk in the office in Paris pondering what would be happing if my planned business trip to New York hadn't been cancelled at the last minute. Had ti gone to plan I would have flown into NYC the day before it happened.
I remember reading something somewhere about Seth MacFarlane and that he would have been on one of the hijacked flights but missed it.
I was working at a 6th form college, was just heading back through the resource centre when one of the teachers passed on the news. Their other half had been in a queue at the bank and saw it on the telly there not long after the first plane hit. They'd assumed it was a movie until it went on too long and shock started to register on their faces.
Swiftly made my way to our office where we had the sky TV feed for recording educational programs, and switched it on to CNN news. Office was soon packed with people as we watched the towers collapse.
I don't tend to be all drama llama about it to be honest, though the scale of it is stunning, but essentially it's brought the US into the same world the rest of us have been living in for decades where terrorists are a bigger threat than other countries.
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 12:17
Whats the big ****ing deal?
In Rwanda in 1994, more people died in a single day, *every day for 100 days*, than died in total on 9/11. In total up to a million people were murdered......yet no-one remembers that.
I wonder why.
I was still at school and had been revising in some of the language rooms when a teacher quick stepped in and flicked on the tv.
For some reason it was a German news channel so we sneaked a German teacher out of their lesson and got them to translate it all for us.
Half the time she was in shock and couldn't repeat what was being said :(
Such a bizarre day. We were all glued to this little tiny fuzzy screen and just silent.
I also remember this stupid bint I went to school with throwing a wobbler because it was her birthday and now it would always be remembered for the 9/11 disaster and no one would care for her birthday. She cried and cried and cried and cried all because it "ruined" her birthday.
Stupid girl.
RIP to all those who lost their lives.
I agree Will - not denying that what happened is terrible, but no one is observing a minute's silence for the genocide in Rwanda for example, and the scale of the atrocity and the inhumanity of it was far more wide-reaching.. We are definitely more affected by 9/11 (as a nation) because it happened in the developed world, and it was a precursor to July 4th in London.
I'm still deeply affected by the memorial tributes of WWI & WWII - to me that has more impact for some reason?
I think the WTC (I hate calling it 9/11) incident was awful, but I think it was also an eye opener to a lot of people that the west isn't all that powerful or great. I do not support the actions at all, and I feel truly saddened for the people that have lost their loved ones, I'd be devastated. However similar to you I find all the other genocides around the world that are conveniently forgotten far far worse. The US brought on to itself if I'm honest, though I hate and abhor extremists and fanatical behavious.
I'm very conflicted on how I feel about this.
I'm indifferent to it really, I just remember the day as I thought someone was telling us a joke when they told us about it :/
Whats the big ****ing deal?
In Rwanda in 1994, more people died in a single day, *every day for 100 days*, than died in total on 9/11. In total up to a million people were murdered......yet no-one remembers that.
I wonder why.
I wrapped and packed about 2000 parcels for the Rwanda crisis in 1994. We did stall sales and arranged huge events to raise money and awareness. My Mum, being the complete legend that she is, managed to organise for the army to come round to our house and pick up all the parcels we had been donated (so many people donated so much sanitry stuff it was amazing - our house and garage was ceiling to floor with boxes). We even got Richard Branson to lend us a couple of planes out there to offload all of the aid.
I, certainly haven't forgotton the crisis and I should hope many others haven't. 9/11 though was a shock to the world as America hadn't experienced such a large scale attack due to terrorism. Hence why it's probably more in the fore front of peoples minds.
I don't think your wording has been particularly wise here. It is a big deal when anyone loses their life, no matter the scale.
I don't think your wording has been particularly wise here. It is a big deal when anyone loses their life, no matter the scale.
Indeed Pheebs.
I remember Rwanda myself, however today is the 7th anniversary of 9/11, hence the reason for this thread.
Davey_Pitch
11-09-2008, 12:41
I remember being on a bus home from work early as I wasn't feeling well. I was listening to music and overheard some girls talking and explosions and bombs and what not. I didn't care too much so just turned my music up to drown them out. It was only when I got home and put the news on that I realised what they were talking about. It was very surreal, watching the news for hours on end, watching the footage from different angles as it came in. Not a day I'd like to live through again.
Chumpy, whilst a few of us may share the same opinion, there's a way of presenting it without sounding aggressive and insensitive to people which are more affected by this sort of event. Whether or not you have contempt for the US or whatever your views on it are - can you please try and address your opinions in a more friendly manner.
Thanks.
AboveTheSalt
11-09-2008, 12:43
In Rwanda in 1994, more people died in a single day, *every day for 100 days*, than died in total on 9/11. In total up to a million people were murdered......yet no-one remembers that.
I wonder why.Fair comment. Sadly, I guess it is that they aren't white Westerners.
I guess that you could make much the same sort of comment about the innocent civilians in Afghanistan & Iraq who have been killed in reprisal for the WTC attacks.
Incidentally, I wonder how much damage has been done in Cuba in the past few weeks by hurricanes. We don't seem to hear much about that either.
<snip>
We are definitely more affected by 9/11 (as a nation) because it happened in the developed world, and it was a precursor to July 4th in London.July 7th, surely :confused:
July 7th, surely :confused:
I didnt pick up on that, simple mistake to make :)
July 7th, surely :confused:
LOL. That'll learn me for trying to multi-task. Yes, July 7th. Although loads of people died on Independence Day too, I know 'cos they made a movie with Will Smith and everything :p
I think that's what he meant :)
Without doubt the events of that happened in Rwanda and that still go on around the world (Bhurma, Zimbabwe, Tibet etc)on a daily basis are just as horrific if not more so than 9/11. Should it be a case that we forgoe remembering one at the expense of the other though ?
If nothing else it shows how powerfull the media can be in polarising the world, the have's and have nots, the west and east, terrorist and freedom fighters etc
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 12:57
in a way we should be grateful to the london terrorists for choosing a palindromic date, thus eliminating any confusion with our transatlantic cousins as we march towards eliminating all terrorism.
Why would there be any confusion :confused:
... with our transatlantic cousins as we march towards eliminating all terrorism.
Going well so far isn't it :D
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 13:01
Well I, for one, am not sure what happened on the 9th of November that merits all this fuss.....
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 13:02
Going well so far isn't it :D
Aye. As ever, GYWO (http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/images/war.008.gif) sums it up best:
leowyatt
11-09-2008, 13:02
Well I, for one, am not sure what happened on the 9th of November that merits all this fuss.....
and now you are just being petty.
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 13:05
No im not. Im being pithy.
Can we get back on topic please guys. This event has affected a lot of people, whether or not you think it is a big deal or not (which you're entitled to feel) there's a way of addressing this thread, and clearly this has affected a lot of people here so we should reflect and honour the sensitivities of the OP and others that would like to discuss this topic.
Thanks.
Well I, for one, am not sure what happened on the 9th of November that merits all this fuss.....
694AD Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery.
Obvious, duh :p
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 13:07
694AD Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery.
Obvious, duh :p
He sounds like a right ****.
He sounds like a right ****.
And you're one to talk.
And I didn't think I'd stoop to your level.
Seriously - go spam some other forum if you're going to post rubbish like this. Some people have respect and decency here. We don't need offensive codswollop like this over here.
Personally I don't care what colour they are. It could have been the blue man group's big convention and I'd still have been horrified by what I saw live on tv. Thats the big kicker really. It was live. Right from the offset I sat and watched the entire event. Its not like I heard some brief details on the 6pm news. I saw the entire thing unfold. The reports on the first plane, then the 2nd hit. The people jumping. The first tower collapsing, then the 2nd. The bits about the other planes. Its actually taken me quite some time to not think about 9/11 when I see a low flying plane. I remember reading forum accounts by people who were in the towers. I remember watching webcams from locals because they had better coverage than the news at that time. There have been many far worse tragedies in the world but as I haven't sat and watched them for a day like I was there they don't affect me as much.
As for me, on that day I was at home on IRC when it happened. My Dad told me about a plane hitting the tower and I made a joke, as I do. Plane hit a building, nice flying mate. Then I put the TV on and felt rather stupid. The shock as the news reporters were telling me about it and then seeing the 2nd plane come in and hit the building. Insane day. I was all over the net trying to get info and relaying it to people without a TV as most news sites were being hammered.
I've since seen documentaries about some of the photographers who were there, specifically James Nachtwey. He picked up his camera and headed out towards the place where people were running from. He captured this image.
http://www.vanilladays.com/images/Shattered_9_12_2001-20080911-131208.jpg
I honestly don't know how he could stop and detach himself from the moment long enough to be a photographer. To look up and think "There!" So much respect for that guy.
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 13:13
And you're one to talk.
And I didn't think I'd stoop to your level.
Seriously - go spam some other forum if you're going to post rubbish like this. Some people have respect and decency here. We don't need offensive codswollop like this over here.
Does your 'respect and decency' extend to acknowledging that others may have opinions that are different to your own, while being just as honestly held?
Is it a characteristic of 'respect and decency' to describe said opinions as 'codswollop'?
leowyatt
11-09-2008, 13:17
Does your 'respect and decency' extend to acknowledging that others may have opinions that are different to your own, while being just as honestly held?
Is it a characteristic of 'respect and decency' to describe said opinions as 'codswollop'?
There is a ways to get your opinion across and saying Whats the big ****ing deal?" Isn't the way.
I honestly don't know how he could stop and detach himself from the moment long enough to be a photographer. To look up and think "There!" So much respect for that guy.
Jesus. Me too.
Believe it or not, when I was first hearing snippets of news, someone said the towers had collapsed, I for some reason got into my head that the stock market had collapsed. What made me think that, I have no idea, my mind was a blur that day.
Chumpy - to be fair you're being excessively obtrusive and abraisive in your posting. you are of course entitled to your opinions, but please present them in a more courteous manner.
Does your 'respect and decency' extend to acknowledging that others may have opinions that are different to your own, while being just as honestly held?
Is it a characteristic of 'respect and decency' to describe said opinions as 'codswollop'?
People having an opinion and expressing it is fine. HOW you express it is the important difference. If you're not able to express your opinion inoffensively which is something you're displaying over and over again, don't post it.
leowyatt
11-09-2008, 13:20
Personally I don't care what colour they are. It could have been the blue man group's big convention and I'd still have been horrified by what I saw live on tv.
Isn't there only 3 of them? ;D sorry back on topic.
The photo that made the most impact for me was the falling man.
I respect peoples opinions, yes. Those who portray them in a sensible manner, that is. Noticed how I don't have a problem with other people who don't seem to have such a big feeling over 9/11? Maybe because they can express their feelings without in a non insulting manner and using language which isn't so derogatory.
Dee asked a simple question in her OP. Where were you during 9/11. You've so far managed to ignore the question, be insulting and derail the thread a couple of times despite beings told to keep it on the lines.
Therefore my respect for your opinion is currently in reverse.
Apologies Dee for go OT here. Felt he deserved a response.
I honestly don't know how he could stop and detach himself from the moment long enough to be a photographer. To look up and think "There!" So much respect for that guy.
In some regards I look at the work of photographers at major events and keep thinking.. you're there, you're present, but you're not really living it. I find I want them to put the cameras down and experience the moment.
But then without that sacrifice, without that hiding behind the camera lens and photographing, we'd miss so much. Pictures and photos are such a major trigger of memories, we'd all be a lot poorer off if it wasn't for the sacrifice of the few.
Isn't there only 3 of them? :confused:
Yer but who knows what might go on at a convention ;)
Anyway back on topic, the photo that made the most impact for me was the falling man.
Yer that was pretty harrowing. They were normally people who chose to jump to their deaths rather than burn alive. People no different from us.
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 13:23
OK, ok, im sorry.
I would like to express my distaste that commemorations of 9/11 only highlight the apparent ignorance of many people towards the far greater disasters that have occurred both before, and since the WTC attacks.
Peoplae are, of course, welcome to commemorate the attacks, but if they do so without also acknowledging these other events then, in my humble opinion they are at best ignorant, or at worse guilty of the kind of developed world myopia that will only make such attacks more prevalent in the future.
Better? I didnt even swear.
leowyatt
11-09-2008, 13:24
Yer that was pretty harrowing. They were normally people who chose to jump to their deaths rather than burn alive. People no different from us.
It says something when people choose to plummet to their deaths :( I suppose that would be better than being burnt alive as it would be quick and relatively painless. Sorry for the graphic comment people.
Pete that photo is - amazing (though not sure that's the right word for it?) I think you know what I mean.
Isn't there only 3 of them? ;D sorry back on topic.
The photo that made the most impact for me was the falling man.
I think that's probably one of the most haunting photos I have ever seen in my life. To see someones last few moments... which they chose to be there last... captured in one photo forever. Well. Shocking and terrifying.
In some regards I look at the work of photographers at major events and keep thinking.. you're there, you're present, but you're not really living it. I find I want them to put the cameras down and experience the moment.
But then without that sacrifice, without that hiding behind the camera lens and photographing, we'd miss so much. Pictures and photos are such a major trigger of memories, we'd all be a lot poorer off if it wasn't for the sacrifice of the few.
I know that feeling all to well. Going to events and experiencing things through a lens. It is the price you pay to come back with good photos of the event. James Natchwey says he does it to show people the reality of those situations in the hope that he can end them.
I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated.
It is harrowing and very bleak. The desperation required to choose that as the last port of call is unbelieveable. I can't even begin to imagine, from that aspect I do find this situation very sad.
Pete that photo is - amazing (though not sure that's the right word for it?) I think you know what I mean.
Time photo essay by James Natchwey (http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/shattered/index.html). In some ways they are amazing. I'm not sure what other way to describe them.
Better? I didnt even swear.
Not quite, you didnt say where you were when it happened, that was the point of this thread afterall :)
I had been house hunting put in a bid for a place I really wanted after looking for ages and got outbid. Was feeling pretty rubbish about it all. The next day this happened and I just remember it all feeling so surreal, I think it was the scale of it all. I remember after that I really couldn't have cared less about having lost the oppertunity of that house.
I must admit it I do think about it now and again. The amount of movies and TV shows that have images of the towers in, each time I see them it makes me stop and think.
As it happens I often get reminded about different events where terrible things happen and stop and have a think about them. It's not like I only have enough compassion to care for a finite number of people.
I was at home childminding and saw it all on telly from the word go. I remember being frozen, watching when the second plane hit. And I remember when it looked like the whole of NY had exploded when the 1st tower went down due to the smoke everywhere. I was on the phone to Mike at the time and I said there's been another explosion. When I realised what had happened I was crying, I knew it would have been full of people.
I still find it all quite hard to watch on the TV, all these programmes about it. Odd really, Im not normally so soft, for want of a better word.
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 13:51
Not quite, you didnt say where you were when it happened, that was the point of this thread afterall :)
I was at work. It was rubbish. We had loads to do but everyone was watching the news.
Aha - I've jsut remembered where I was. I was in Nice airport about to board a plane and I saw this new trailer for a movie where the WTC blows up.... it wasn't until I got to the UK that the news struck me that it wasn't a trailer and it was actually real. I admit to being shocked and relatively glued to the tv, it was more the innocent lives and the shock factor - however I did become numb to it rather quickly. I was more annoyed at the anti middle east comments if I'm honest.
I still find it all quite hard to watch on the TV, all these programmes about it. Odd really, Im not normally so soft, for want of a better word.
Nor me really Pebs :(
I think it was about 4 or 5 days later when they did the 2 minute silence, the boss bought the office a radio so we could sit and listen. Afterwards, the first song they played was REM, "Everybody Hurts". I broke down in the middle of the office :(:(
I can't remember why, but I was just arriving at my folk's house in London because I was working in Bath at the time. Saw it all live. Can't remember if I saw the second plane hit but I saw the buildings come down. Then it was an agonising wait to see if my friend was ok who worked there.
I was in my first year of college. Went home to get some lunch and it was on the radio, so turned on the TV to watch with my parents. I remember after the first one hit my Mum saying 'it must be some terrible accident', as she said it the second one hit along with the realisation that it wasn't. :(
Then I went back to my English class and we spent most of that discussing it and wondering what was going to happen next. As we were all only 16, it all seemed pretty unnerving despite the fact we lived in a very small, quiet place.
The it was an agonising wait to see if my friend was ok who worked there.
:shocked:
And? All ok I can only guess? :confused:
leowyatt
11-09-2008, 14:21
:shocked:
And? All ok I can only guess? :confused:
I was thinking the same but assumed it was all ok :) then again :confused:
I had walked out my job the day or two before and was sat at home watching the tv. Waiting until the weekend to go to uni.
The first thing they did was stop the crap day time tv and show a plane hitting the tower. Initially with no commentator. I thought It was just some pc game advert at first.
:shocked:
And? All ok I can only guess? :confused:
Yes, she was fine :)
Davey_Pitch
11-09-2008, 15:36
OK, ok, im sorry.
I would like to express my distaste that commemorations of 9/11 only highlight the apparent ignorance of many people towards the far greater disasters that have occurred both before, and since the WTC attacks.
Peoplae are, of course, welcome to commemorate the attacks, but if they do so without also acknowledging these other events then, in my humble opinion they are at best ignorant, or at worse guilty of the kind of developed world myopia that will only make such attacks more prevalent in the future.
Better? I didnt even swear.
I understand your point, but in a thread titled "9/11", asking specifically and only about 9/11, surely the replies and focus are only going to be about that particular disaster. It doesn't mean people are ignorant about other horrors going on around the world, it just means this thread isn't about them. :)
OK, ok, im sorry.
I would like to express my distaste that commemorations of 9/11 only highlight the apparent ignorance of many people towards the far greater disasters that have occurred both before, and since the WTC attacks.
Peoplae are, of course, welcome to commemorate the attacks, but if they do so without also acknowledging these other events then, in my humble opinion they are at best ignorant, or at worse guilty of the kind of developed world myopia that will only make such attacks more prevalent in the future.
Better? I didnt even swear.
what are you on, it's about time-scales and the personal affect. It's the single biggest part of history most of us have seen and been through.
Humans only remember what has affected them and what they have lived through.
We also have commemorations for other stuff, but on the day it happens. like 11 of November.
chumpychops
11-09-2008, 16:42
what are you on, it's about time-scales and the personal affect. It's the single biggest part of history most of us have seen and been through.
Humans only remember what has affected them and what they have lived through.
We also have commemorations for other stuff, but on the day it happens. like 11 of November.
Apparently being aggressive (as you are) is frowned upon in this forum.
If you'd care to rephrase your points in a more friendly manner, I'll address them.
that is not aggressive...
The points are fine..
Oooh Chumpychops :) You're just looking for a reaction aren't you.
Cotton socks? Bless.
(AcidHell2 ignore him he's just trying to cause a kerfuffle because he got a finger waggled at him earlier) :)
I was at secondary school and had just got home and it was on the news. Back then I didn't know what the WTC was really. As time went on and more information was released I began to realise the significance and impact it had made.
My only real sour point of 9/11 is the conspiracy theories, they really annoy me and I wish those people hounding the families would leave them alone and respect them.
I was at college, and dind teven hear about it till i got to work afterwards at 6pm, and someone who came i said "it was awful wasnt it?" and i said "what was?" she she said "the plane crashes" and i thought she was talking about an accident.
Wasnt till i got home at 10pm, and looked online that I saw what had happened.
TinkerBell
11-09-2008, 18:37
I was sitting at my desk in the office in Paris pondering what would be happing if my planned business trip to New York hadn't been cancelled at the last minute. Had ti gone to plan I would have flown into NYC the day before it happened.
:shocked::shocked::( Thank god you didn't have to go to New York :)
I was in my physics lesson at secondary school. They brought a TV into the room and we watched the news about it. Was really sad, everyone was really shell shocked and upset.
I really feel for all the family's that have lost there loved ones.
Was working at the robotics place I used to work at, in the design office. Someone on the shop floor had a radio and popped in saying a plane had hit the WTC. I pictured a light aircraft and just though "oops". Then they came back saying a second plane had hit. Still didn't click that this was a major event.
Then they came back and said one had collapsed. It started dawning on me then that something very serious was going on. However, I didn't know what the WTC was, so wasn't aware of the sheer scale.
Got home after work and turned the tv on, and that was when I realised it was a world-changing event.
Fortunatley I haven't been personally affected by it, but I know a couple of people who were.
Kell_ee001
11-09-2008, 20:58
I had just visit University for the first time with a friend and gone round to the flat to chill out. Put on the TV just as the coverage started.
G-MAN2004
11-09-2008, 21:02
I was on the way (or there) to primary school. I knew quite a bit about them from my dad, as he'd been up both of them a while before.
I was at work, doing a morning shift, but the magnitude of it didn't really hit home while I was still at work. "Plane hits building" gave me images of a little single seater prop like a Chipmunk or something.
Then I got home and couldn't get online. So I rang AOL (!) and whilst talking to the guy on the 'phone I made general conversation, asking if it was busy etc. He replied it was very quiet because everyone was watching the WTC on telly. I walked back into the living room with the phone in my hand as the first tower collapsed.
"Oh my god it's just come down" said the AOL guy. I responded in kind. That was quite dramatic I suppose.
I remember it very clearly. Since New York is something like 6 hours ahead of us, we were all asleep when it happened. My sister was woken up by her inlaws in Texas, and then she called me at 6am. I was living in a student house at University, and I went straight upstairs and turned the tv on. Then I went around and woke all my housemates to tell them.
We all sat around the living room watching tv for hours. I remember being so scared because this meant my brother in law might get deployed (he was in the army) and my 18 year old brain was petrified that my boyfriend would get drafted.
For months afterwards I refused to wear an american flag shirt like so many others were wearing, that said things like "these colors don't run" or "united we stand," etc. I was hoping that we wouldn't end up going to war....
And look what happened.
For months afterwards I refused to wear an american flag shirt like so many others were wearing, that said things like "these colors don't run" or "united we stand," etc..
Only in America...
The patriotism there was incredible when I went the week after, we had a long drive from Washington to Indianapolis and there were hardly any cars which weren't displaying the Stars and Stripes. Americans are very proud of their flag and aren't ashamed to display it.
Imagine it like England was during the World Cup when a lot of cars displayed flags except that they were proud to do it, it wasn't like over here when it was fashionable to take the piss out of cars displaying our countries flag.
G-MAN2004
12-09-2008, 03:15
Snip.
Do you live in Hawaii? Just a very unlikely guess. :p
Toryglen-boy
12-09-2008, 04:39
For me its a day of mixed emotions, i remember seeing it first hand on the news live, we stopped work to watch it, and i remember the horror of it all, and sensless it all was, but i also remember thinking how much of a media circus it had all become, and how America now seemed to sit up and take notice, even though there are attrocities that happen every day. I remember feeling so sorry for the victims.
But then again, its my daughters birthday, so it brings me joy also
:)
I really do think the attacks have been tarnished and the people who died, died for nothing, the US army have killed so many innocent people, more than what died in attacks on 11/9, plus hearing a soundbite on the news about the president saying something " there have been no other attacks on US soil" but how many attacks where on US soil before 11/9?
The patriotism there was incredible when I went the week after, we had a long drive from Washington to Indianapolis and there were hardly any cars which weren't displaying the Stars and Stripes. Americans are very proud of their flag and aren't ashamed to display it.
It was quite difficult to rationally celebrate or support the American show of patriotism though, because it was so closely linked to overwhelming public support for a war that they never should have started (and are now paying the price for).
"Terrorists attacked us, we must come together!
And invade Afghanistan!
And Iraq! Iraq did this to us!"
WTF?
People are sheep. Give them a direction to point their anger and they'll blindly follow. Nazis and the Jews for example. Some actually wrapped their head around the facts (like yourself) and said WTF, but most just blindly went along. And when you're one against a million, you eventually give up trying to sway their minds.
I watched Stop-loss last week, decent film, its like a Born on the 4th of July but Iraq.
Really does make you think, whats going on in the soldiers heads when they end up in Iraq fighting in a way they have not been taught and losing men every day and they cant do anything about it.
I really do think the attacks have been tarnished and the people who died, died for nothing, the US army have killed so many innocent people, more than what died in attacks on 11/9, plus hearing a soundbite on the news about the president saying something " there have been no other attacks on US soil" but how many attacks where on US soil before 11/9?
it was only Afghanistan that was attacked due to 9/11 not iraq. I don't think it's been tarnished at all.
And it should of been attacked. It is not ok for countrys to harbour and train such people. They can't wash there hands of blame simply because it was not goverment funded.
it was only Afghanistan that was attacked due to 9/11 not iraq. I don't think it's been tarnished at all.
And it should of been attacked. It is not ok for country's to harbour and train such people. They can't wash there hands of blame simply because it was not goverment funded.
Well what about Pakistan, they harbour more terrorists than a any other country, not only are they a nuclear power but very corrupt, Bush signed a supposedly secret agreement for US special forces to take out ground targets in Pakistan,
So WMD has now turned in to it harbouring terrorists, yet the invasion and occupation has turned 10,000s of Iraqis to hate and attack the army, its just breeding younger and more determined Iraqis.
AboveTheSalt
12-09-2008, 17:27
it was only Afghanistan that was attacked due to 9/11 not iraq.I believe that prior to the invasion of Iraq, Bush and his cronies put around the idea that Iraq had been involved in the September 11th attacks on the WTC and that they were harbouring Al-Qaeda terrorists.
I also believe that a VERY significant number of Americans believed that Iraq had been involved in the September 11th attacks and that they were not disabused by the US Government:Nearing the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, seven in 10 Americans continue to believe that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had a role in the attacks, even though the Bush administration and congressional investigators say they have no evidence of this. (Link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32862-2003Sep5?language=printer))
Von Smallhausen
12-09-2008, 18:38
I was on a CID attachment as a probationer and working on a murder investigation when I was in the car while my colleague went to sort something out at a house. He came back in the car and said that planes had crashed into the towers. When we got back to the station, everyone was in the canteen watching the footage and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
A year to the day later I was New York for the first anniversary and stood at Ground Zero with thousands of other cops from all over the world at the exact time. George W Bush visited that day as did the likes of Rober DeNiro. I will never forget it.
I was semi hungover in physics after a night out to celebrate my 18th. Teacher said he wasnt sure how he could think about teaching given what was happening - but did anyway without telling us what was happening. It was only when I got home and flopped on the sofa that I saw. Fell asleep and dozed at the news reports flooded in.. It was all very surreal.
Well what about Pakistan, they harbour more terrorists than a any other country, not only are they a nuclear power but very corrupt, Bush signed a supposedly secret agreement for US special forces to take out ground targets in Pakistan,
perhaps because they are nuclear, what you want us to do. Go to war with a nuclear state. It simply is not possible.
snip:
Important bit you missed was on the 2nd anniversary. If you poll know 99% would believe Iraq was due to 9/11. Due to "fredom fighters
2 rushing to Iraq to join in the witch hunt.
It was about WMD though and I'll wager that most put two and two together and assumed (incorrectly) that those WMD were, or could be, targetted at them. I'll grant there is probably no direct causal relationship between WTC and Iraq, but there is at least an indirect one. I doubt Iraq would have been invaded pre-WTC had the circumstances otherwise been similar.
Anyway, I was working from home, as I have done mostly since. Some important meeting was cancelled and I asked my (American) manager what was wrong. I felt so stupid and insensitive to the situation when I got the reply and immediately turned the TV on. I spent the rest of the day reading and watching several different news sites (both US and UK) to get as many different perspectives on the story as possible. I've since been to Ground Zero and indeed one of the photos used when a certain well-known forum was closed on the anniversaries was taken by me.
All life is important and I don't deny that far worse (in terms of scale) atrocities have occurred, and still do, but none have had the personal immediacy of this.
AboveTheSalt
13-09-2008, 12:14
Important bit you missed was on the 2nd anniversary. If you poll know 99% would believe Iraq was due to 9/11. Due to "fredom fighters 2 rushing to Iraq to join in the witch hunt.On the contrary, I was well aware that it was on the 2nd anniversary - I just couldn't be bothered to Google for a poll on people's views around the time of the invasion of Iraq which would have shown that when Iraq was invaded, many Americans believed that the invasion was justified on the basis of Saddam Hussein's involvement in the September 11th attacks on the WTC.
I agree entirely that many Americans now accept that they were misled by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. and that this was an abuse of the memories of those who died as a result of the September 11th attacks on the WTC.
It's a horrible thought, but whilst the WTC towers collapsing killed around 2700 people directly, it is extremely likely that the lives of tens of thousands more people who were in the area will have shortened life-spans due to the asbestos dust created :(
Piggymon
13-09-2008, 13:14
I was playing CounterStrike ... the map ? Vertigo :o
I was playing CounterStrike ... the map ? Vertigo :o
;D *feels guilty for laughing* :o
That's impressive timing!
I'd come off a night shift and was asleep on the sofa, I woke up just as the second plane hit. I thought, blimey the effects in this movie are good for daytime trash. Turned over and the same thing was on BBC2, ITV, CH4 and 5.
Not a film then.
The next night at work we were put on high alert (although why Al-Queida would attack Harvey Nicks is beyond me) and London seemed different.
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