Where were you when the world stopped turning? Remembering 9.11.2001

[aoxa]

thaiturkey you should know by now that some people have the monopoly on suffering!

... Why is everyone arguing and ganging up on one another?

 

[thaiturkey]

Though the targets were on American soil, the effect of the events of 911 were very much international (this is from Wikipedia):


The terrorist September 11 attacks by Al-Qaeda resulted in almost 3,000 immediate (attack time) deaths, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims.[1] 372 foreign nationals(excluding the 19 perpetrators) perished in the attacks, representing just over 12% of the total. The immediate deaths include 246 victims on the four planes (from which there were no survivors), 2,606 in New York City in the World Trade Center and on the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon.[2][3] About 292 people were killed at street level by burning debris and falling bodies of those who had jumped or fallen from the World Trade Center's windows. All the deaths in the attacks were civilians except for 55 military personnel killed at the Pentagon.[4] Some immediate victims were not added to the list until years later.
More than 90 countries lost citizens in the attacks on the World Trade Center.[5] The foreign countries with the highest losses are the United Kingdom (including the British overseas territory of Bermuda) with 67, the Dominican Republic with 47, and India with 41.

This is what I meant when I told my husband "we have joined the rest of the world."

Thank you for posting that information.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I think, that for many, September 11th represents a loss of innocence. The United States has never had the realization that an outside attack could be serious in the modern age. The Oklahoma City bombing made us realize that terrorists could attack here, as had some of the smaller attacks in New York City, the anthrax attacks, the Olympic bombing, and others. These were homegrown crazies, something that we are unfortunately familiar with. It was also a wake up call for the rest of the world; if it could happen in the US it could happen anywhere.

What Sept. 11 did was force us to realize that as an open society, we are vulnerable. We are vulnerable here at home to all the crazies who exist in the world, and can obtain a passport. We realized this with a horrific loss of life, and a senseless murder of thousands of people. We should mourn, we should remember, and we should go on.

What we should not do is change our values as a country. A free and open society is what is lovely, unique in many ways, and powerful about this country. That we can exist and act with civility and respect for those whose opinions and values we do not share. We can respect someone's right to say something that we find reprehensible. And we can condemn those views without resorting to violence, and hatred. We don't have to kill to disagree with someone's religion, government, media or popular culture.

 

[cupman]

Yeah, as usual, mom'sfolly has an eloquence with her words. I couldn't agree more. I was 15 when it happened and I remember being in high school and being around a bunch of other kids. I didn't want to show any emotion because, well, it wasn't cool to? I guess. But on the inside I was really disturbed by it. My sense of security in my country was questioned for the very first time. A day before I could not even fathom such an attack could ever happen here. The lasting effects of that day exist to this day. You can't even board a plane with a bottle of water. I'm not saying the terrorists won, but they definitely shaped our future because of that day. I sort of think we should have just rebuilt the twin towers where they stood. A big middle finger to them and their attacks. But I understand how the victims of that day want recognition and remembrance for their loved ones. It has been 11 years but it's still fresh in my mind... I think of my grandfather talking about the attacks on Pearl Harbor.. he has passed now but he could recount the day with such clarity... will I be telling a similar story to my grandchildren in 30 years? Probably so... But there is a stark difference between 9/11 and Pearl Harbor.

 

[TechnoCat]

I was so much younger. I remember our teacher crying, and we were all asking what was wrong. I was so confused. As I grew older, I couldn't believe my ears when I found out what happened. It sent me into a series of awful flashbacks, our teacher crying and my fellow students begging her to tell us what was the matter, but she would refuse, tell us we would learn someday.

I'm always quiet on 9/11, and I can never get the pictures out of my head... Or this:

Quote:

 

[thaiturkey]

I think, that for many, September 11th represents a loss of innocence. The United States has never had the realization that an outside attack could be serious in the modern age. The Oklahoma City bombing made us realize that terrorists could attack here, as had some of the smaller attacks in New York City, the anthrax attacks, the Olympic bombing, and others. These were homegrown crazies, something that we are unfortunately familiar with. It was also a wake up call for the rest of the world; if it could happen in the US it could happen anywhere.

What Sept. 11 did was force us to realize that as an open society, we are vulnerable. We are vulnerable here at home to all the crazies who exist in the world, and can obtain a passport. We realized this with a horrific loss of life, and a senseless murder of thousands of people. We should mourn, we should remember, and we should go on.

What we should not do is change our values as a country. A free and open society is what is lovely, unique in many ways, and powerful about this country. That we can exist and act with civility and respect for those whose opinions and values we do not share. We can respect someone's right to say something that we find reprehensible. And we can condemn those views without resorting to violence, and hatred. We don't have to kill to disagree with someone's religion, government, media or popular culture.

An excellent post!

 

[Bunnylady]

I think, that for many, September 11th represents a loss of innocence. The United States has never had the realization that an outside attack could be serious in the modern age. The Oklahoma City bombing made us realize that terrorists could attack here, as had some of the smaller attacks in New York City, the anthrax attacks, the Olympic bombing, and others. These were homegrown crazies, something that we are unfortunately familiar with. It was also a wake up call for the rest of the world; if it could happen in the US it could happen anywhere.

Thank you, mom'sfolly, for putting into words what I'd been struggling to say and kept deleting, until I finally just gave up.

This isn't about who has the "right" reaction to the events of 9/11. From the people who lost loved ones, and whose lives can never be the same, to the people who shrug and say, "it didn't affect me, so it doesn't concern me", to the people who held victory celebrations in the streets, all are valid reactions relative to their individual points of view. But for many, it was a watershed moment. Some people's lives were irrevocably altered, for others, it was only their perspective that changed. So whether they paused for only a moment, or whether it took weeks for them to "get back to normal," for them, normality took on a different shape. And they can't help but remember when it changed.

 

[newfoundland]

Many lives all around the world are irrevocably altered by the evils of terrorism and sadly it goes on and on. What makes 9/11 so memorable is the unique method of mounting the attack and the sheer scale of it's consequences. Also to watch on the newsreels as the events unfolded could not help but make a massive impact on those watching. The impotence of all who watched in horror as these buildings and lives were destroyed remains with us in our collective memory of that fearful day. But what is the answer to terrorism? What prompts people to commit these grotesque acts against the innocent? Maybe we all need to listen to each more as well as talk. Maybe we all need to respect and celebrate the differences in our cultures. Some of us need to embrace change without suspicion and others need to respect traditional values without derision.

 

[thaiturkey]

Many lives all around the world are irrevocably altered by the evils of terrorism and sadly it goes on and on. What makes 9/11 so memorable is the unique method of mounting the attack and the sheer scale of it's consequences. Also to watch on the newsreels as the events unfolded could not help but make a massive impact on those watching. The impotence of all who watched in horror as these buildings and lives were destroyed remains with us in our collective memory of that fearful day. But what is the answer to terrorism? What prompts people to commit these grotesque acts against the innocent? Maybe we all need to listen to each more as well as talk. Maybe we all need to respect and celebrate the differences in our cultures. Some of us need to embrace change without suspicion and others need to respect traditional values without derision.

Very nicely put and I agree. It's a very good topic for discussion but this isn't an appropriate thread and I doubt whether it would get far as a new thread before open discussion was shouted down.

 

[kyla]

I don't know....but it's uncalled for and we need to accept that we are from different places and accept that we all have different opinions and views and life styles and we were all raised to believe different things. SO STOP GANGING UP ON ONE ANOTHER!!!!!!!!!!