Where were you on 9/11?

[C Elegans]

I am probably one of the few people who don't remember where I was or what I was doing. Normally, people remember with crystal clarity exactly where they were and what they were doing when major events such as the WTC attack occurred, but I actually don't.

[Kipi]

I was just leaving to school when I saw it on tv. For some odd reason I had CNN selected (which is vare rare to me...). After school, I spent rest of the day watching CNN, since it was the best channel I was able to access to get information about the hit.

[dragon wench]

What really strikes me is just how clearly we all remember our movements on that day. I mean, most of the time...I can't remember what I've done from one day to the next.. but I recall everything about 9/11 with extreme clarity.

EDIT,
except CE

Maybe because the event was just so shocking and... as Smass stated a paradigm shift. Very few of us here live in war torn regions...but when those attacks occurred it was as though an earthquake tremor reverberated across North America and the rest of the world. But, particularly in North America, because although, as Von Dondu mentions, this type of event is not completely unprecedented, an assault of such a scale on domestic (term used loosely) soil is only equalled by the attack on Pearl Harbour.

I think that as a kind of coping mechanism behaviour very much shifted, especially in 9/11's immediate aftermath. Von Dondu mentions that people had lots of sex. Almost everyone I know ended up pursuing a relationship of some kind at that time... At first I thought it was coincidence, but then I started reading about how it seemed to be an overall trend. Equally, fashions after 9/11 were very light and frivolous, as though there was a deliberate attempt to somehow negate the utter dark horror and shock of that day.

I think a similar thing may have happened when Hitler invaded Poland, or when Pearl Harbour was attacked. In around 2000 I conducted a series of interviews with people who had lived through WWII and had been old enough to remember it in detail. Each and every person I spoke to was able to tell me precisely what they were doing when those events occurred. I also heard from my interviewees that many marriages occurred earlier than they might have, or how some people engaged in "ill-advised liaisons."

I guess I'm just musing here... but the whole emotional/psychological impact is interesting.

[Xandax]

<snip>
Maybe because the event was just so shocking and... as Smass stated a paradigm shift. Very few of us here live in war torn regions...but when those attacks occurred it was as though an earthquake tremor reverberated across North America and the rest of the world. But, particularly in North America, because although, as Von Dondu mentions, this type of event is not completely unprecedented, an assault of such a scale on domestic (term used loosely) soil is only equalled by the attack on Pearl Harbour.

I think that as a kind of coping mechanism behaviour very much shifted, especially in 9/11's immediate aftermath. Von Dondu mentions that people had lots of sex. Almost everyone I know ended up pursuing a relationship of some kind at that time... At first I thought it was coincidence, but then I started reading about how it seemed to be an overall trend. Equally, fashions after 9/11 were very light and frivolous, as though there was a deliberate attempt to somehow negate the utter dark horror and shock of that day.

I think a similar thing may have happened when Hitler invaded Poland, or when Pearl Harbour was attacked. In around 2000 I conducted a series of interviews with people who had lived through WWII and had been old enough to remember it in detail. Each and every person I spoke to was able to tell me in precise detail exactly what they were doing when those events occurred. I also heard from my interviewees that many marriages occurred earlier than they might have, or how some people engaged in "ill-advised liaisons."

I guess I'm just musing here... but the whole emotional/psychological impact is interesting.

As I stated a couple of posts above, I think this is true, because I recall vidivly the images of Challenger blowing up. How the school day was the time the first Gulf War broke out and such things. The events mark themselves in a manner which burned them into my awereness so I recall them.
And I'm generally extreemly absentminded these days, even hardly recalling which day of the week it is (luckily I have some tricks to help me do that ... when I'm at work that is)

[Ideal Maxima]

Midtown Manhattan with my father, the Taxi Driver, for career day. Didn't notice at first, but after we saw people scurrying about, we knew something was wrong. After driving a little closer, we could see the twin towers with a big hole on one of them and so much smoke. I faintly remember it though, because my father drove right back around and drove home (to Queens) and we watched the rest of the matter on t.v. I was in 4th grade at the time. Man there was so much smoke, that's all that comes into mind when I think about it.

[triline beta]

I was in a third grade classroom in Wisconsin.

[Mr_Snow]

Since I live in Oz, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a housemate just after the 2nd tower got hit, and was watching it for the next few hrs.

Was very tired that next day

[(old)Mandalore]

Man!I can't believe that was five years ago!Anyways...I was at my home (at the time i was home schooled) I was eating pizza at around 12:00. I was doing a little homework too when We decided to see if anything was on TV.There sure was too.We went to our local station to watch it.We watched it for a couple of hours.Today we were looking back at it and some of the things.And I had a short intellectual (for my friends) discussion about it.Looking back I almost can remember it like yesterday!

[Luis Antonio]

I was at work in the bank, then I saw the thing in the TV and I told my manager: The third world war is upon us. He said, "yes, but let us work" and life carried on.

[Magrus]

I was in college, between classes having a chat with an old high school friend. The big screen TV in the common area was broken, and there was no sound, and the bottom of the screen was blurry. So, the scrolling banner at the bottom of the screen with all of the text on it was blurred out and we didn't know it was there. The sound was off, so we heard no commentary. Everyone in the room thought it was a TV parody of the old radio "War of the Worlds" thing from what, 60 years ago? Something like that.

We were laughing and saying it was a realistic joke, and the special effects people did a superb job. Saying that this was much better than the radio version from way back when. Then the teachers started shouting and, they heard only MY commentary, out of the 30 or so kids who had been talking right before I was. I got lectured and was called a horrible person and that it was evil to laugh about people dying. Which is when we all found out it was real, and not some comedy type fake.

The building was evacuated, as since the times of the Cold War, this area of NY has been a target for attacks due to the proximity to Lake Ontario and the nuclear power plant that is right along the coast. If someone blew that up, it would contaminate the lake, and there could be untold long term effects from the water ending up as rain and spreading over the northeastern US. Sooo...I spent the rest of the day cooped up in my mothers office nearby until we could go home as all public travel was shut down and I was supposed to take the bus home.

That being said, I think I have a different view on the attacks than most people. Americans got arrogant, with the idea no one would attack them. I think that was necessary to remind people that no one is safe, no matter who, or where they are. The reaction was complete insanity too IMHO. Still is.

[VonDondu]

That being said, I think I have a different view on the attacks than most people. Americans got arrogant, with the idea no one would attack them. I think that was necessary to remind people that no one is safe, no matter who, or where they are. The reaction was complete insanity too IMHO. Still is.

As you are probably aware, such a view is "sacrilegious" in most quarters, but I agree with you. (However, I would quibble with the way you said it "was necessary" to remind people that no one is safe--I wouldn't call it "necessary"--but I agree that people did not realize how vulnerable we were until we were attacked.)

I guess my age is showing, but when I was growing up, we were always afraid of attacks by "the Commies", and during the 80s, we were afraid of possible terrorist attacks by countries like Libya and Iran. (Libya was new on the list of official enemies--we were good friends with Saddam Hussein at the time--and we were fearful of Iran ever since the hostage crisis of the 70s since we didn't know that the Reagan administration was making secret deals with them, like holding the hostages before the 1980 election to make Jimmy Carter look bad and then releasing them when Reagan took office to make Reagan look good in exchange for money and weapons). We were naive back then, just like people are today, but we didn't feel "safe" until the Berlin Wall came down. Then we got Nintendos and we became complacent. It amazes me how quickly people forgot about "little" things like the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995.

We were as defenseless as a Third World country on September 11, 2001. Idiots like President Bush say, "I don't think anyone realized we could be attacked," just because they weren't concerned about the possibility of attacks and they didn't bother to wonder whether we needed any precautions. What Bush should have said was, "I wasn't concerned about terrorist attacks before 9/11," and then I would praise him for his honesty. There were only four planes guarding the East coast that day, and the planes on the ground were not armed and ready for launch. Secretary Rumsfeld was doing "a heckuva job", and it doesn't seem to have crossed anyone's mind that he should have been fired. I am totally amazed that people think that the Bush administration can not only protect us, but they also are the best people for the job. That is tantamount to clinical insanity.

A lot of people were personally affected by the attacks on 9/11, and my heart goes out to them. But people like a former boss of mine who moved to Texas in 1990 who still sobw and cries to this day, "I used to see the World Trade Center out of my apartment window in New York," strike me as a bit ridiculous when I think about all of the people whose grief has better justification. She thinks the attacks are all about her, so I can't take her seriously. I do love my country and my way of life, and I get really angry when I think about enemies who want to kill us indiscriminately. The attacks on 9/11 were shocking, disgusting, and awful. But with that being said, I can't say they came as a total surprise, and I feel like asking people who think "it changed everything", "What kind of a world do you think we live in? You think this is a rose garden? You had your illusions spoiled, but that doesn't mean 'everything changed'." I think the attacks gave us an excellent opportunity to reassess our situation, but I feel like people missed the point. We need to take our safety seriously, not get wrapped up in self-indulgent fantasies.

[Coot]

I was teaching - I just turned on the TV so we could watch some documentary. Instead of SchoolTV we saw Manhattan filmed from a helicopter with all that smoke coming from the Twin Towers.
Initially some of the children thought it was just a movie or something but then they saw my reaction to those people jumping out of the windows and they became all dead quiet.
I decided to turn off the TV, these children being just 8 years old and I wasn't sure what would be shown next. At that point we didn't know about Bin Laden and we were discussing what could have happened. Some kids came up with the idea of criminals and terrorists and only then I realized that this could actually be an attack, not an accident, but something somebody did, voluntarily.

[TheAmazingOopah]

In september 2001, I started my first year of high school, which over here means the 7th grade, so when everyone is about 12 or 13 years old. I had had just a few first days of school and in the second week the entire 7th grade went to a camp in the forest were we would do creative assignments, play name games, go on a biking trip and other activities of the sort; usual "get-to-know-each-other stuff".
Since there is a time difference of about six hours between NY and Soest, we were all sleeping when the towers got hit, so we didn't see the whole thing live. The next day I saw a crowd of classmates before the television that was hanging next to the bar of the youth hostel, and the screen showed something about two attacked buildings. Back then I had never really heard before of these two buildings. Really don't get this the wrong way, but back then I would have been more shocked if the two planes had destroyed the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building than the World Trade Center, even though if no one would have been killed. It's simply that I was ignorant about the existence and importance of the WTC, and I did knew the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building, which destruction would do more with me. Also because of the busy and active week, I more or less missed the numbers of casualties.
So basicly I have never had that moment of shock that many others have had when they heard of the attacks. The understanding of the importance of the destruction and how terrible the whole thing must have been grew gradually over the years in me, with me also growing older and gaining more knowledge of politics, life and roughly everything. Now five years later, it affects me more than when it had just happened.

By the way, I think it's interesting to have a "Where were you when..."-thread like this, since it makes you realise how something like this really is an important event in history. When I was younger, I used to think naievely how history is something clear and finished, the way it is presented in history books, and that the present politics are just a messed up circus of people never agreeing with each other and never ever reaching to a clear solution. By now I've seen that politics were probably just like that in say the 1950's or the 1960's, but eventually got written down by the winners in the way they viewed it as the correct thing, but is definitely still open for debate. The present politics will be how complicated probably become more clearer in ten years from now when you have the advantage of a wider view and brought results, and will definitely become history. The attack on the World Trade Center, the Iraq war, the continuing situation with Israel, it will all be subjects of the future history books that our children will read. Probably not an eye-opener for the most of you guys, but just something I got to find out during the years.

[VonDondu]

In september 2001... I had had just a few first days of school and in the second week the entire 7th grade went to a camp in the forest were we would do creative assignments, play name games, go on a biking trip and other activities of the sort; usual "get-to-know-each-other stuff".
Since there is a time difference of about six hours between NY and Soest, we were all sleeping when the towers got hit, so we didn't see the whole thing live. The next day I saw a crowd of classmates before the television that was hanging next to the bar of the youth hostel, and the screen showed something about two attacked buildings...

If you're talking about Soest in Nordrhein-Westphalia, you're actually six hours ahead of NY time. So the planes hit the World Trade Center in the middle of the afternoon according to your time. If you were in the woods and couldn't see a TV, that would explain why you didn't see footage of the attacks until the next day. (If you're in Hawaii or some place like that, please disregard my comments.)

So basicly I have never had that moment of shock that many others have had when they heard of the attacks. The understanding of the importance of the destruction and how terrible the whole thing must have been grew gradually over the years in me, with me also growing older and gaining more knowledge of politics, life and roughly everything. Now five years later, it affects me more than when it had just happened.

To some extent, the attacks on 9/11 were important just because people say they were important. Other atrocities and tragedies have been ignored or forgotten, but "9/11" really struck a chord with Americans. If it means something to you too, then you're in good company. But remember that reacting to the event itself is one thing, while the "politics" and the symbolism and so forth are actually something completely different. You'll hear all sorts of interpretations of the event, such as "This was God's punishment for gay marriage" or "This is the calling of the 21st century", and you need to use your critical thinking skills when you hear things like that.

[Magrus]

As you are probably aware, such a view is "sacrilegious" in most quarters, but I agree with you.

You mean those people that shout Amen on Sundays because they think it provides them with divine helmets to keep them safe? Yes, I am aware of that. :laugh: I cannot, under any circumstances take them seriously. So it goes both ways I think.

To be brutally honest, the country is in horrible shape to be prepared for any sort of attack right now. I think the only reason no one has is the fear of the possibility of a nuclear winter after the repercussions of attacking this country when our army is gone and having to rely on simply eradicating those responsible instead of invading.

As far as 9/11... is it just me, or does anyone else feel the thing was setup by someone inside the country? Too much seems to fit, in my mind at least to not see it that way. The reaction, the events afterwards, the dismissing the person who was pointed out as responsible to go attack Iraq, the missing gold? I mean, really, if I wanted to truly terrorize this country, I wouldn't hit coastal cities. I would hit say, Graceland, and Houston, and Cincinnati. Not hit government and business buildings. Sure that would ruin trade and frighten people. However, having tourist attractions and big, populated cities hit with no true importance in economy or government would frighten the average Joe American more I would think.

[TheAmazingOopah]

If you're talking about Soest in Nordrhein-Westphalia, you're actually six hours ahead of NY time. So the planes hit the World Trade Center in the middle of the afternoon according to your time. If you were in the woods and couldn't see a TV, that would explain why you didn't see footage of the attacks until the next day. (If you're in Hawaii or some place like that, please disregard my comments.)

Hehe, no, I am not reciding in Hawaii and have never been there (which I regret), but I was talking about the Dutch Soest, which is near to Utrecht, one of the biggest cities in The Netherlands, somewhere in the middle of the country. I do not live in that area though, but live near The Hague, on the west-coast. Funny to hear that there is a Soest in Germany as well. I have been to Nordrhein-Westphalia on several vacations, but never knew about the other Soest.
And yes, you were right that it must have been afternoon over here. I forgot that in the countries to the east you could say that they are ahead of my time-zone, so in the countries to the west they are "later" than my time-zone, meaning that when it is morning in New York, it is already afternoon here. I apparently don't know excactly anymore when I saw the news report the first time, which probably says something about what a small impression it left on me at first. Could also be that the teachers already told us about it in the evening and that we saw the tv-footage the next day. I don't remember.

To some extent, the attacks on 9/11 were important just because people say they were important. Other atrocities and tragedies have been ignored or forgotten, but "9/11" really struck a chord with Americans. If it means something to you too, then you're in good company. But remember that reacting to the event itself is one thing, while the "politics" and the symbolism and so forth are actually something completely different. You'll hear all sorts of interpretations of the event, such as "This was God's punishment for gay marriage" or "This is the calling of the 21st century", and you need to use your critical thinking skills when you hear things like that.

Apart from understanding the seriousness of 9/11 more and more, it also started to annoy me more and more how much media attention it got. Yes, it definitely was a terrible something, many people died (in a horrible way) and it had (and still has) some major consequenses, but I also feel that it got so much attention because we're talking about The United States of America here. All the attention that goes to the U.S. and all the products, tv-shows, music and movies that we receive from the U.S. really makes you feel like you're a part of that country, or rather that the country owns you, and that all the terror activities that happen in less fortunate and less known countries completely fall back with 9/11. And I agree with you that 9/11 became perhaps so important because the media wanted it to be so important - not that it wasn't unimportant by itself, but became now more important than it really was. I began to slightly form an undeserved contempt for 9/11, just because of the media over-kill and also perhaps the way many Americans talked about it, even though the whole thing affected me quite much and definitely deserved media attention. There just is a line that can be crossed where it becomes too much.

And about the idea of God being involved: luckily I am still critical enough to see that 9/11 probably wasn't a punishment from God or anything, neither for the gay marriage nor for South Park's depiction of Jesus. If there really is something like God up there, than I doubt it very strongly that he has anything to do terrorists flying into buildings, nor that he chooses the side of Americans in the Iraq war. All this is just a matter of different people trying to spread their different ways of thinking by needs of violence. Probably no God or Allah involved. That's just what many people involved believe

[Fljotsdale]

I was watching tv. Not something I ususally do until evening. So I saw the pictures of the second tower being hit. And stayed watching the whole thing.

Because I watched it, and the film of the first tower getting hit - which MUST have been shown AFTER the pictures of the second tower, I have the feeling that I watched the whole thing live from beginning to end, but I couldn't have done...

But I can remember the shock of watching the first tower hit and thinking it was a horrendous accident...

So I dunno.

I know I wasn't watching the news channels originally.

I'm confused. I think it was a documentary about NY, and then the camera moved to an incoming aircraft, and the people were commenting about it...

As I said - my memories of the event are confused - shock, I imagine; I don't think anything before ever shocked me so much - but I KNOW I saw the live broadcast of the second aircraft hit the second tower.

[Coot]

And yes, you were right that it must have been afternoon over here.

I live in Holland too and I remember clearly it was afternoon. The first images I saw were repeats of the first tower in flames. I'm also quite sure I saw the first '(not a repeat) broadcast of the second plane hitting, as filmed by the person from the ground up and somebody shouting '$hit'.

[VonDondu]

Funny to hear that there is a Soest in Germany as well. I have been to Nordrhein-Westphalia on several vacations, but never knew about the other Soest.

The Soest in Germany is a tiny little place. It's about 40 km east of Dortmund. The only reason I know of its existence is because a friend of mine has a sister who lives there.

[Maharlika]

I was in Bangkok at that time. I worked and lived in Thailand for around six years.

To be precise, I was at this computer shop where I would regularly stay after work, surfing the net and playing Baldur's Gate 2. I remember my party mutilating Jon Irenicus' minions in Suldanesellar when the old lady of the shop pointed to the TV and directed my attention to the news flash.

It was because of 9/11 that I got into SYM. I wanted to participate and see how others felt about it. Prior to that, I would just participate at the BG2 thread.