9/11/01

I think we should take time to reflect on the 9/11 attacks. Where were you on that day? How did you find out.

On a side note. Today is FiPG's anniversary.

I also think that it is time to reflect on those pm's i sent you ;-)

[quote91fb36df02="tml09"]I also think that it is time to reflect on those pm's i sent you ;-)[/quote91fb36df02]

I think it's time for you to quit threadcrapping.

Anyway.. It was my junior year of college. I showed up for Sociology 101, and the prof left a note on the board telling us to go home and turn on our TVs. I hadn't watched TV or turned on the radio that morning, so I had no idea what happened.

I was sitting on my couch, untying my shoes when the 2nd plane hit. I just happened to look up, and saw the 2nd plane hit.

[quote8ee8d5bb67="tml09"]I also think that it is time to reflect on those pm's i sent you ;-)[/quote8ee8d5bb67]

And i think thats a fucked up thing to say in a thread which many people could take very personnely.

I was just in New York in June. It really put things into perspective. Here's a picture I took


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I was 12 at the time it happened.

I was practicing piano, when I found out. Before that day I had no idea what the twin towers were.

My mom got a call from my piano teacher who told her that a plane crashed into the WTC. She didn't believe it until she turned on the television. Ever since then the WTC has been etched into a corner of my brain.

I was a freshman in Highschool. My second class was at about 920, so we switch classes about 3 mins before. The first time I heard something was when I was switching class some guys were talking about kamikazes hitting a building and I thought they were real excited about a history class or soemthing. lol My second class was math at 920 and my teacher, even if she knew what happened, she had to keep going with the math lesson. roll I still knew nothing. Next I had homeroom and all the teacher said was that something bad had happened. Not specific at all. Next class was spanish and thats when I finally found out what happened. I was stuck in that class for about 3 hours. My school went on lockdown during spanish class, 1 hour after the attacks, and we couldnt leave until our parents picked us up. Of course my parents were clueless as to pick us up, so teachers began dropping kids at their homes.

My dad works very close to the twin towers, but me being very naive, I just assumed he was ok, which he was, but he had to walk home, through the brooklyn bridge, since there was no train or buses. Definitely took him a few hours to walk home. I remember I had no communication with my family b/c cellphones were down. Very crazy day. Nobody I knew was hurt tough.

I was too young to realize the implications of the event. I just thought it was another tragedy that we think about for a few days/weeks before moving on.

all i remember is my mom going crazy because my uncle (her brother) lives on the other side of new york

All I'll say is that it was a fucked up day. I saw the second tower fall with my own eyes from about a mile north of the WTC.

I was working in a building next to and overlooking the site the next summer and it was clear that the people that were working there had been traumatized. You could just feel it.

I'm not trying to be an insensitive prick, but whilst this was certainly a tragedy, why is there so much focus placed on 9/11 when there are far worse things going on and HAVE gone on in recent memory.

The earthquakes in Indonesia today reminded me of the more 100,000 people who died in the Tsunami's in 2004, but nobody really pays attention to that as much as 9/11 even though it was about 50 times worse.

[quoteef194cf338="theysayjump"]I'm not trying to be an insensitive prick, but whilst this was certainly a tragedy, why is there so much focus placed on 9/11 when there are far worse things going on and HAVE gone on in recent memory.

The earthquakes in Indonesia today reminded me of the more 100,000 people who died in the Tsunami's in 2004, but nobody really pays attention to that as much as 9/11 even though it was about 50 times worse.[/quoteef194cf338]

I perceive 9/11 as much more tragic than the tsunami or earthquakes because it was a tragedy born out of hatred, rather than just a natural disaster.

Tragic on a humanity scale I agree, but then why does nobody care about 3/11 or the London bombings since they were born of the same hatred, but less people died than on 9/11.

If we then get into, "well it was tragic, but not as tragic as 9/11 because not as many people died", then the body count does make a difference.

[quote8c28022312="theysayjump"]I'm not trying to be an insensitive prick, but whilst this was certainly a tragedy, why is there so much focus placed on 9/11 when there are far worse things going on and HAVE gone on in recent memory.

The earthquakes in Indonesia today reminded me of the more 100,000 people who died in the Tsunami's in 2004, but nobody really pays attention to that as much as 9/11 even though it was about 50 times worse.[/quote8c28022312]
You also got to think that if that happened here, then there would be much more attention given to it. Plus while earthquakes and hurricanes sometimes result in much more diaster, these attacks are potentially prevntable, I think that is what creates the focus.

I remember I was in 8th grade Geography class. I'll never forget how scared and frightened everyone was. (

I agree with TSJ; we should be giving more attention to tragedies occurring globally. However, I believe the reason "9/11" is so reflected upon is the way in which the U.S. was attacked. On such a large scale and in the heart of our civilization. The whole circumstance just seems improbable and to some difficult to comprehend.

I was in the 3rd grade / I saw the 2nd plane hit from my school window, I really didn't understand what had happened because I was only 7 or 8, though.

[quoteaa65e3e673="theysayjump"]I'm not trying to be an insensitive prick, but whilst this was certainly a tragedy, why is there so much focus placed on 9/11 when there are far worse things going on and HAVE gone on in recent memory.

The earthquakes in Indonesia today reminded me of the more 100,000 people who died in the Tsunami's in 2004, but nobody really pays attention to that as much as 9/11 even though it was about 50 times worse.[/quoteaa65e3e673]

We don't live in Indonesia? shrug

TSJ, the unfortunate reality is that humans are cognitively biased to respond more viscerally to tragedies that are easily visualized and also those that are local. The larger displays of anguish over events like Columbine or 9/11 reflect the nature of those tragedies versus, say, the disease and death caused on a daily basis by tobacco use. Factors like scale (how big the tragedy is), recurrence (how often it happens) and solubility (whether we can solve the problem or to what extent we can impact it) unfortunately have a far lesser impact on our natural response than they should.

I say this only by way of explanation; I'm not making a moral argument one way or another.

Anyway, it was my 9th day in Paris, and I was at a cafe with a new friend from Queens. (Junior year abroad.) His phone rang, and he quickly became serious as he spoke to the caller. He said a plane had crashed into one of the towers. We promptly paid our bill and went to a nearby acquaintance's apartment where we watched the footage playback for hours.

The school I was attending was considered "the third most prominent American institution in Paris," and therefore there was concern that it might be a target. The American flag was not displayed on campus, and we were instructed not to speak English if possible. Several students canceled their study and returned to the states.

Heading home from the bars one night, a group of drunk French kids heard our accents and started cursing in French that the US was finished and that we were finally getting what we deserved. But theirs was a totally uncharacteristic response; our landlady and everyone else I met was extremely candid in demonstrating their support.

[quote0219bbe5ef="theysayjump"]Tragic on a humanity scale I agree, but then why does nobody care about 3/11 or the London bombings since they were born of the same hatred, but less people died than on 9/11.[/quote0219bbe5ef]

Because an attack on New York City is more personal to Americans than attacks on Madrid or London. Seems natural for that to have more of an effect on Americans than attacks in other countries. True, they are just as tragic, since it's a loss of innocent human life, but it just has more of an impact if it's your own country.

[quote6b084da495="bballp6699"][quote6b084da495="theysayjump"]I'm not trying to be an insensitive prick, but whilst this was certainly a tragedy, why is there so much focus placed on 9/11 when there are far worse things going on and HAVE gone on in recent memory.

The earthquakes in Indonesia today reminded me of the more 100,000 people who died in the Tsunami's in 2004, but nobody really pays attention to that as much as 9/11 even though it was about 50 times worse.[/quote6b084da495]

We don't live in Indonesia? shrug[/quote6b084da495]

Nor did I when it happened. Nor did I live in the U.S. on 9/11.

The entire world was mortified (for the most part) on 9/11 and the loss of human life and hatred needed to perform such an act, but when America hardly blinks an eye when something happens to another country.

That's not to say they don't give a shit, but 9/11 was in the news for months (and still is), whereas the Indonesia Tsunamis were maybe around for a couple of weeks and have barely been mentioned since.

Does it show that America(ns) don't give a shit about the rest of the world, or that the rest of the world gives a shit about everyone?

[quote6b084da495="KeithA"]TSJ, the unfortunate reality is that humans are cognitively biased to respond more viscerally to tragedies that are easily visualized and also those that are local. The larger displays of anguish over events like Columbine or 9/11 reflect the nature of those tragedies versus, say, the disease and death caused on a daily basis by tobacco use. Factors like scale (how big the tragedy is), recurrence (how often it happens) and solubility (whether we can solve the problem or to what extent we can impact it) unfortunately have a far lesser impact on our natural response than they should.

I say this only by way of explanation; I'm not making a moral argument one way or another.[/quote6b084da495]

I agree completely, but I guess my main beef is with the media and how events are covered here. There's too much bias and punditry instead of actual news reporting, so all you're left with here is a bunch of biased bigots giving their opinions and showing what they want instead of showing the world the news and what's going on.

Obviously more time is going to be spent on more local and national news and events which is completely understandable.

[quote6b084da495="CollidgeGraduit"][quote6b084da495="theysayjump"]Tragic on a humanity scale I agree, but then why does nobody care about 3/11 or the London bombings since they were born of the same hatred, but less people died than on 9/11.[/quote6b084da495]

Because an attack on New York City is more personal to Americans than attacks on Madrid or London. Seems natural for that to have more of an effect on Americans than attacks in other countries. True, they are just as tragic, since it's a loss of innocent human life, but it just has more of an impact if it's your own country.[/quote6b084da495]

Maybe I'm thinking of things on a more human basis and not just local or personal, because to me the loss of 1 life is just as important as the loss 10, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000 lives etc regardless of when, how, where or why it happened.

I guess I'm just wondering why the world gave such a shit on 9/11 but Americans (very broad generalisation) don't really seem to give a shit about the rest of the world.

[quote8d39a75ab6="TFOAF"]I remember I was in 8th grade Geography class. I'll never forget how scared and frightened everyone was. ([/quote8d39a75ab6]

If you're a freshman in college, you would be in 7th grade, just like I was. I was watching some movie because it was ISTEP testing week (standardized tests, but 7th graders didn't take them, so they did other stuff), then we switched over to CNN. They then instructed teachers to not show anything.

[quoteff7f605e60="TFOAF"]I remember I was in 8th grade Geography class. I'll never forget how scared and frightened everyone was. ([/quoteff7f605e60]


you mean 7th grade? i was in the 7th grade when it happened, so you were probably in the 7th grade as well. )

[quotecebe36ae6b="tylerc"][quotecebe36ae6b="TFOAF"]I remember I was in 8th grade Geography class. I'll never forget how scared and frightened everyone was. ([/quotecebe36ae6b]

If you're a freshman in college, you would be in 7th grade, just like I was. I was watching some movie because it was ISTEP testing week (standardized tests, but 7th graders didn't take them, so they did other stuff), then we switched over to CNN. They then instructed teachers to not show anything.[/quotecebe36ae6b]


damn you, i didn't see your reply. )

My bad Tyler. I meant 7th grade. Thanks.

[quotedb8addd75f="Powerbook"][quotedb8addd75f="tylerc"][quotedb8addd75f="TFOAF"]I remember I was in 8th grade Geography class. I'll never forget how scared and frightened everyone was. ([/quotedb8addd75f]

If you're a freshman in college, you would be in 7th grade, just like I was. I was watching some movie because it was ISTEP testing week (standardized tests, but 7th graders didn't take them, so they did other stuff), then we switched over to CNN. They then instructed teachers to not show anything.[/quotedb8addd75f]


damn you, i didn't see your reply. )[/quotedb8addd75f]

n00b

[quote7f0dfa2361="tylerc"][quote7f0dfa2361="Powerbook"][quote7f0dfa2361="tylerc"][quote7f0dfa2361="TFOAF"]I remember I was in 8th grade Geography class. I'll never forget how scared and frightened everyone was. ([/quote7f0dfa2361]

If you're a freshman in college, you would be in 7th grade, just like I was. I was watching some movie because it was ISTEP testing week (standardized tests, but 7th graders didn't take them, so they did other stuff), then we switched over to CNN. They then instructed teachers to not show anything.[/quote7f0dfa2361]


damn you, i didn't see your reply. )[/quote7f0dfa2361]

n00b[/quote7f0dfa2361]

cry now i feel st00pid

I was working at my desk when a coworker told us about the first plane. After the second plane hit we all stopped working and started listening to the radio.

My boss and owner of our company who had a meeting in the Pentagon that day was on the phone to a coworker and say the plane hit the Pentagon from his hotel room.

About noon we got a TV and discussed how this might impact our military contracts.

I lived in Atlanta and driving home that day I saw something made me wish I had a camera. Drive south toward Atlanta on GA 400 there is a traffic information sign that hangs just above the skyline of Atlanta. It read 'National Emergency." The sun was just setting and the sky was a brillant red. The contrast of terrible events of the day and beauty of nature really made an impression on me.

[quote8c64cba776="theysayjump"][quote8c64cba776="bballp6699"][quote8c64cba776="theysayjump"]I'm not trying to be an insensitive prick, but whilst this was certainly a tragedy, why is there so much focus placed on 9/11 when there are far worse things going on and HAVE gone on in recent memory.

The earthquakes in Indonesia today reminded me of the more 100,000 people who died in the Tsunami's in 2004, but nobody really pays attention to that as much as 9/11 even though it was about 50 times worse.[/quote8c64cba776]

We don't live in Indonesia? shrug[/quote8c64cba776]

Nor did I when it happened. Nor did I live in the U.S. on 9/11.

The entire world was mortified (for the most part) on 9/11 and the loss of human life and hatred needed to perform such an act, but when America hardly blinks an eye when something happens to another country.

That's not to say they don't give a shit, but 9/11 was in the news for months (and still is), whereas the Indonesia Tsunamis were maybe around for a couple of weeks and have barely been mentioned since.

[/quote8c64cba776]

I actually thought there was a shit load of coverage when the tsunamis hit. I think the fact that we don't think about it every year on it's anniversary is due to how far away it was. Do other countries make serious mention to 9/11 every year on the date?

I also seem to remember every channel covering the anniversary of Princess Diana's death a couple weeks back...

I see your point, but I don't think you can say American's don't give a shit, it's just hard to find a friend or family that was anywhere near Indonesia when it happened.

[quote2414f27c7c="bballp6699"][quote2414f27c7c="theysayjump"][quote2414f27c7c="bballp6699"][quote2414f27c7c="theysayjump"]I'm not trying to be an insensitive prick, but whilst this was certainly a tragedy, why is there so much focus placed on 9/11 when there are far worse things going on and HAVE gone on in recent memory.

The earthquakes in Indonesia today reminded me of the more 100,000 people who died in the Tsunami's in 2004, but nobody really pays attention to that as much as 9/11 even though it was about 50 times worse.[/quote2414f27c7c]

We don't live in Indonesia? shrug[/quote2414f27c7c]

Nor did I when it happened. Nor did I live in the U.S. on 9/11.

The entire world was mortified (for the most part) on 9/11 and the loss of human life and hatred needed to perform such an act, but when America hardly blinks an eye when something happens to another country.

That's not to say they don't give a shit, but 9/11 was in the news for months (and still is), whereas the Indonesia Tsunamis were maybe around for a couple of weeks and have barely been mentioned since.[/quote2414f27c7c]

Do other countries make serious mention to 9/11 every year on the date?

I see your point, but I don't think you can say American's don't give a shit, it's just hard to find a friend or family that was anywhere near Indonesia when it happened.[/quote2414f27c7c]

Actually yeah, it is commemorated elsewhere in the world, some places do minute silences, some just report it in papers and such but it's definitely seriously mentioned around the world.

I wasn't saying that all Americans don't give a shit, I just used that and said it was a broad generalisation. shrug

[quote5874fb13b3="theysayjump"]I'm not trying to be an insensitive prick, but whilst this was certainly a tragedy, why is there so much focus placed on 9/11 when there are far worse things going on and HAVE gone on in recent memory.

The earthquakes in Indonesia today reminded me of the more 100,000 people who died in the Tsunami's in 2004, but nobody really pays attention to that as much as 9/11 even though it was about 50 times worse.[/quote5874fb13b3]

Have you ever been in Indonesia on the anniversary of the tsunami? How do you know they don't make a big deal about it.

When 9-11 happened, it didn't just happen to the US, it happened to the whole world. It was an outward attack on civilized people from all around the world. If you think the US is so insensitive, why don't you live in a country that's more sensitive to the things happening worldwide. I'm sure you'd have a pretty hard time finding one.

Sorry if I offended anyone, just tired of people putting the US down for trying to defend outselves.

[quote36d65ade55="ricopet"]Have you ever been in Indonesia on the anniversary of the tsunami? How do you know they don't make a big deal about it.

When 9-11 happened, it didn't just happen to the US, it happened to the whole world. It was an outward attack on civilized people from all around the world. If you think the US is so insensitive, why don't you live in a country that's more sensitive to the things happening worldwide. I'm sure you'd have a pretty hard time finding one.

Sorry if I offended anyone, just tired of people putting the US down for trying to defend outselves.[/quote36d65ade55]
Wha??? He never said Indonesians don't make a big deal out of the tsunami on its anniversary, but Americans. Also, when did he put down the US for defending itself? shrug You shouldn't make that "why don't you live in another country..." comment unless you understood what that person is saying.

Anyway, as for news coverage, it's pretty obvious that while the world covers what goes on in the US (elections and other major events like 9/11), US news coverage doesn't do the same for other countries. Maybe people don't really think about the outside world here, maybe it's just superpower arrogance, or a shorter attention span. I can't say as it's a complex issue. I bet while many people in the world know who the president of the US is, a lot of us here can't name the president/prime minister of other major countries. That's just an example.

On the other hand, the US gov't and private citizens gave a lot of aid when the tsunami happened (I read it was the largest amounts but not proportionwise - kind of a controversial issue as well), and give a lot in foreign aid in general. They also offer manpower or logistics help whenever there are natural disasters around the world. So maybe we can say that Americans care enough to give or help out when tragedies happen even if we don't cover outside events continuously in the news.

News has just become a mad rush for ratings these days anyway. No one is really trying to inform us, they just want us to watch. Look at all the celebrity gossip bullshit we're exposed to, along with those idiot pundits who get good ratings, sadly.

[quotef1e62a6c64="ricopet"][quotef1e62a6c64="theysayjump"]I'm not trying to be an insensitive prick, but whilst this was certainly a tragedy, why is there so much focus placed on 9/11 when there are far worse things going on and HAVE gone on in recent memory.

The earthquakes in Indonesia today reminded me of the more 100,000 people who died in the Tsunami's in 2004, but nobody really pays attention to that as much as 9/11 even though it was about 50 times worse.[/quotef1e62a6c64]

Have you ever been in Indonesia on the anniversary of the tsunami? How do you know they don't make a big deal about it.

When 9-11 happened, it didn't just happen to the US, it happened to the whole world. It was an outward attack on civilized people from all around the world. If you think the US is so insensitive, why don't you live in a country that's more sensitive to the things happening worldwide. I'm sure you'd have a pretty hard time finding one.

Sorry if I offended anyone, just tired of people putting the US down for trying to defend outselves.[/quotef1e62a6c64]

I think (as hehehhehe pointed out) you mistook what I was trying to say.

As for living in another country, is this the land of the free, or the land of the "do what we want you to do without question, say what we want you to say without question and you can live here"? I'm not allowed to live in a country and criticise it's government or media or even make a broad generalisation about its citizens?

Do you really believe that America is the most "sensitive to things happening worldwide"? You're sorely mistaken if you do.

You didn't understand what I was saying. I'm not in Indonesia, but I'd be willing to be that they don't make as big a deal about 9/11 as much as we do, but maybe they make a big deal about the tsunami. Does that make them a bad or insensitive country? Maybe TSJ didn't talk about defending our country, but I've read so much about stuff like that on this forum, that it just came out. Sorry TJS.

[quote4abe7f3489="ricopet"]You didn't understand what I was saying. I'm not in Indonesia, but I'd be willing to be that they don't make as big a deal about 9/11 as much as we do, but maybe they make a big deal about the tsunami. Does that make them a bad or insensitive country? Maybe TSJ didn't talk about defending our country, but I've read so much about stuff like that on this forum, that it just came out. Sorry TJS.[/quote4abe7f3489]

My point was not how big of a deal Indonesia makes about the Tsunamis or 9/11, but how much of a deal America/Americans/American Media make about 9/11 compared to the Tsunamis which killed about 50 times as many people as on 9/11.

The fact that over 100,000 people died in the Tsunamis hardly seems to resonate over here and the media (here) spend an unbelievable amount of time reporting about 9/11 than they do other major events going on in the world, such as the Tsunamis in 2004.

Uncontrollable natural disasters and deliberate acts of mass-murder are two completely different things.

[quote8f6d0fb5c8="bruman"]Uncontrollable natural disasters and deliberate acts of mass-murder are two completely different things.[/quote8f6d0fb5c8]

[quote54d2a375d8="tylerc"][quote54d2a375d8="bruman"]Uncontrollable natural disasters and deliberate acts of mass-murder are two completely different things.[/quote54d2a375d8][/quote54d2a375d8]

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[quotee5180c7195="theysayjump"][quotee5180c7195="tylerc"][quotee5180c7195="bruman"]Uncontrollable natural disasters and deliberate acts of mass-murder are two completely different things.[/quotee5180c7195][/quotee5180c7195]

http/" alt=""/img490.imageshack.us/img="490/4785/captainobviousfo2.jpg[" alt=""/imge5180c7195][/quotee5180c7195]

Well, that was directed towards you. You didn't seem to know the difference. It's pretty obvious why one gets more media coverage than the other.

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http//forum.freeipodguide.com/smilies_mod/upload/722d91bdd54370e010679b38033d352c.gif[" alt=""/img1032caf4ed]

[quote46414902fd="bruman"][quote46414902fd="theysayjump"][quote46414902fd="tylerc"][quote46414902fd="bruman"]Uncontrollable natural disasters and deliberate acts of mass-murder are two completely different things.[/quote46414902fd][/quote46414902fd]

http/" alt=""/img490.imageshack.us/img="490/4785/captainobviousfo2.jpg[" alt=""/img46414902fd][/quote46414902fd]

Well, that was directed towards you. You didn't seem to know the difference. It's pretty obvious why one gets more media coverage than the other.[/quote46414902fd]

I know the difference, but I don't think 3,000 people dying due to hatred is any more important than 150,000 dying due to a natural disaster.

It's got nothing to do with the causes of the deaths, it's why are 3,000 deaths 6 years ago shoved down our throats ad nauseum but 150,000 deaths almost 3 years nobody gives a shit about after a few weeks.

American media interests?

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I was in 10th grade Spanish class. Someone said a helicopter or plane landed on the WTC, I had no idea what the WTC even was. Then later in that period we went and watch it on TV. Crazy shit.

I was at home with my newborn son who just woke me up to feed him AGAIN. I fed him and turned on my computer and the tv. I seen the first tower up in smoke. Then started turning channels to see what was going on and then the second plane hit. Hour later I started getting calls from co-workers at Treasure Island casino that they were shutting down the casino cause someone told them the nuke plant was going to be bombed. Everyone was scared. Course it wasnt true but no one knew what was going on. I watched the news all day and night...