The thing that irks me over the media-inflated reverence over 9/11 is that everyone remembers but nobody considers. It's all about the terrorists who don't like freedom, and never about the repercussions that a country feels when it doesn't take responsibility for the international actions of its members.
The anniversary of the day 3000 people died is not the day to criticize America. You have 364 other days, leave this one be.
A day 3000 people are killed for a political statement is a day that needs consideration. To do anything less is a disservice. If I were going to die in such a way, the question "What the hell was that all about?" would probably be one of those nagging ones I'd hope people could answer effectively.
I was in 3rd grade and we were playing some sort of math jeopardy that day. My mom checked me out probably at about 9:30 or 10 and took me home with my grandma. They were both flipping out and wouldn't tell me what happened, so I figured a comet was going to hit the Earth or something. I wanted to play outside, but I had to stay inside. I don't think I really realized what happened, but I saw news reporters on TV running away from giant clouds of dust. I guess my parents eventually told me that terrorists flew planes into the world trade center. Of course, this was 7 years ago, so I don't exactly remember too clearly, it was like any other day to me.
A day 3000 people are killed for a political statement is a day that needs consideration. To do anything less is a disservice. If I were going to die in such a way, the question "What the hell was that all about?" would probably be one of those nagging ones I'd hope people could answer effectively.
Islamic Terrorists aren't very particular about who dies in their attacks, we just happen to be at the top of their hate list. They kill thousands every year, all over the world. All nationalities, all religions.
I was in 6th grade, and an announcement came over the PA. I didn't really understand until I saw it on TV, and I always felt like I should have been more sad or angry, because I had pretty much no reaction to it.
I was asleep at college. I remember waking up and going to class only to find everyone huddled around TVs. I asked what had gone on and they looked at me dumbfounded I didn't already know (as it was noon when I finally left my room). To be fair my college was about 15 miles from the city and some of my classmates were near by when it happened.
(And WhaleShark I completely agree. All the "I was in 5th grade" does make one feel old. All I could think was "5th grade? I was in college!" I'm only 27, that age thing keeps sneaking up on ya.)
I was asleep in college as well. I got a call from my friend telling me that a plane ran into the Trade Center and I thought he was messing with me. I turned on the television and watched the second plane run into the other tower. None of my teachers in my morning classes knew what to do, so they just taught their lessons. It was really weird, but nice to have something to focus on besides what was going on in the world.
Count me into the bunch of kids who was in 5th grade and around 10 years old at the time.
I remember I was sitting in class when my teacher was teaching history...then she got pulled out of the room for a few minutes by the principal, who was telling all the teachers the bad news. Then she came in and told us a slightly dumbed down version. Then I remember getting home and watching the news for a few hours straight.
I totally disagree with myself, the "forum asshole". Even though it was 7 years old, the events hit me hard, even though I was just in 5th grade...though maybe the fact that I was in 5th grade was why it hit me so hard...since it was a big attack.
Islamic Terrorists aren't very particular about who dies in their attacks, we just happen to be at the top of their hate list. They kill thousands every year, all over the world. All nationalities, all religions.
Islamic Terrorists aren't very particular about who dies in their attacks, we just happen to be at the top of their hate list. They kill thousands every year, all over the world. All nationalities, all religions.
I was in 11th grade, in sculpture class. I had heard murmurings in the hallways before class about something bad that had happened and it seemed like half of the people looked anxious about something, but I didn't think much of it yet. Then, a few minutes into the class, a student comes in and tells the teacher to turn on the TV (every classroom had one mounted on the wall) and so she did, and the situation unfolded. One of the towers had been hit, as well as the Pentagon at that point, and before the class was over the second tower was hit. The school didn't let us out or anything, but for all practical purposes the day was over since most of the teachers and students pretty much threw out whatever was planned and sat around watching the news until the school day ended. That's about all I can recall. Oddly enough, I don't remember my family's reaction to it later on when everybody got home. I called my girlfriend at the time in Pennsylvania to see how she was feeling and make sure the plane there wasn't near her town or anything. After that the day went on as usual, with the exception of having the news on for several hours and a lot of wondering about what was really going on.
I was in 5th grade, not really paying attention to anything around me when a janitor walks in a tells the teacher that she might want to turn on the news. I remember hearing something about a plane crashing in to a mall and then being sent home. The elementary school didn't really let us know anything, and the teachers sent out emails until we had to leave. Later in the day, when the rest of my family was home is when I learned what actually happened.
I was in 8th grade, math class specifically but no one in our class knew until we went to the next class and the teacher there told us. We spent the rest of the day just milling around not really doing anything after that.
Did anyone else see police and/or military mobilization in their areas?
I remember the morning it happened, my friends (who I was working in construction with at the time) and I were standing on my lawn debating whether or not to drive down to San Diego with all of this going on, and we saw a cop car drive down my street with a guy in camo fatigues with a machine gun sitting in the open trunk, legs out, facing backward. Then, a minute later, there was some kind of transport with a bunch more guys in fatigues with machine guns standing on platforms on the outside of the truck, holding onto handles. That REALLY freaked me out. This was just some suburb 20 miles east of L.A., and they were getting ready for shit to go down.
I've always felt a little guilty about how little the 9/11 attacks affected me emotionally. Intellectually, I understand how horrible it was, but it never got to me the way it seemed to get to most people.
(For background, I am the kind of person that can't help but truly empathize with people or characters in books. Their moods, joys, and pains feel like they are my own. It makes me vulnerable, and I have to constantly work against it. For those that have read The Prince of Nothing series, I am a weeper.) I was at home and asleep - my first class wasn't until 3:00 p.m. I woke up to the phone ringing and my mother telling me to turn on the news. The second plane had just hit. I remember turning on the television and only being partially awake so it still felt like a weird dream. Then the towers came down and I was screaming. No one was home, nothing was happening to me, I was barely awake, and I didn't realize I was screaming until I heard myself do it. It was like a howl. Those were people's lovers, children, friends, etc. They were my fellow men and women. They were in pain, they were dying. I could do nothing to help them. Nothing. I feel similarly when disasters, wars, atrocities happen anywhere. It genuinely pains me. Even writing this now has brought me to tears. It isn't so much that 9/11 was any more or less horrible than watching footage from war zones, Oklahoma City bombing, Katrina, etc. It just stands out so starkly because it was so iconic and it was a foreign attack on American soil, a rare occurrence, particularly on that scale. I need to stop writing about this now.
I was in middle school at the time in my computer class. The teacher was called out of the room for a minute then ran back in and turned the TV on. We were all like, Whoa.
4th Grade. Some kids in the bathroom started talking about how World War III had just started. I returned to the room. A bit later, my teacher was called out, and we were informed of what happened. We turned on the T.V. to figure out what happened. That night, me and my family watched the news for a very long time as the details poured in.
I had worked the previous evening and was off work that night, so I enjoyed a rare cup of morning coffee. My dad called and told me to turn on the news, which I did. My exact words to him as I was watching were "I was wondering when this would get around to happening."
Nice post, Scott. I was live not too far aways from OKC, and I visited the Bombing Memorial a year or two back on a field trip.
I can't remember exactly what happened, but I was in elementary school. I was a kid so I really didn't know what went on and it didn't have a huge impact on me, although later when I came to realize what had happened I was more reverent.
I was in middle school at the time in my computer class. The teacher was called out of the room for a minute then ran back in and turned the TV on. We were all like, Whoa.
I am surprised they showed it in a middle school. I was a junior and the school went into lock down and they tired to black out what was happening after the second plane hit. I was in a computer lab so we were able to watch what was going on online after they cut out the tvs.
At first I thought it was a small plane that hit the tower accidentally because of the nearby airports and was ridiculing the pilot for being an idiot. After the second plane hit the reality hit me hard and made me feel like a real ass for that. I had after that extended class was over and went to physics before the first tower fell. The rest of the information I got was second hand from texts after they kicked us off of the computers. I remember all the staff overreacting for the next week or so and saying our school to could get hit since the plane in pa flew over our area and since there is a military depot nearby. It was abandoned previously but now is active again since 911 and so far hasn't been vacant since. Looking back what stands out is the overreaction of some people when faced with such an event. In New York and the other areas directly effected I can see such an overreaction reasonable because of shock. The people in this area though acting the same way as people in NY, DC, and PA made me realize how dumb people can be when faced with something out of the norm.
I had just switched to a public speaking class that morning in junior high. I had just walked in when I saw a TV on in the corner, tuned to the news. I believe I was thirteen or fourteen at the time, and when school let out I cried all the way to my mom's car, only stopping to dry my eyes, as my parents disapproved of crying. I had to feign anger.
I was in my middle school. Mount Logan Middle School, Sixth Grade science; Mrs. Housley. First I knew of it she had turned on the television and left the room, people were talking about how the United states was under attack and war was coming. I was speaking to some other kids they were saying how awesome it looked with those big buildings on fire. I didn't say much more than it left me in awe. Mrs. Housley came back in and looked at the class and said "This isn't cool, people are dying," We were very silent after that. We didn't do much for the rest of the day. I couldn't tell you what I was thinking at the time.
It was my sophomore year of high school and I was in my health class when the principal came on the PA system. She said very calmly (though I could tell she was struggling a bit) that the twin towers had been attacked. She asked us to stay in our classrooms until the busses arrived to take us home. It was at that point I'd heard something I had never heard in school before, silence. Normally you'd hear either the teacher speaking or some soft whispers of idle conversation, but there was nothing. There was so much running through my head I have no idea what I was thinking with any degree of certainty. We had the next day off from school and as usual, I spent the day playing video games to try to sort out my thoughts. I used to do that all the time, play video games, to get my mind off things since this was before I had a non dial up Internet connection.
Comments
Of note, the Internet Archive has the entire week's coverage from all over the world from 9/11/01. Interesting to watch how the world actually reacted.
(And WhaleShark I completely agree. All the "I was in 5th grade" does make one feel old. All I could think was "5th grade? I was in college!" I'm only 27, that age thing keeps sneaking up on ya.)
I remember I was sitting in class when my teacher was teaching history...then she got pulled out of the room for a few minutes by the principal, who was telling all the teachers the bad news. Then she came in and told us a slightly dumbed down version. Then I remember getting home and watching the news for a few hours straight.
I totally disagree with myself, the "forum asshole". Even though it was 7 years old, the events hit me hard, even though I was just in 5th grade...though maybe the fact that I was in 5th grade was why it hit me so hard...since it was a big attack.
I remember hearing something about a plane crashing in to a mall and then being sent home. The elementary school didn't really let us know anything, and the teachers sent out emails until we had to leave. Later in the day, when the rest of my family was home is when I learned what actually happened.
I remember the morning it happened, my friends (who I was working in construction with at the time) and I were standing on my lawn debating whether or not to drive down to San Diego with all of this going on, and we saw a cop car drive down my street with a guy in camo fatigues with a machine gun sitting in the open trunk, legs out, facing backward. Then, a minute later, there was some kind of transport with a bunch more guys in fatigues with machine guns standing on platforms on the outside of the truck, holding onto handles. That REALLY freaked me out. This was just some suburb 20 miles east of L.A., and they were getting ready for shit to go down.
I've always felt a little guilty about how little the 9/11 attacks affected me emotionally. Intellectually, I understand how horrible it was, but it never got to me the way it seemed to get to most people.
I was at home and asleep - my first class wasn't until 3:00 p.m. I woke up to the phone ringing and my mother telling me to turn on the news. The second plane had just hit. I remember turning on the television and only being partially awake so it still felt like a weird dream. Then the towers came down and I was screaming. No one was home, nothing was happening to me, I was barely awake, and I didn't realize I was screaming until I heard myself do it. It was like a howl. Those were people's lovers, children, friends, etc. They were my fellow men and women. They were in pain, they were dying. I could do nothing to help them. Nothing.
I feel similarly when disasters, wars, atrocities happen anywhere. It genuinely pains me. Even writing this now has brought me to tears. It isn't so much that 9/11 was any more or less horrible than watching footage from war zones, Oklahoma City bombing, Katrina, etc. It just stands out so starkly because it was so iconic and it was a foreign attack on American soil, a rare occurrence, particularly on that scale. I need to stop writing about this now.
We were all like, Whoa.
I can't remember exactly what happened, but I was in elementary school. I was a kid so I really didn't know what went on and it didn't have a huge impact on me, although later when I came to realize what had happened I was more reverent.
At first I thought it was a small plane that hit the tower accidentally because of the nearby airports and was ridiculing the pilot for being an idiot. After the second plane hit the reality hit me hard and made me feel like a real ass for that. I had after that extended class was over and went to physics before the first tower fell. The rest of the information I got was second hand from texts after they kicked us off of the computers. I remember all the staff overreacting for the next week or so and saying our school to could get hit since the plane in pa flew over our area and since there is a military depot nearby. It was abandoned previously but now is active again since 911 and so far hasn't been vacant since. Looking back what stands out is the overreaction of some people when faced with such an event. In New York and the other areas directly effected I can see such an overreaction reasonable because of shock. The people in this area though acting the same way as people in NY, DC, and PA made me realize how dumb people can be when faced with something out of the norm.