Fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks

September 11th, another year has passed, many things have happened around the globe, shocking news, terrifying pictures, the usual daily sadness that makes us numb over time. Yet, September 11th, I still remember exactly what I did, where I was that very day when I heard the news on the radio, how I sat in front of the TV for hours unable to believe that what I saw was no fiction but cruel reality. A day that shock the world to the core.
Where were you when it happened? How did this tragedy make you feel? Why don't we feel sad and shocked about other things that happen every day in the world with the same intensity?

You build a protective shell after a while. It took me four days to finally break down and cry, I hadn't let it get close before that. I remember Scogs calling me at work and telling me about a plane crashing into the WTC. I asked what kind and he said they didn't know, which I thought was strange because it's easy to tell a single engine plane from a jumbo jet. He didn't tell me about the other one so when I got home and switched on the news I just sank onto the floor in front of the couch, open-mouthed but never incredulous.

Because we pay to see that kind of stuff when we go to the theater or rent a movie. I think it is safe to say a lot of people remember details of that day...I suffered no personal losses that day but the guy that worked at the desk beside me lost his mother, she was in one of the towers.

It was tragic, yes, and I hope it never happens again...

Here is one of my favorite quotes.

Fighting for peace with war is like trying to fuck for virginity.

I was living in NYC at the time; I was in midtown when it happened. It was simply surreal, and I was sure that the city would be in rubble by the end of the day or week; surprised me that it wasn't. I didn't lose anyone close to me, didn't lose my job, didn't lose my home... and I didn't suffer any major psychic damage or shell shock or lung problems, as so many others did.

The only thing that REALLY bugs me is all the shows here on German TV recreating the events. Reels showing the planes hit the tower. Discussing, discussing, discussing. Speculating. It's like showing hundreds of murders, over and over, as public sport and I find it so tasteless and irritating.

I was sitting at the hairdresser when someone came in and said the WTC had been attacked. We all first thought it was a joke or a mistake or something. Then they turned on the radio and we heard the reports. After I got home I turned on the TV and just couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like a movie or something, and it was hard to believe it was real. I was trembling all over, and had the need to contact my family in the States, even though they don't live in NY or DC.

Was at my desk at Microsoft in Munich when it happened, my then boyfriend (the former Herr Indoors) called me and told me to switch the news on. But all the news sites were going down and about the only site where I could get info was PB. One poster said that it was all a publicity stunt for the Victoria Beckham single out that week. Well, he's probably going to hell for that one.

Called my parents on the phone to tell them as they hadn't heard and called my pal at Lufthansa Networks who told me all about the diversions.
What was very eerie was hearing people around the office call friends and relations around the world to check, a strange call to make that one, "Hi, great you're not dead." Many weren't so lucky and some former work contacts from my time in the City died.

Reminded me of December 21st 1988 obviously. Fribble's comment about the coverage is spot-on.

To be honest, I'd forgotten about the whole thing until I saw this thread.

Things like that don't happen "every day ... with the same intensity". However, when they do people are sad. Not always shocked, mind. Suicide bombings in Iraq are- tragically- no longer shocking. Ask people in London or Madrid how they felt when they were the victims of terrorist attacks and they'll likely say they were, and indeed still are, sad and shocked.

I was in a meeting in Oslo when one of the guys in their office stook his head round the door and said that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Centre. Seemed like a horrendous accident at the time, but as we were leaving there, they said there had been another plane crash at the same place. You then started to think it wasn't an accident, so was listening to the radio in the taxi back to the hotel and getting my Danish colleague to translate. We then just sat there watching CNN all afternoon as the towers went down and people ran out of things to say.

Next day we had an internal flight in Norway and we arrived at Oslo airport to find that the whole place was full of large men with guns and dogs as it was the start of the hunting season. After the events of the day before, it was just surreal to see that many guns in an airport.

But I do feel very sad about many other things in this world. Not to downplay 9/11, it was a tragedy that caused a lot of suffering to be sure, but it is in essence no more shocking, cruel or tragic than many, many other acts carried out in the name of creed, greed and whatever other guise we might put power in.

9/11 was ‘packaged’ to effect a deep psychological and emotional shift because fear is a powerful weapon – that’s not unique to Al Qaeda; politicians, advertisers, sales people etc the world over play to fears to gain control of others; to enhance their power. This is boiling it right down; there were of course factors that made this a bit different, a generation-defining moment (that probably being the point), not least of all that it hit inside our cocooned little world that had to accept that until then it had largely been a spectator to war; up close but ultimately always at a safe distance. The new media also brought it closer and made it more personal.

I’m not cold; I’m sure I had similar thoughts and reactions as many of you, but it makes me sad to see this event become somehow ‘untouchable’; I’ve had so many discussions about this and it makes me sad every time to see people get so angry when I suggest this is but one more instance to add to the gigantic mountain of brutal exercises in human thirst for power and dominance – it is only perceived differently because it hit the West, it hit Coporate America, it hit in a place that we can identify with, it hit people whose lives look quite like ours.

I’m flying from London tonight and until my colleague told me she felt very nervous about it I had given no thought at all to flying on September 11. Now my only thought is how I am not looking forward to sitting beside a nervous colleague.

i worked downtown right across the street from the WTC, and was on my way into work. from across the hudson river in new jersey i saw the first tower fall. the most frustrating thing that day was not being able to reach anyone on the phone--i had no idea where my friends & co-workers were, and if they were alright... in fact i received phone calls from friends in other parts of the country telling me about the pentagon & PA crashes afterwards. i was displaced from my office for about 1 year while they repaired the building, tested the structure of my building & those around it, and monitored the air quality. after being allowed to return, the view from my office was looking directly down into the gaping hole in the ground where the towers once were.

Ditto with JerseyBoy. Sad, shocking, tragic etc. etc. but life goes on and more people die as the world falls apart.

I still shiver when I see pictures of the towers collapsing


I know what you are trying to say, but if you remember the reaction back then it did, as you also touch on, still have a much greater effect. I remember how I felt then and, sad/bad as it may sound, I felt much more sadness on 9/11 than I do for the average suicide bomb or tsunami

What I always think of is the stories of heroisms those guys or girls who’s name you don’t know and probably never will, the firemen, police the security people in the towers ,the passengers and flight crews the office workers and all who gave their lives for others, all those acts of heroism some which we will never know about ,it makes me sad and yet somehow proud that people are capable of performing such acts .

Exactly. To many Americans, 11 September was the defining event of the age, after which 'nothing could be the same'. Their imperviousness to any notion that this might not be so astonishes many abroad. Many Europeans believe it is not the world that has changed, but the United States.

Unfortunately some tragic events get disproportionately more media attention than others. As with the Madeleine McCann case. It's just not news anymore. Why should one person's suffering be more newsworthy or important than another's?

It depends. I didn't know anybody who died or was injured on 9/11. I knew someone who died in Thailand because of the tsunami.

i was living in japan that summer. i didn't have a tv, and didn't understand the news on the radio. almost nobody i knew there ever mentioned much about it. i didn't even find out it had happened until maybe two days later, when i saw some strange looking pictures in a newspaper, that i thought looked like two smokestacks of some factory. about a week later i talked to my dad on the phone, and when he told me the twin towers had both completely collapsed, i didn't believe him. i thought there must be some skeleton of the structure left. then the magnitude of the whole thing started to sink in, and i went to an internet cafe to read about it and look at some photos. i was very sad, but i felt some anger also, towards the terrorists and towards the u.s. for having provoked such a terrible thing. i also thought the certainly ensuing attempts at retribution would wipe away any sympathy and empathy the rest of the world might have been feeling at that point.

I was at work and a Scottish colleague came rushing in and told me to turn on the radio. The internet was overloaded and you couldn't get on any websites. I listened very calmly, and when the second plane crashed I knew it wasn't an accident and I remember thinking how ridiculous the reporters sounded saying it MIGHT not be an accident. I was walking in the street after work on my way to a friend's house and overheard two German men laughing about it, talking about how America finally got what it deserved. I was too numb to say anything or even to look at them. Spent the evening with my only American friend in town at the time watching CNN.

The event made me feel extremely vulnerable. No one has ever attacked the States in my lifetime in such a huge way, and I realized that this is how people must feel who live in countries that get bombed. It made this kind of violence seem much more real, less abstract than when you hear about it in the news in some far away country. I'd have to say it didn't stir any feelings of revenge, rather, it made me really understand pacifists, and the German government's efforts to stay out of any kind of violent conflict.

I can't say that I've ever felt anger about the WTC attacks. It's more like a nauseous pity for the victims, the terrorists, the families, the buildings, NYC, everybody. I grew up "with" the twin towers because my dad worked there for decades, and it still feels a little like having lost a giant, viable molar. It's shocking and feels uneasy, but I don't feel angry about it. Perhaps that's also because it seems pointless to be angry when I'm not really sure who, exactly, to be most angry at.

I was living in the states when it happened and the line around the block to the gas station was odd, along with the eery silence outside by 8pm that evening. The most riviting horror for me that day was when they showed the scene from the streets of the middle east of little boys cheering that so many Americans died that day. Now, we've all learned too well how hated America/Americans are and that scares the living daylights out of me sometimes, now that I live in europe.

I know you and others like to take any opportunity to knock them and get a kick out of it, but I'd actually agree with the people who say it was a defining event of the age. You perhaps conveniently forget the reaction at the time when you try and shrug it off as just another event.

But in reply to the thread sub-title, this particular anniversary is no great thing emotion wise

The event changed the US and the way Americans think. Nothing else. The reaction at the time was enormous because it was drama unfolding live on tv. It was a dramatic spectacle that even Hollywood wouldn't have been capable of creating.

The breaking up of the Iron Curtain - now that was an event that changed much of the world.

You are telling me that no other countries in the world implimented any other security measures?

Also, did the US go into afghanistan alone? If not, that doesn't sound like 'nothing else'.

I agree with the above posts... all this 'it is just a US thing' is just a product of your cynacism due to events following 2001, what we are talking about is the event itself however... which was a big deal

the 'nothing else' tries to make it sound a non-event. But I would say an event that changes the US and the way Americans think is a pretty major event in global terms, if you consider that e.g. even a little sneeze on the US stock market can ripple around the world.

Yes I suppose I see what you are trying to say, but a major and generation changing event for the US (although I disagree it only changed things for Americans) is by definition going to be big in global terms because, like it or not, the US is important. And the Afghan operation received support from such traditionally hesitant military forces as Germany and Sweden

Ok, I'll meet you have way! when the US sneezes, the ROW does tend to get a cold.

These days I guess the McCann case will attract more attention than remembrance of the 9/11 event...

I remember the US national anthem being played at the changing of the guard outside Buck Palace a day or two later - quite emotional

This was a piece of irresponsible journalism. I remember seeing this also, shortly after it came out that the clip in question wasnt even related to 9/11.

Yes, it was a big deal - back then. But the ROW's moved on since that day. There's been a lot of water under the bridge. No doubt FoxNews will make a day out of it with its flag-waving gooey programming...

It was a huge event at the time and well i remember being sat shocked in the office in Oberpfaffenhofen.

It was the first and only time in my life when i was truly frightened that the 3rd World War was about to commence, not by the Arabs attacking the West but by the USA's reaction to the attack.

What I love are the usual snide suspects who say 9/11 wasn't a big deal, and are irritated with everyone for making it a big deal, and yet take the time to post about what a big deal it wasn't.

Today is no different than yesterday or tomorrow or Oct 11 or Apr 11 etc... Had never even realized or thought about the date until read the post headline.

Boiling it right down to the fact that you are not American, and you cannot possible understand the emotional and psychological effects of that day on Americans.

Fear is a powerful weapon, you're correct about that. But the fear and grief that resounded across America on 9/11 was not a direct result of media or political "packaging". It was there because we all sat there, astounded, in disbelief trying to comprehend what has just happened. The images remained across our TVs and internet pages, showing what terrorists had done: murdered thousands of innocent people, and destroyed thousands of families.

I'll grant you that effects of that day have been used by politicians, governments, etc. to justify certain actions (i.e. invading Afghanistan, trying to put an end to Al Quaeda, Iraq war). Was the media not supposed to report what happened?? Would this have prevented the media from "packaging" 9/11 to effect the world? Do you seriously think Afghanistan was invaded to enhance power of others?? The justification was there- was the world supposed to sit back and do nothing in order to avoid instituting an emotion shift?

No. The emotional, political and economical shift took place on its' own, well, actually, terrorists made it happen.

This reminds me of Thomas Jefferson. Over one of the entrances to a building at UVA is this quote: "Here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it."

To answer the posters question- I can't believe it has already been 6 years. So much in the world has changed, yet I feel we are no safer against terrorism.

Society has come to terms with wars, disease and even "basic" terrorism - it's actually quite jaded when it comes to how it reacts to the latter three when one thinks about it. However, in my opinion, what gave 9/11 global, and not just American, significance as a landmark historical event was not the blowing up of the WTC in itself (obviously its execution could not have been less spectacular), it was the use of suicide bombing tactics with devastating effects.

The act of suicide in itself is something that we still do not really accept or understand, and certainly not when it's committed in conjunction with mass murder.

In my humble opinion,

It is the biggest deal I have seen in my lifetime...

But not because a lot of people died or it was dramatic on tv...

It was and continues to be a big deal because of the removal of the rights and freedoms throughout many countries in the world based on this single event...

Not only that but it became the basis for one illegal war and through subliminal association and lies, the basis for another...

So not only did approx. 3000 people die on sept 11, but they continue to be slaughtered on a daily basis because of this one event...

I'd say that makes the event pretty damn important.

I remember my personal feelings on that day, and it was in my mind a real fear based on the fact that Bush was in power and the reaction would surely be disproportionate and therefore lead to more bloodshed.

Please do not mistake my comments for disrespect towards those who lost loved ones on that day!

I disagree. I think that Doubya would've found a reason to go into Iraq without what happened on 9/11. His association of Osama bin Laden (a religious fundamentalist) with Saddam Hussein (a secular dictator) in order to fan the flames of fear shows this.

@ Jules on mass murder-suicides:

America had already developed mass murder-suicides in secondary schools across the nation before the WTC attacks took place. Ok, different technically from suicide bombing, and nothing to do with world-level religious or political fervor, sure, but the mentality and potential was already there.

You are without doubt correct there...

but my point is still valid because that is what occurred.

I am glad the ROW has moved on, Americans have too in certain respects. But given the US shoulders the military responsibility for the rest of the world, or at least the members of NATO, water is not quite under the bridge for us. I am not referring to the Iraq war and whether or not I agree with it, just stating a fact.

Undoubtably non-Americans were effected by 9/11, I can't remember how many nationalities were listed amongst those murdered that day. Due to the overseas involvement of the US since 9/11, as well as the fact that this happened on US soil, this is still something that America is dealing with.

FOX will not be the only network with "flag waving gooey programming" as you liked to refer to it...I imagine you could turn on any news station in the US and it would be mentioned.

School shootings are not comparable.

...Ok. Good argument.

I should clarify, I was not referring to the media or US politicians packaging it - I was referring to Al Qaeda, maybe I should have said orchestrated instead. The media didn't really have an opportunity on 9/11 to package anything... it was all happening live.

I am aware that, not being American and not having had people close to me there, this will not have affected me in the same way. Of course some will have been more affected than others, as is always the case, but it did change the world that I also live in in some way and I can only comment from my standpoint. It does not change my point though nor does it make me less entitled to make that point.

The greatest impact 9/11 had was not in the way the world is, but in the way we react to what happens in the world - especially for Americans. For a long time, Americans thought of themselves as semi-secluded from the rest of the world due to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; especially the older Americans who remember WWII and the Korean conflict.

The few hours on the morning of 11 September 2001 caused those Americans who felt safe to gasp "OH, SHIT!!!" collectively across the nation. That effect cannot be underestimated.

If I am to be honest, I was not shocked that the US was the target of terrorism. The US government had pissed a lot of people off in a lot of different countries over the years. However, I was shocked by the scale of the attack, and saddened that so many innocent people died.

However, I think that the US government response has been disgusting. The invasion of Afghanistan at least tied in with trying to catch the perpetrators. But to then try to tie Iraq into this and start a pointless war there was a disgraceful act.

In my opinion, the US government has used the event in the most cynical way possible and cheapened the tragedy by using it to serve their own political purposes.

Misunderstand the packaging bit. Sorry about the rant. I had to listen to American bashing at work yesterday, and eventually told my colleague to fuck off in a polite way...he just didn't get the hint when I told him I do not discuss politics anymore (despite my degree in it)!

Simply put, the attacks on September 11th 2001 were crimes against humanity.

The gaping holes in the ground left after the attacks should be seen as warning monuments, a reminder of what happens when humanity fails. Just one of the reasons that these attacks were so shocking is that they shook people out of a belief that violence and carnage only happened "over there". This sudden realization was quickly subsumed by fear, and even more rapidly consumed by hatred. Bin Laden and the mass murderers who planned these co-ordinated attacks aimed to achieve not only the polarization of the American people, but of the entire planet. People like Bush and his ilk have callously instrumentalized the deaths of nearly 3000 innocent people to continually justify an unjust war and ultimately the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and counting.

I think that it is right that people continue to remember the victims of September 11th 2001, primarily for the family and friends of the dead, but also as it is an opportunity to try to understand what happened and why. But it goes without saying that I find the use of this day as a nationalistic rallying point as repulsive.

I agree. In fact, I believe that history will show the administration of George W. Bush to be one of the most catastrophic administrations the US (if not the world) has ever seen.

However, there have been other governments in the past, and will be in the future, that will use some tragic event for political and power gain.

If that's it, consider yourself lucky.

Nope. Afghanistan was legal.

Despite fits better.

Yeah Clinton, Reagan, Ford, Carter would have done differently. Yawn.


Were you not shocked by the selected attack against Australians in Bali?


Opps, except that Australia is in full agreement, nay support and active contributer of those same actions. You and Pleb just don't get it do you...

* Shakes head *

A surprising number of my friends and acquaintances in the US expressed relief at the attacks, particularly those from the generation that grew up watching Red Dawn and expecting the Soviets to come take over their towns at any moment. Perhaps it's easier to live with a known enemy and justify your fears at last, than to wait for one to come at some unknown time and for some unknown reason. Anyway, I think this is the human principle the US government (and the media) most exploits.

What exactly are you shaking your head at???

I would like an explanation to accompany the insult...

Try not to let this slip into an argument with personal insults and allow another to have an opinion that differs from yours.

Australia's current govt. may be in support of these actions but you will find my friend that the Australian population takes quite the opposite stand as demonstrated by millions taking to the streets to protest our govts involvement in these slaughters.

I do consider myself lucky and would like to keep it that way!

Ah so that is why the flag is at half mast, I was going to ask, glad I didn't!

I was living in Denver at the time & just pottering around when my husband came in (he was sent home from Buckley AFB where he worked) & told me to turn on the telly, later on that evening I was sitting on the balcony having a ciggy when I looked up & there was an F16 right above my head, scared the S**t out of me that did, they flew around Denver for a while & i'm sure one of the pilots waved to me.