NationStates Jolt Archive


What were you doing when 911 happened?

PhoebeAnne
23-05-2005, 13:59
I'm curious to find out what everyone was doing when 911 happened. What went through your mind? I had just come back from being deployed in Saudi Arabia and was about to walk out the door to go to work when I got the phone call. It was work calling me to get there immediately with my alert gear. All I could think was what are they gonna try to hit next...
The Black Forrest
23-05-2005, 14:07
I was asleep when it went down(California). Woke up to Howard Stern talking about it and thought "What the?....is this a joke?" Ran to the TV, turned it on just in time for the first tower to drop."

Spent the next 3 days trying to track down friends(who were doing temp work in the towers, luckily that job ended), my sister(they live near there and went by the towers all the time), and the fiance for a friend.

She was on a business trip and was in the towers at the time of the attack. With the airspace closed, he went beserk trying to find out what happened.

We were lucky that day. Nobody really hurt.....
Crookfur
23-05-2005, 14:08
turnign on the TV to watch neighbours and being confused as to why i coudl only get BBC news 24...

Then the second plane hit...
Gooooold
23-05-2005, 14:10
Geography.
Kejott
23-05-2005, 14:13
I was on my computer trying to work and I got a call from my friend and he told me to turn on any channel on tv. Like D.L. Huguely said, when someone says turn on ANY channel, some serious shit went down.
Whispering Legs
23-05-2005, 14:15
Arriving at work late. I was on top of a parking garage in Arlington (Ballston Common Mall), and I had just shut my car door, and I heard a "whump!" in the distance, and turned and saw a pillar of black smoke over the treeline (it was the Pentagon being hit).

I walked into the mall in order to take the skywalk to my office, and a bunch of senior citizens who do their daily walk in the mall were congregated outside the Radio Shack watching the TV reports coming in.

One old man said, "this is just like Pearl Harbor".

And he was right.
Jerobia
23-05-2005, 14:15
I was biking home from College having walked my gf to her piano lesson. Got in just as the first tower fell. Spent the evening watching any news channel I could.
Kellarly
23-05-2005, 14:16
AS maths

Got home and turned on BBC2 after hearing rumours round college. It was kids programmes...i thought hoax, then i switched to BBC1...

Shortly followed by the phrase...

Holy S**t! :eek:
Helioterra
23-05-2005, 14:17
Just came home from school. Opened the telly and started to make some coffee. Froze in front of the television and in 20 seconds saw the other plane hit the other tower.

After few hours I remembered that a guy I know, was supposed to fly from New York that morning. He was alright. His plane had left earlier.
Neo Cannen
23-05-2005, 14:18
At school, had Orchestra that day so was at school untill late. Didnt find out till half 5 that afternoon.
Kellarly
23-05-2005, 14:21
Just came home from school. Opened the telly and started to make some coffee. Froze in front of the television and in 20 seconds saw the other plane hit the other tower.

After few hours I remembered that a guy I know, was supposed to fly from New York that morning. He was alright. His plane had left earlier.

My best mates parents were in New York on holiday, he was throwing fits :( We didn't see him at school, so I went to see him. Boy, he was in a real bad state.
Boodicka
23-05-2005, 14:27
Asleep (Australia). Woke up the next morning to get ready for work, and to get my Dad off to hospital for an operation, and it was all over the news.

I was pretty preoccupied with other stuff that day, so I honestly didn't care about the event until several days later when it was still on the tv. I was swept up in the ensuing terrorist-attack paranoia for a few months afterward, but *shrug* worse disasters occur all over the world every day. Granted it happened to a nice safe Westernised nation, so it was a big surprise. Earthquakes/famine/war happen in other not-so-safe nations all the time. I'm guessing that within a week half a dozen nations experienced the same number of deaths from a myriad of causes. While it was tragic and terrifying, and I offer my heartfelt empathy to anyone touched by the attack, I think we have to keep stuff in perspective.
PhoebeAnne
23-05-2005, 14:28
Isn't it amazing how everyone can remember the tiniest details of those few hours?
SimNewtonia
23-05-2005, 14:28
I was interestingly awake, watching a video. It finished just before it happened, and then decided to watch the TV for a while... so yeah.
Falhaar
23-05-2005, 14:29
I was up late watching "Lock, Stock" on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), when it suddenly cut out and I got a live feed to CNN. At first I thought, "Well this is annoying, I want to watch my show, maybe if I wait a while it'll be over". Keep in mind the last time there was a news break in programming, Leyton Hewitt had won the tennis.

Then I recognised the World Trade Centre and actually listened to what they were saying. I had pretty much the same thought as everyone else must have had: "This is no accident!"

Then a bulletin came up saying that the Pentagon had been hit, I called my mum downstairs and we watched the towers collapse.

It was one of those moments where you can actually feel something massively significant and historic happen.
Carnivorous Lickers
23-05-2005, 14:30
It was my first week as a GM at a new job. The owner of the co was in NYC and called me to say a plane just hit the WTC. We thought it was a small private plane at that moment. Shortly after, it became clear it wasnt. I can recall the sickening feeling of shock, listening to a guy on news radio say that one of the towers was "coming down". And the confusion of reports there were several more planes not accounted for.
We didnt do much of any business that day.
Dempublicents1
23-05-2005, 14:31
I was on my way to class - biology or chemistry I think. I was in the car and people were talking about something having hit the world trade center. It was after the first plane hit and before the second. I thought the radio station was doing some sort of weird joke and changed the channel. My class was only about 5 minutes away by car, so I didn't hear much. Got to class and, by the time we were ready to start class, someone came in talking about two planes having hit. We were all curious, but everyone there had left before they came down, so we assumed it was some weird fluke. Got out of class and found a TV in the building where my next class was. They were pretty much incessently showing footage of the towers coming down and the pentagon hit. Classes for the rest of the day were cancelled and we went home and watched the news (more footage of the same). Looking back, it wasn't really the healthy thing to do. I didn't know anyone in NY, but I called my parents and my boyfriend anyways. Went to a special chapel that was called for the next day.
Mekonia
23-05-2005, 14:32
I was in school when it happened, but didn't hear about it until school finished that day. At that time noone knew how many were killed and they thought that up to 50,000 were dead. I'm not an American but it was very scary.

Every1 remembers where they were when Princess Diana died and when they heard about 9/11, hardly ne1 remembers where/when they heard about Mother Theresa.
Helioterra
23-05-2005, 14:33
Isn't it amazing how everyone can remember the tiniest details of those few hours?
You just realise in a second that something really significant is taking place. Significant moments leave stronger marks on your memory.
Mekonia
23-05-2005, 14:34
You just realise in a second that something really significant is taking place. Significant moments leave stronger marks on your memory.


True true
Cabra West
23-05-2005, 14:35
At home, watching TV. It was 3 pm in Germany and I waited for a phone call telling me if I had the job at the library I always hoped for....
It did happen halfway around the globe, but it shocked me just as much.
Lesser Pacifica
23-05-2005, 14:36
Taking a quick break to get water while doing some shrubs (read: monsterous forsythia). Got a call from freind. Rushed to nearest TV. Entered into state of shock for about 30 seconds.
Falhaar
23-05-2005, 14:37
I've gotta say that the Bali Bombings affected me a whole lot more than the September 11 attacks. I really felt like somebody had kicked me in the gut when I saw that on the news. That could just be because it seemed a lot more immediate to me. Hell, I'd BEEN to Bali only a few months before.

Not that I'm in any way discrediting or devaluing the 9/11 events.
Pedroman
23-05-2005, 14:38
i was in my geography class and then i watched the whole thing on t.v. for the rest of the day

the thought running thru most peoples mind was who? what? why?
later we found out they were terrorists :headbang: :sniper: :mp5:

now i blame G. W. Bush for not doing anything about it :gundge:
The Downmarching Void
23-05-2005, 14:38
The morning after getting back from Burning Man, still in culture shock after 8 days in a completely different reality. Woke up to find my mom glued to the TV set, watching the news. My dad is is the news junky in the family, so this in itself was odd. It was her vacation time and I had expected to find her watching a gardening showFootage on the TV was showing the smoke and fire pouring from the site of the first plane hit. Right off, I knew it was no accident, though I prayed it was. Two minutes later, the second plane hit. I got a horrible sinking feeling as I watched it unfold. "Oh shit" was a massive understatement.

My best friend was supposed to be IN the Trade Centre for a business meeeting. Through sheer luck I actually got a hold of him on my second try. The meeting had been rescheduled and relocated the night before in favour of meeting in a private hotel dinning room not far from his own, in New Jersey. Seems the CEO wanted to show off the talents of his daughter, who had recently become head chef at the hotel the meeting had been relocated to. Thank God for paternal pride.

When I spoke to him, my friend had just finished booking every single vacant room in his hotel and setting up an unofficial relfied centre for those fleeing the chaos and grief of downtown NYC. Three days later, I started a job at an art college way up in the back of beyond in Elliot Lake in northern Ontario. Even up there, it was nearly the only thing anyone talked about.
Thelas
23-05-2005, 14:38
I was just getting up, and had turned on the TV just after the first plane hit, when every one thought it was all an accident, some pilot getting disoriented on take off. Then the second plane hit... that cleared up every ones mind. Then one of the CNN camera men on a rooftop noticed smoke coming from his left and the camera panned. They didn't know it, but that was the smoke from the Pentagon.

I called my proffessors several minutes after the towers collapsed, and informed them that I was going to be out today, from what I've heard, most of the classes were cancled. As the second tower collapsed, I remember thinking, "Shit, well, Hanscom is going to be really busy..."

You see, I live right under the flight path from Hansom feild, a USAF base, and I could hear the fighters taking off over my head. It was about a week later that the huge cargo lifters began to arive at the base.
Neo Cannen
23-05-2005, 14:38
Oddly enough, the first thing I thought about (And in retrospect today, much of the British media wonders if they should have thought along these lines now) was not a massive wave of sympathy for the people there, that came a day or so later. The first thing I thought was "America's got its cumupins"
Golbastion
23-05-2005, 14:40
In school (Canada), in French class. Another teacher came in and called our teacher out into the hall. Then they both came back with a TV and turned it on. We watched the planes hit and the towers collapse, as did everyone else in the school. Not much work was done that day.
Goosensteinenkreigland
23-05-2005, 14:40
At school in science. Our teacher put on the radio after the first plane hit an told us it must have been al'quada, he was quite smart with hindsight i suppose. We listened until the second plane hit, most of my class was quite ignorant though,they even cheered after the second plane, but that just goes to show how much some people dislike America here. For the record, i didnt cheer so please, no hate-mail.
Umlilo
23-05-2005, 14:41
I was asleep ( California ) My boyfriend at the time was from Iran and he called me on the phone and started yelling about " turn on the TV ! there's been a disaster ! PLanes hit the World Trade center and the Pentagon !"
I didn't believe him and I started to yell at him for saying such horrible things -
Finally he held his phone up to the TV so I could hear the reports.. then said "Do you believe me now ? " I was up in a flash - and turned on the TV - my sister called from NH just as the first tower fell.
Sarzonia
23-05-2005, 14:42
I was asleep in my apartment when it happened. My roommate had the cordless phone in our bedroom and it rang. Turned out the phone was for me and she kept saying my name until I finally woke up and she gave me the phone. I remember after talking to the person (whom I did NOT want to talk to), I yelled at her to not wake me up unless it was an emergency. The irony of that was I think it was just a matter of minutes before the first tower was hit.

When I woke up and got out of bed, I saw the footage and I asked, "what happened?" She and my other roommate looked at each other and asked, "should we tell him?" Then they told me. The next thing I remember was the phone ringing several times: My grandmother and my dad's partner were both calling me several times after the towers got hit. The one good thing about it was the perspective my grandmother could give me on 9/11 versus Pearl Harbor. She told me 9/11 was much worse.

I don't think anyone will forget where they were when the Twin Towers went down.
Pablicosta
23-05-2005, 14:43
Geography.


Snap.
Neo Cannen
23-05-2005, 14:43
At school in science. Our teacher put on the radio after the first plane hit an told us it must have been al'quada

Thats slightly odd. The word "Al'quida" was never used to describe a large scale terrorist organisation like this one by any intellegence agency in the world before September 11th (see 'The power of nightmares' by the BBC for more infomation). Best guess he heard it on the news as it was happening.
Wegason
23-05-2005, 14:43
I was at school, i got home, was on the computer when my mum started screaming hysterically from the kitchen about planes hitting a building in new york. I said how big the plane was, she said it was a small one apparently but it did a lot of damage. I went to the TV, then the second plane hit the other tower. I thought holy shit, what was weird though is that i didnt continue watching, i just went off and plonked myself back in front of the computer. I didnt really want to watch anymore.
PhoebeAnne
23-05-2005, 14:44
At school in science. Our teacher put on the radio after the first plane hit an told us it must have been al'quada, he was quite smart with hindsight i suppose. We listened until the second plane hit, most of my class was quite ignorant though,they even cheered after the second plane, but that just goes to show how much some people dislike America here. For the record, i didnt cheer so please, no hate-mail.

I'm never surprised to hear that we Americans are hated in most places. When I was stationed in Turkey we really had to watch our backs there.
Keruvalia
23-05-2005, 14:44
I was in a plane from Boston waiting for the signal to pull out my box cutter and rush the cockpit ...

Oh no wait ...

Actually, I was sipping some coffee when CNN started talking about an explosion at the WTC caused by a plane collision. I was thinking, "Wow, nutty. Talk about pilot error!" I was about to change the channel when they announced the second plane hit. I then woke up my wife and said, "Hon, we're under attack."

We watched CNN for most of that morning. I skipped work and watched the events for a while, staying up most of that night as well. I kept the kids home because we lived in a major metropolitan area and I couldn't be sure if we weren't next.

Not a pleasant way to spend a day.
Mezzaluna
23-05-2005, 14:45
I was at work, and our sales rep came in the office and turned on the tv in the conference room...I think she had been listening to the radio in the car. We were all stunned, and even more stunned when the second tower was hit.

I called my husband at his job...I don't remember if he had already heard or not. Amazing how quickly news can travel at these times. Everyone rushes to tell their loved ones...I think it reminds us of what's important.

Within a matter of hours, one of our employees who served in the National Guard was deployed to NYC.

The feeling I remember most is a feeling of detached disbelief. I knew intellectually that it had happened, but the impact never really reached me emotionally. I'm not sure it ever really has.




As a personal side note, as a rural Pennsylvania native, please don't forget those who died on 9/11 in Southwest Pennsylvania. That plane crashed only a few miles from my mother-in-law's office. It may not be as glitzy as the WTC or the Pentagon, but those passengers were victims, too. They were also heroes, and I don't use that term lightly.
Natashenka
23-05-2005, 14:50
I was in band. We were outside marching, then I had an essay to write second period, and my teacher was all, "Everyone just be quiet and write," so I didn't know anything until I went to trig and heard people arguing over whether both towers had fallen or not.
Carnivorous Lickers
23-05-2005, 14:53
I was at work, and our sales rep came in the office and turned on the tv in the conference room...I think she had been listening to the radio in the car. We were all stunned, and even more stunned when the second tower was hit.

I called my husband at his job...I don't remember if he had already heard or not. Amazing how quickly news can travel at these times. Everyone rushes to tell their loved ones...I think it reminds us of what's important.

Within a matter of hours, one of our employees who served in the National Guard was deployed to NYC.

The feeling I remember most is a feeling of detached disbelief. I knew intellectually that it had happened, but the impact never really reached me emotionally. I'm not sure it ever really has.




As a personal side note, as a rural Pennsylvania native, please don't forget those who died on 9/11 in Southwest Pennsylvania. That plane crashed only a few miles from my mother-in-law's office. It may not be as glitzy as the WTC or the Pentagon, but those passengers were victims, too. They were also heroes, and I don't use that term lightly.

Yes-they are heros. Its such a shame they werent able to take safe control of that plane and land it somewhere. If they realized a little earlier what was really going on, they might have been able to live to tell the story. But who knows how many more would have died if they didnt fight back ?
Carnivorous Lickers
23-05-2005, 14:57
I was in a plane from Boston waiting for the signal to pull out my box cutter and rush the cockpit ...

Oh no wait ...

Actually, I was sipping some coffee when CNN started talking about an explosion at the WTC caused by a plane collision. I was thinking, "Wow, nutty. Talk about pilot error!" I was about to change the channel when they announced the second plane hit. I then woke up my wife and said, "Hon, we're under attack."

We watched CNN for most of that morning. I skipped work and watched the events for a while, staying up most of that night as well. I kept the kids home because we lived in a major metropolitan area and I couldn't be sure if we weren't next.

Not a pleasant way to spend a day.

No-it wasnt. I closed the office early. Our phone lines were virtually useless and it was a long drive home not being able to reach my wife on the cel phone. Then we picked our boys up from school, which many parents were doing, not knowing what could happen next.
The rest of that week was awful too.
Zhaihelleva
23-05-2005, 15:08
I was on my way to work. Running late, because my car overheated and broke down. I got in and my co-worker said, "A plane hit the WTC".. I was like, it was an accident right, and she said, "I think so".. this was 9-ish, so when the second plane hit I felt my stomach hit the floor.
Wisjersey
23-05-2005, 15:13
Hmm... where was me on that notorious day? I think i was at home, washing dishes. I was kinda bored while doing that, and switched on TV.

I also remember... i was just two days home from that trip to Italy.
Upitatanium
23-05-2005, 15:15
I was in the university's pool room watching it happen on the TV.

I thought it was the most interesting thing that's been on TV in a while.
Dragons Bay
23-05-2005, 15:20
Living on the other side of the world, I had just come out from the shower. Since it was the time when Hollywood blockbusters were broadcast on the local English channel, I wondered whether it was a Bruce Willis movie. I didn't believe it when the TV said the towers had collapsed.

'World Trade Center collapsed?' I wondered. 'No way...those are buildings....'

The next morning we skipped Science class to watch the news.

Afterwards I began pointing fingers at the PLO and contemplating the beginning of World War III.

Over the next few weeks I took out my atlases and crossed out WTC from New York.
Whispering Legs
23-05-2005, 15:21
Living on the other side of the world, I had just come out from the shower. Since it was the time when Hollywood blockbusters were broadcast on the local English channel, I wondered whether it was a Bruce Willis movie.

When I actually saw the towers on TV, I was wondering "where's Bruce Willis when you need him?"
L-rouge
23-05-2005, 15:21
Was sitting in my Ice-Cream van selling ice-creams when it came on the radio. Gave me something to talk about with the punters apart from the weather.
Yammo
23-05-2005, 15:21
I was asleep (Australia)


Then I woke to the sounds of CNN at 5.50. My parents heard the whole thing on the radio.
Eutrusca
23-05-2005, 15:23
I'm curious to find out what everyone was doing when 911 happened. What went through your mind? I had just come back from being deployed in Saudi Arabia and was about to walk out the door to go to work when I got the phone call. It was work calling me to get there immediately with my alert gear. All I could think was what are they gonna try to hit next...
Driving to meet my younger son for breakfast. He lived out of town then and was passing through on his way to Virginia. My ex called me on the phone and told me about the first tower being hit, then again when the second tower was hit. The entire restaurant was abuzz with it by the time our order arrived.
Dragons Bay
23-05-2005, 15:24
When I actually saw the towers on TV, I was wondering "where's Bruce Willis when you need him?"

Sigh......
Linguicism
23-05-2005, 15:25
It was around 2pm UK time when it happened and I remember that I was in an AS English class at the time the first plane would have hit. I knew nothing about events until my mum picked me up from school and told me and I heard the news on the radio and the TV. To be honest, the WTC didn't mean a lot to me to begin with - it was when I found out about the Pentagon that the magnitude of the situation kicked in. I just remember thinking "Shit that's like the HQ of the American Military, if they can get that, they can get anywhere."
I still have all my newspapers from that time so that I can explain what happened to my children in the future, in the hope that they will understand and help build a better world and not have to go through what so many people did on that day.
Pure Metal
23-05-2005, 15:27
I'm curious to find out what everyone was doing when 911 happened. What went through your mind? I had just come back from being deployed in Saudi Arabia and was about to walk out the door to go to work when I got the phone call. It was work calling me to get there immediately with my alert gear. All I could think was what are they gonna try to hit next...
i was at school when it happened and didn't hear anything about it there.
got home and got a call from my parents about half an hour later telling me to turn on the TV...

honestly couldn't believe it. didn't sink in for hours. i thought it was a joke till i realised it was on all the channels.

i remember feeling quite sick when they showed the people jumping out of the upper-story windows to their death. i was very glad nobody i knew was there
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 15:32
I was in a history class when it started. When my class ended, I intended to go to the student lounge to watch Monday Night football highlights since my favorite football team won that game.

I walked into the student lounge to find out that something bad was happening. It took me a minute to figure out that the WTC and Pentagon were on fire and after asking three different people, finally got an answer that it might've been a terrorist attack.

I slapped my hand on the table and said "Well? Someone just started WWIII." and I walked out the door.

They canceled classes the rest of the day at the Community College that I attended.
Monkeypimp
23-05-2005, 15:33
It was early in the morning on 12/09 and I was asleep.
Czardas
23-05-2005, 15:34
Like a lot of other people, I was watching television when it happened.

Where I was, the Towers fell at about 5 PM, so we were watching the news at that time.

~Czardas, Supreme Ruler of the Universe
Werteswandel
23-05-2005, 15:38
I was on the streets of Melton Mowbray, a conservative provincial town in central England, campaigning for Amnesty International. There was an electricals store on the street and I caught the reports of the first 'plane hitting the WTC. At the time, it seemed like a terrible accident, so we carried on. Then the second 'plane hit.

Obviously, we stopped. A small crowd slowly gathered by in the shop and outside by the window, watching the various TV screens. The collapse of the first tower was one of the most intense experiences of my life, the sick realisation that so many had just died.

Later, some guys walked past and started cheering. My team leader had to be restrained. He's a scrawny guy, but he had a bloodlust. One of the members of the team was on holiday in New York (he was fine).

So... strange. We really feared an awful fallout and no matter how bad things have been in many ways since, what we really feared hasn't taken place.

Yasser Arafat making a public statement pleading innocence on behalf of the Palestinians, trembling with fear. I remember that really vividly.

It wasn't the greatest humanitarian tragedy, not even of the last five years. But it sticks in the mind. It felt portentous.
Greedy Pig
23-05-2005, 15:38
Eating. It was around 10pm thereabouts.

Having a late snack with my family at a nearby restaurant, where on the tv was football. Suddenly, I had a phonecall from my friend, saying United States is under attack and the World Trade Centre has collapsed. I asked the owner of the shop to change channel to bbc.

Well, we we're stuck to the tv till midnight then we went home. Watch a little longer and went to sleep.
Drunk commies reborn
23-05-2005, 15:39
I was working at a pool construction job. I first heard the news in the truck on the way to the job site.
Drakedia
23-05-2005, 15:40
*shrug* worse disasters occur all over the world every day. Granted it happened to a nice safe Westernised nation, so it was a big surprise. Earthquakes/famine/war happen in other not-so-safe nations all the time. I'm guessing that within a week half a dozen nations experienced the same number of deaths from a myriad of causes.

Wow I thought the bleeding hearts would have at least waited till page two or three...
Goosensteinenkreigland
23-05-2005, 18:21
Thats slightly odd. The word "Al'quida" was never used to describe a large scale terrorist organisation like this one by any intellegence agency in the world before September 11th (see 'The power of nightmares' by the BBC for more infomation). Best guess he heard it on the news as it was happening.

According to my teacher, they declared war on the US two months earlier.

And to whoever said he was in Turkey and had to watch his back; perhaps you thought i sounded like i was in the Middle East. I live in Scotland, it's slightly different from Turkey.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 18:22
According to my teacher, they declared war on the US two months earlier.

Actually even earlier than that. Bin Laden declard war on us during the Clinton Administration.
The odd one
23-05-2005, 18:23
I was at the zoo!
that was actually quite a good day for me until I got home and heard what happenned.
Thetachron
23-05-2005, 18:27
I was playing Counter strike(Terrorist ofcourse, my favorite side :D). I was rudely interupted by a call from my brother telling me some dumbass crashed in to some building. My reply was I donĀ“t really give a flying F***. When I turned on the TV I was horrified... to find myself stilll not giving a F***!!
:D
Tekania
23-05-2005, 18:30
I'm curious to find out what everyone was doing when 911 happened. What went through your mind? I had just come back from being deployed in Saudi Arabia and was about to walk out the door to go to work when I got the phone call. It was work calling me to get there immediately with my alert gear. All I could think was what are they gonna try to hit next...

I was performing general Maintenance in the server-room of Resource International LTD (an enviromental engineering corp), when the first plane hit... I was out smoking with 2 other ITS staff members, and one of the persons from the CAD department when the second hit.

At the time of the first plane, I assumed it was pilot error, or something like that. That was dismissed at the time of the second collision.
Aust
23-05-2005, 18:35
I was at school, I got home with my best mate, had a fight about what we would watch on telly, then when we turned on BBC1 and saw a replay of the attack.

This was followed by a hell of a lot of swearwords....
Diamond Realms
23-05-2005, 18:37
I was doing something on the computer, possibly playing a game, then there was a call from a friend of my dad, said something about an accident, and check CNN. It was when just one plain had hit, so I saw the other one live (and it became clear it was no accident).
Chrisstan
23-05-2005, 18:37
Walking home. Got back shortly before the Towers went.
Keruvalia
23-05-2005, 18:44
Yasser Arafat making a public statement pleading innocence on behalf of the Palestinians, trembling with fear. I remember that really vividly.


Nod ... I remember that. A few Muslim leaders made it very clear that it wasn't them or their people. A lot of them were saying to themselves, "Oh, crap." simply because of who was in the White House and knowing that he would relentlessly and endlessly pursue whomever it was, regardless of the casualties and the cost.

Of course, now we know different. Osama who?

Time for more planes, I guess.
Reformentia
23-05-2005, 18:46
I'm curious to find out what everyone was doing when 911 happened.

I was watching CNN in a Holiday Inn in Mito, Japan (only English channel they had) so I was watching live when they cut in with the coverage.

What went through your mind?

A few things. One, that the reporters commenting on the events were a pack of idiots. There was much speculation about there being some kind of mix-up in air traffic control and no mention of terrorism even for some time after the second plane hit. Because everyone knows that if the tower tells a pilot to take a heading and he sees a freaking SKYSCRAPER directly in his flight path on a clear sunny morning he's just going to fly right into it... and then another pilot is going to fly directly at the smoking burning wreckage because nobody told him differently... :rolleyes:

Shortly thereafter, "oh crap... and Bush is president... here comes a brainless response practically guaranteed to make the situation worse..." went through my mind. Wish I hadn't been right about that one...

I was supposed to be flying back to San Jose the next day... scrap that idea. Then when the flights finally resumed I remember making it to Narita hours in advance for the expected delays getting through security screening and then waiting around in the departure area for hours because I breezed through check in, security and immigration in about 25 minutes.
Iztatepopotla
23-05-2005, 18:46
I was putting mi socks on, getting ready for work and running late as always. The TV was on in the living room and I could listen to CNN. I heard someone saying that a plane had crashed against the WTC and I went running, they thought it had been a small plane, but I remember thinking "small planes don't make that kind of damage". And they were still discussing that when the second plane hit, clearly not a small plane.

I stayed a few more minutes and went to work, I got there just as the second tower was collapsing. No work got done that day. I was working at the British Embassy in Mexico City and we closed it down. It remained so for a week.

The US Embassy is just half a block away, it was heavily guarded for a few days too.
Kecibukia
23-05-2005, 18:47
My father had just been killed in an accident a few days previous so I was at my parents house asleep. My Brother in law woke me up and told me what happened. I got downstairs in time to see the first building fall. Shortly after that we went out and bought a suit for the funeral. Everybody in the store was watching the television so it took us awhile to get the stuff.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 18:49
I love how people are always saying how bad Bush was prior to this incident. Be advised that we wouldn't have gone to war with any nation had 9/11 not happened.

And yes, I firmly believe that
Kroblexskij
23-05-2005, 18:49
at school then came home and watched the live tv
TobyLeo
23-05-2005, 18:53
I was driving to class and the guys on the radio started reporting that a plane had hit, and then they announced that a second plane had hit and that this couldn't be an accident. I remember them sayingn "9 minutes ago an airplane flew into the side of one of the towers of the World Trade Center" and I was waiting for the punch line. It took a while for me to believe it.
Carops
23-05-2005, 18:55
We were all at school, doing tests. We didn't understand what had happened at first. My friend thought it was a joke. Sadly it was not.
Arpwat
23-05-2005, 18:55
It was a beautiful late summer morning.
I was in Inorganic Chemistry Class and then in Organic Synthesis. The professor for OrgSyn (may his soul rot forever!) came in and held class even as the towers were collapsing in clear view from the top of our building. We didn't know what was happening because we were on the bottom floor.
I remember finding out what had happend at about 1PM, after OrgSyn.
That was when everything changed.
I rode the train home from New York that day in time to see 7 World Trade collapse.
And I got back on that train on the 13th of September. That was more difficult than anything else.
I failed OrgSyn in the end and I left that school.
Skinny87
23-05-2005, 18:56
I was at school, came over the bridge to be picked up by my mum and best friend - she told me she had heard on the radio the towers had been hit. I remember wondering whether it was A) A joke, and B) Who was stupid enough to attack the US...
Andaluciae
23-05-2005, 18:58
I was in my AP US History Class when I learned about it. We were getting ready to start the "colonial debate" about which of the thirteen English colonies that are now part of the US were better, I was representing the middle colonies.

The principal came on over the school's PA system, told us to turn on our televisions, and that's what we did. We watched CNN for the rest of the day. Except for in honors biology, where we did normal work, further increasing my belief that Mrs. Johnson is a soulless wench.
3urope
23-05-2005, 19:07
I was in the waiting room of a medic and the TV was showing that.

As i never had heard of it before ( i was 11 or 12 ) and they were talking about towers i thought about the airport and then i arrived home and found out what had really hapenend.
Borgoa
23-05-2005, 19:11
I was at work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. As news got around the office, we went to watch it on BBC World at the ministry and then on SVT1 (which interupted its programme). As you can imagine, it was a busy few days at work...
Zotona
23-05-2005, 19:11
I was in school. The teachers were cranky as hell that day, and none of the kids knew why. At the end of the day, the principal finally made an announcement informing us. Somehow, I just didn't really care. In fact, I was angry we weren't told sooner. What the hell? Did they want to rehearse sugar coating everything for us? I don't think the third graders and any lower grade got to hear the announcement. Damn censorship.
Markreich
23-05-2005, 19:12
In New Haven, CT, deploying a server.

A second grade teachers came up and said: "Can I ax yoose a question? Where in New Yawk is da Pentagon?"

Later, we huddled around an old black and white TV (rabbit ears!) and watched the footage...
The Plutonian Empire
23-05-2005, 19:15
I'm curious to find out what everyone was doing when 911 happened. What went through your mind? I had just come back from being deployed in Saudi Arabia and was about to walk out the door to go to work when I got the phone call. It was work calling me to get there immediately with my alert gear. All I could think was what are they gonna try to hit next...
I was in my high school, in my chemistry class, and I got the news a few minutes before the school day was gonna start.
Nimzonia
23-05-2005, 19:20
I didn't find out about it until about 3 days later, when my grandmother mentioned it on the phone, so I don't know what I was doing at the time. Eating noodles, possibly.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 19:22
I didn't find out about it until about 3 days later, when my grandmother mentioned it on the phone, so I don't know what I was doing at the time. Eating noodles, possibly.

How the hell did that happen? It was all over the TV, Radio, and newspapers. It would've been nearly impossible for it to slip past anyone.
Nimzonia
23-05-2005, 19:25
How the hell did that happen? It was all over the TV, Radio, and newspapers. It would've been nearly impossible for it to slip past anyone.

I don't watch TV or listen to radio, I don't buy newspapers, and I didn't have an internet connection that week.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 19:28
I don't watch TV or listen to radio, I don't buy newspapers, and I didn't have an internet connection that week.

Still though. You pretty much have to be dead not to have heard something
Zotona
23-05-2005, 19:29
Still though. You pretty much have to be dead not to have heard something
Yeah, wasn't that annoying?
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 19:30
Yeah, wasn't that annoying?

? You have lost me :confused:
Nimzonia
23-05-2005, 19:30
Still though. You pretty much have to be dead not to have heard something

It was a very boring week. None of my friends were in town either, due to it still being summer break. It's not like people were running up and down the street shouting about it.
Robot ninja pirates
23-05-2005, 19:32
I remember it very clearly. I was still in middle school at the time, and so the teachers were instructed not to tell us anything (a policy I still think is stupid). The first I heard about it was last period, which would have been about 3:00 in the afternoon. By that time the rumors had grown so much that I was hearing stuff about the Capitol and the Empire State Building and every major landmark.

I didn't even fully find out what had happened until I went home.
Zotona
23-05-2005, 19:34
? You have lost me :confused:
9/11 being mentioned over and over again in the media. SOOO annoying.
Norgopia
23-05-2005, 19:38
Talking with my homies at school when an announcement came on...
Trinoble
23-05-2005, 19:39
I was in Political Science class at a university about 30 miles east of Manhatten. I had just moved to the area and had been there 11 days when the towers were hit. Talk about a warm welcome.

I had heard a couple of teachers whispering in the front of the class and the one of the students came in and told everyone that he was talking to his father and one of the towers was just hit and they don't know if it was an accident. He came in a few minutes later and said that the other tower and the Pentagon had been hit. At that point, my teacher dismissed class and I ran back to my dorm room to watch the TV. I saw both towers fall. I couldn't get through on any of the phones because they were so jammed up. My parents were worried as hell because they didn't know the geography of the area to know how close I was to Manhatten.

My school didn't cancel classes until the afternoon so I went to accounting. My teacher actually said "Wow, attendance is particularly low today. I wonder if there's a virus going around"

I left class and went to the top floor of our library and looked out west to see the smoke billowing from manhatten, the roads jammed with traffic, the EMS and fire vehicles trying to get through to get to ground zero, the fighter jets flying over head. It was truely a chaotic day for those of us that were near by. I know many people that lost friends and family that day. I know people that were there for the rescue effort. I heard the stories about how they weren't finding bodies, but body parts.

This year I went to a 9/11 memorial service in Philadelphia. There were maybe 40 people there. It's kind of sad how quickly people have forgotten. So much for "We will never forget." I guess it's harder to relate to people that lived geographically further away. I know that it was a personal experience for me and I will never forget.
Bastard-Squad
23-05-2005, 19:39
A tragedy, of course.

But what were you doing when the last mosque got blown up by American bombers? Or when the last Iraqi child died from US sanctions against Iraq? Or when the last Iraqi citizen got killed by an American soldier?
No one remembers because it doesn't get reported, hence no one cares.

I am not in any way being disrespectful, but many, many more people have needlessly died because of American sanctions, trade tariffs etc than those that died in 11/9.
Cogitation
23-05-2005, 19:41
I had just woken up, since I had no classes that day. I was preparing to head into Manhattan to do some research at a public library for a class I was taking at the time. My aunt called me and said that planes had struck the World Trade Center, but that the Twin Towers were still standing. I went to a nearby deli to get breakfast, and that's when I heard on the radio in the deli:

"Oh my God! The second tower just collapsed!"

My gut went cold.

--The Democratic States of Cogitation
Optima Justitia
23-05-2005, 19:43
I was in my life science class. The sad thing is that that day I had been particularly desperately bored in class, so when my friend rushed in from a different class and told me to pack up and leave (his mom was picking both of us up), I was ecstatic because I thought I had gotten my "miracle," or ticket out. Cruel irony ...
Whispering Legs
23-05-2005, 19:48
A tragedy, of course.

But what were you doing when the last mosque got blown up by American bombers? Or when the last Iraqi child died from US sanctions against Iraq? Or when the last Iraqi citizen got killed by an American soldier?
No one remembers because it doesn't get reported, hence no one cares.

UN sanctions, not US sanctions. And if it weren't for the Oil For Food sleazebags, the money would have paid for food and medicine for Iraqis.

To hell with anyone who shoots at American soldiers.

Name one mosque blown up - as in destroyed - by American bombers. At last report, all the mosques in Fallujah are still standing.
[NS]Simonist
23-05-2005, 19:50
My marching band was out rehearsing our routine for a football game we had coming up. By the time we got in and left for second period, EVERYBODY knew but us, so we're schlepping through the halls not understanding why everybody looked so down. After I found out in second period, though, I really just hung out in the office. I was waiting for a call from my parents or grandparents to say whether or not my uncle got out okay, but because I didn't actually see the towers fall (there were seventeen of us [an astounding number, considering the amount of people who never leave the Kansas City area] up there that had relatives in the Towers, so they kept the TVs and radios off most of the time to worry us less) I had no idea how bad it was. I finally decided to go to lunch, and at that time missed a call from my grandmother that the people in my uncle's office who'd gotten out had no idea what happened to him. So, yeah.....9/11 was a pretty crappy day for me. Luckily he did get out, but his injuries left him mostly paralyzed on the left side of his lower body, and he had to retire early.
Thank God he's rich, otherwise there'd be some trouble with THAT situation.
Drunk commies reborn
23-05-2005, 19:51
A tragedy, of course.

But what were you doing when the last mosque got blown up by American bombers? Or when the last Iraqi child died from US sanctions against Iraq? Or when the last Iraqi citizen got killed by an American soldier?
No one remembers because it doesn't get reported, hence no one cares.

I am not in any way being disrespectful, but many, many more people have needlessly died because of American sanctions, trade tariffs etc than those that died in 11/9.
Bullshit. All the US sanctions and embargos that I've seen have had provisions for food and medical aid.
Swimmingpool
23-05-2005, 19:52
It was about 2pm GMT when those planes hit so I was in some class in school (from which I have since graduated). When I got home I was taing off my uniform in my room and turned on the radio. There were seemingly random reports of events in New York and Pennsylvania. I went downstairs, called my friend and was like "wtf has happened in America???" He told me to turn on the TV and that he was not coming over to my house today.

I turned on the TV and the news was on, unusual for 4 o'clock in the afternoon. They showed footage of those towers being hit and collapsing. My reaction was of extreme shock.

Oddly enough, the first thing I thought about (And in retrospect today, much of the British media wonders if they should have thought along these lines now) was not a massive wave of sympathy for the people there, that came a day or so later. The first thing I thought was "America's got its cumupins"
:eek:
Xcottakistan
23-05-2005, 19:52
I was asleep when it happened. I found out about it in history class when a friend remarked to me "This is a terrible day. People are dying, and our video project isn't done yet." Then the teacher showed a video of the planes hitting, and the first tower collapsing. I hate New York, so I didn't really care, except for the possibility of getting out of class early (which didn't happen).
The South Islands
23-05-2005, 19:57
Wow, A 9/11 thread that hasen't gone of the political deep end...
Carnivorous Lickers
23-05-2005, 20:02
A tragedy, of course.

But what were you doing when the last mosque got blown up by American bombers? Or when the last Iraqi child died from US sanctions against Iraq? Or when the last Iraqi citizen got killed by an American soldier?
No one remembers because it doesn't get reported, hence no one cares.

I am not in any way being disrespectful, but many, many more people have needlessly died because of American sanctions, trade tariffs etc than those that died in 11/9.

UN Sanctions in Iraq didnt kill any Iraqi children. saddam & his boys had literally BILLIONS of US dollars in cash. Enough to feed and medicate-even educate- every person in Iraq for the rest of their lives.
I dont want to hear about sanctions killing anyone. That all a load of crap and if you think, you know its true. The sanctions simply made sadaam and his business partners a little more creative in conducting their trade.
Style of dzan
23-05-2005, 20:06
Well. I was in university. Went to my classes, heard some rumors in bus stop, when going home. Went home, watched news ate supper. Was kind of interesting news especcially about Pentagon, as it's kinda of american symbol, seen in so many movies. Other than that, that's just another catastrophe somewhere in the world. Happens all the time.

Tsunami was worse. It was tragedy.
Cannot think of a name
23-05-2005, 20:23
Sadly, I was getting baked. I had woke up too early to go to class and had fallen asleep to the TV. When I woke up I didn't remember falling asleep to CNN, but I figured I must have. The first plane had hit and they where trying to be really careful about what they thought was happening. With the wake 'n bake I wasn't paying too much attention-I just thought that there was a fire and figured that everyone would have gotten out before it got that bad. Since Cali gets so much crap for being a 'disaster state' and again I had figured that no one was probably hurt I was being kind of smug. Then the second plane hit.

I don't know if I was watching 're-ran' footage or not, because I wasn't listening to the commentary that hard. I just remember thinking as the plane past behind that it should have passed out the other side by now (and stunned that planes would get that close to the buildings) and then there was the fire ball. I stopped smoking and started paying attention. I had a test that day so after I was convinced that nothing new was going to happen I went to take it. On the way out a visiting ex-roommate and girlfriend where sleeping in the living room. I passed by them and said, "Hey, turn on the tv-the world as we know it is ending." A little mellodramatic, but I was still a little stunned.

I worked until we closed the store early(people still showed up to buy the Glitter soundtrack that had just come out that day...)). I hung out with friends after that deciding that I'd learn nothing by obsesively watching the news. I remember thinking at the time that the terrorists had already done thier worst and now was afraid of what we would do.
Cannot think of a name
23-05-2005, 20:36
I love how people are always saying how bad Bush was prior to this incident. Be advised that we wouldn't have gone to war with any nation had 9/11 not happened.

And yes, I firmly believe that
Bush was bad before the event. Critisizing Bush wasn't a post 9/11 thing. In fact, That's My Bush, the show making fun of him, was cancelled after 9/11. We had his number well before it happened.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 21:41
9/11 being mentioned over and over again in the media. SOOO annoying.

I don't think it was. Frankly, we've gone complacent. Time to bring it out again to show that we can still get hit hard.
Intangelon
23-05-2005, 21:42
I was scheduled on a Continental Airlines flight to Providence, Rhode Island on September 12th, 2001 to see my brother in Mystic, CT.

He called at about 6am or so and woke me, telling me that I wouldn't be coming to see him tomorrow. As he'd awakened me (this was still two weeks before fall term started at grad school), I blearily asked what the hell he was talking about. He only said to turn on my TV and call him back later.

I went into the living room and turned on CNN, and didn't leave the room for about four solid hours because I saw the live footage of the second plane hitting the WTC, and was waiting for what was gonna happen next. When the news came in about the Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania, I was glued.

I eventually got to fly to Providence on the 17th, and as my connecting flight from Newark to Providence flew right over Long Island Sound with NYC right out my left-side window, I saw the still-fulminating plume of smoke rising up and trailing off to the east and off into the fading horizon.

Not a particularly riveting story, but I can remember exactly the way the living room was lit as I watched the news reports and the second plane hit. I remember how I felt when I could just make out the forms of people jumping out of the WTC windows because the stairs were completely shredded from the impacts and those above just weren't going to get out of the burning buildings. I remember how sick I felt as I watched both towers collapse.

I began to imagine what it must have been like for the passengers once they knew what was going to happen -- or if they even suspected it. I remember the idiotic numerological speculation regarding the flight numbers of the planes (as I recall, the flight numbers, either as they were or when each digit in them was added up, produced a sequence from 11 to 14).
Homieville
23-05-2005, 21:43
I was at school and alot of people teachers were mad...
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 21:44
Bush was bad before the event. Critisizing Bush wasn't a post 9/11 thing. In fact, That's My Bush, the show making fun of him, was cancelled after 9/11. We had his number well before it happened.

And how was Bush bad before the event?
Carnivorous Lickers
23-05-2005, 21:47
Bush was bad before the event. Critisizing Bush wasn't a post 9/11 thing. In fact, That's My Bush, the show making fun of him, was cancelled after 9/11. We had his number well before it happened.


Aside from it being unwatchable trash...
Kentuckistan
23-05-2005, 21:54
English class.
The Bolglands
23-05-2005, 21:54
When I first heard, it was on the radio, on the way to school. Saw the towers go down in Health...
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 21:55
Wow dude. I don't really have the time to catch you up with the rest of the class.

Thanks for ignoring my question. How was Bush bad?

Do you seriously think it was a Bush love in before the attacks?

I could give you my political science opinion as to why we were attacked but that would require historical knowledge and I don't want to confuse you.

Do you remember any other sitting president getting a satirical sitcom?

And this means something how?

Do you seriously think that the only criticism of Bush is the war?

Nope. I know of several criticisms. Even some that I have myself. However, I also know that he is in a much higher position than we are and therefore has access to far more intelligence data than we do.

Are you really paying that little attention?

I've been paying strict attention. However, you haven't answered my question.
Gambloshia
23-05-2005, 21:55
I was sleeping...I live on the west coast.
Guadalupelerma
23-05-2005, 21:56
Teaching an 8th grade US History class
Raem
23-05-2005, 21:58
I woke up early, because I had to go to work that day. I sat down at my computer and flipped on the TV to leave it on as I was surfing, waking up. I noticed that all the TV stations were showing the same thing: a burning building. I quickly logged on to the Internet and started talking to my friends. We didn't know what was happening. Someone said that a plane had ploughed into one of the World Trade Towers. We were all keeping an eye on the TV and an eye on the chat.

I was the first to notice the fireball when the second airplane hit. The other tower just blew up! No, no, it was another plane. So it wasn't an accident, then. No, they're doing it on purpose. Look there, you can see people jumping out.

The first tower went down, and there was no one talking. We just stared at the screen, at this pillar of smoke where a building used to be, where people used to be. I knew the second one was doomed, then, and no one in the chat room was surprised when it, too, turned into just a column of smoke.

We watched the Pentagon burn.

Fuck! Something just hit the ground outside.

Where do you live?

Pennsylvannia.

Another plane?

I don't know. Yeah, yeah there was another plane.

Fuck.
Aurya
23-05-2005, 21:59
hi
i had came home from school and just turned on the tv. the first thought that went though my empty head was 'what on hell is going on'. a few seconds later it hit me and i said oh my god then sat in silence and watched the towers collapse.
it caused a very hollow feeling which still is still woth me today.
Frangland
23-05-2005, 22:00
I was sleeping on my (at the time...) girlfriend's downstairs couch.

She called me... I woke up and answered the phone.

"Turn on the TV"

"Okay. Bye"

I turned on the TV and saw the flames from the first tower. I thought it was a film preview or something.

Then, of course, the news anchor(s) came on with an update. Then the second plane hit the second tower.

I got very angry.

Then came the news of the Pentagon and the plane that was taken down by heroes in Pennsylvania.

It was a horrible day.
N Y C
23-05-2005, 22:01
I was in 4th grade gym class. They just told us to go back to homeroom and wait to be picked up. I still see vividly the column of smoke rising in the distance as i walked home. A horrible burning smell clung to the air for the next few days.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 22:03
I was furious too. Not to mention flight 93 crashed about an hour and a half from my front door. That didn't make me to thrilled either.
Eclectic Fae
23-05-2005, 22:09
I was getting ready to leave for school.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 22:15
Lets start with "Thought he was appointed by god" and work our way up to "catering whore to the rich" and thought trickledown economics, something even his father considered 'voodoo economics' was a good idea. And thats just to start. Not everyone was 'bought' by the $300 check.

Where did he ever said or thought that he was appointed by God (yes its a capitol G)! Catering whore for the rich? Where was that said? As for the Tax Cuts, it all depends on how much you make. Do you know that I DON"T PAY taxes? Why? Because I don't make enough to pay taxes. I can actually think Bush for that :D Also, my family got a larger tax return because of said tax cuts. Those tax cuts were also ACROSS THE BOARD!! Something I guess that you don't understand.

Cute.

Truth hurts but thank you.

It means he was being harshly criticized and public enough that a show like that would exist, well before 9/11. Do try and keep up.

And this proves your point how?

"I have a secret plan, and if you just elect me..." Fool me once...Since you where so delightfully condiscending about you PoliSci theory I'm just going to assume you get that reference.

Now this is funny! I don't see a secret plan anywhere. Perhaps you can show me where this secret plan is so that I can view it for myself? Do you know what is going on in the White House? Do you even know who your Congressmen are? And the rest of that is "Fool me once Shame on you fool me twice shame on me." Problem is the only fools I'm seeing is those spouting rubbish with no facts behind it. I destroyed 3 people in 2 poli sci classes because they didn't have the facts to back up their comments. One person didn't have any. That was in my government class in the fall term. Not even my professor (democrat) liked her for the same reason. BTW: Im taking 3 more Poli Sci Classes in regards to Judiciary, International Law, and Political Theory and a history class called History of American Foriegn Relations. Can't wait for these 4 classes! Should be a fun fall term! :D

Mostly because it's like having someone ask what color the sky is.
http://img70.exs.cx/img70/9281/aproval_vs_alert_chart_NEW.gif
Oh yeah, we where all in love.

And yet he won re-election. Get over it. Next time don't run an idiot for President.
Frangland
23-05-2005, 22:21
Where did he ever said or thought that he was appointed by God (yes its a capitol G)! Catering whore for the rich? Where was that said? As for the Tax Cuts, it all depends on how much you make. Do you know that I DON"T PAY taxes? Why? Because I don't make enough to pay taxes. I can actually think Bush for that :D Also, my family got a larger tax return because of said tax cuts. Those tax cuts were also ACROSS THE BOARD!! Something I guess that you don't understand.



Truth hurts but thank you.



And this proves your point how?



Now this is funny! I don't see a secret plan anywhere. Perhaps you can show me where this secret plan is so that I can view it for myself? Do you know what is going on in the White House? Do you even know who your Congressmen are? And the rest of that is "Fool me once Shame on you fool me twice shame on me." Problem is the only fools I'm seeing is those spouting rubbish with no facts behind it. I destroyed 3 people in 2 poli sci classes because they didn't have the facts to back up their comments. One person didn't have any. That was in my government class in the fall term. Not even my professor (democrat) liked her for the same reason. BTW: Im taking 3 more Poli Sci Classes in regards to Judiciary, International Law, and Political Theory and a history class called History of American Foriegn Relations. Can't wait for these 4 classes! Should be a fun fall term! :D



And yet he won re-election. Get over it. Next time don't run an idiot for President.

Corneliu, it's no use arguing with someone who believes that all rich people should be burned at the stake for their crime of being successful and giving hordes of people jobs.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 22:25
Corneliu, it's no use arguing with someone who believes that all rich people should be burned at the stake for their crime of being successful and giving hordes of people jobs.

I know but its still fun to argue with those. Especially those that are unarmed! :D
Frangland
23-05-2005, 22:27
I know but its still fun to argue with those. Especially those that are unarmed! :D

Wait till they try to take away your gun(s)... with a wild protest outside your house. Some of these people are low (see their animal-like behavior at the latest Repub Nat'l Convention), so no doubt someone will try to break into your house and beat you up with a Lava Lamp or something.

two words: target practice.

hehe j/k
Thelas
23-05-2005, 22:29
It's funny, I guess watching and hearing about the towers elicited the same reaction that people would get if they watched Russia fire off it's nuclear missiles at the US,

"Oh crap, we're going to war"

I think Americans did have a drastic change of mind at that point, the world wasn't a nice place any more where terrorism only happened in the Midwest at a public schools. Where terrorism wasn't committed by a kid who played too much Grand Theft Auto.

"We're going to retaliate"

Terrorism at that point struck the East Coast, it struck the heart of liberal America, "civilized" America, where none of those crazy gunnuts live. It struck the heart of America. It struck the heart of the American military.

"We won't surrender"

9/11 was the second Pearl Harbor, it "Woke the sleeping giant."1 Yet 9/11 was worse than Pearl Harbor. They attacked civilians, people who had no clue what a JDAM or an LGB was, people who didn't have the faintest idea that off in Afgahnistan there were men who hated the US more than can be imagined.

"We'll hunt them down"

In the WTC disaster, it didn't matter to the terrorists who they killed. Liberal or Conservative, Christian or Muslim, Pro-Bush or Anti-Bush, American or British, Military or Civilian, adult or child it didn't matter.

"We'll get them..."

You know what? I don't pitty those Taliban soldiers who were caught under the wrath of a B-52. They served a mass murderer, a murderer of Americans, French, Germans, Philipinos, of many nationalities and religions. I won't say that they deserved to die, but I also can't say that I pitty them.

I can only say that I hope and pray that when we get Osama bin Laden, that he wears the Kevlar jacket, that he hides his face, that he begs for solitary confinment, because I promise you, Americans still havn't forgotten the greif of 9/11, and some will never forget the anger.

"...Dead or Alive"

1. Admiral Yamamoto, after Pearl Harbor
2. The quotations are all strung together from different quotes, sometimes taken out of context. Most of them are from things that were said by people I know, and the last two are from President Bush.
3. Excuse me if I sound racist, if I sound like an Ethnocentric, overly proud, American-flagwaving nutjob, but this subject brings up strong feelings for me. I didn't loose any one in the WTC or Pentagon attacks, but I do know friends who lost people, and I know friends of mine who quit college and grad school to sign up for the Military, and for the Army National Guard. And I can tell you, whenever I see the tapes of 9/11, I want nothing more than to see Osama rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life.
Cannot think of a name
23-05-2005, 22:31
Corneliu, it's no use arguing with someone who believes that all rich people should be burned at the stake for their crime of being successful and giving hordes of people jobs.
Please quote where I said that.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 22:32
Wait till they try to take away your gun(s)... with a wild protest outside your house. Some of these people are low (see their animal-like behavior at the latest Repub Nat'l Convention), so no doubt someone will try to break into your house and beat you up with a Lava Lamp or something.

two words: target practice.

hehe j/k

They can try. I have a bo in my room and I know how to use it. :D
ChadXii
23-05-2005, 22:32
And to whoever said he was in Turkey and had to watch his back; perhaps you thought i sounded like i was in the Middle East. I live in Scotland, it's slightly different from Turkey.

Aye, yet the same in so many ways ;) :D

Seriously though...
I was working in the Kitchen as the only Chef on the day shift at the eatery I worked at in Leeds... Lunch had finished and I was getting on with some prep. for our busy evening shift when one of the Waiteresses came in to let me know. I just shrugged and it really didn't register with me, then there was a report on BBC Radio One so I thought I'd wander to the office for a look on the TV.
Very little more got done that day... I was also lead to belive we were very, very quiet that evening.
Glorious Irreverrance
23-05-2005, 22:34
-Funny, without respect-

There is a shopping centre near my home town called The Pentagon. I missed everything as I walked to work. Somebody came into the office and said "The Pentagon's been bombed!!!" A girl shouted out, terrified, and asked about the Pentagon. I had just walked past it and had seen nothing out of the ordinary. Everybody who had not heard the news immediately thought that the shopping centre had been bombed. When we found out that it was actually the OTHER Pentagon I felt a bit let down. No local news... Bit of a disappointment really.


-With respect-

Bad.
New Shiron
23-05-2005, 22:40
I'm curious to find out what everyone was doing when 911 happened. What went through your mind? I had just come back from being deployed in Saudi Arabia and was about to walk out the door to go to work when I got the phone call. It was work calling me to get there immediately with my alert gear. All I could think was what are they gonna try to hit next...

sleeping as I live on the West Coast and didn't have to get up until 7 AM... the clock radio came on at 630, and in my semiconsciousness, I figured I had to be dreaming when I heard the World Trade Center had been hit.

But I kept hearing it every time snooze ended and the radio came back on and I went into the living room and turned on the television, called in sick to work, and watched the horror.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 22:41
Remember, we had a revolution to get away from the last George that thought god wanted him in charge...

Yeppers. Across the board. $300. Goin' to Sizzler. The level where you don't pay taxes didn't signifigantly change, and yes I have lived at the level myself-not nearby mommy and daddy-for a while. And my tuition has increased and my access to aid has decreased.

*Yawns* Dude, I live 5 hours away from my parents at the university that I attend. I don't even go home on the weekends. Only time I'm home is Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break and of course Summertime.

As for the Speech, everything is done according to God's plan. Do you think we could've won our independence without God? What was it that someone said. "A Nations rise or fall depends on God"? Good for him for believing in the Lord. As for the last line in his speech. He's right. I pray to God every night asking Him to help the President to make the right decisions for our country. Millions of Americans do the samething. Thanks for posting it. It warms my heart knowing that he said this.

Get over yourself.


You first

Okay, lets start again. Your comment was about how people where commenting about disliking Bush before 9/11 as if it was ridiculous. I point to a show that criticized Bush before 9/11 as evidence that indeed, we where on his case before 9/11. Really, if you're going to be this condicending you really should remember what the fuck you said.

Oh I know what I said but come on. A comedy show is nothing and you know it.

Well, golly-you're about to take more poli sci classes. I guess I should just bow down right now. Maybe in those classes you'll eventually learn the reference I was making and the fallicy of saying "He knows something we don't so we should just let it go."

I know the fallacy. However, the president does have more information than we do. We only get our information from a distorted press. And thats on BOTH SIDES!! I don't trust everything I hear on the TV or Radio or read in the Papers. That is why I dig for more information. Hell, I get great grades because of the research papers I do. And thats without the Internet.

Wheren't we talking about his pre-9/11 public impression? Yes, yes-I
believe we where.

Then you posted a link to his approval ratings going through the election. Thanks though.
New Shiron
23-05-2005, 22:59
Cannot think of a name and Corneliu.... thats an interesting debate and all, but what does it have to do with this thread exactly? Aren't you hijacking? (an ironic term considering the subject of the thread isn't it?)
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 23:00
Not everyone. We are a secular country, and Bush is trying to turn it into a theocracy. Some people respect the founders enough to think that is a bad thing.

I don't see how is trying to turn us into a theocracy and I didn't say everyone did I? No I said millions did. I didn't say everyone did. Now care to point to me where he's trying to turn this into a theocracy please?


Closest I've ever come to using an eyeroll smiley.

Har har! Get over yourself


I understand. Sand keeps your head warm.

Nice one. Did you come up with this yourself or did you have help?


Well, come back and get me when you researched what I was talking about then. You might as well have defended Bush by bringing up his dog.

*yawns*


RIF. The chart shows numbers prior to 9/11 which are in some places lower than they are today. And you where so proud of your ability to research...

Bonus-

http://www.factcheck.org/article145.html

Come back when you've taken more classes. You might be better at this. You won't have to change the question so much.

Ok so why should people who pay ZERO TAXES get benefits? They benefit enough by getting their taxes back. I'm one of those people who get everything back from the federal government. I don't pay federal taxes. Why should I get benefits because I don't pay taxes?

As for my research, I only do research for school papers and I get pretty damn good grades when I do. BTW: most of my professors like having me in their class because I am more politically inclined for a person my age. Have a nice day.
The Black Forrest
23-05-2005, 23:06
When I actually saw the towers on TV, I was wondering "where's Bruce Willis when you need him?"

Wellllll?

He probably would have been a pancake if he was in the towers at that time......
Cannot think of a name
23-05-2005, 23:12
Cannot think of a name and Corneliu.... thats an interesting debate and all, but what does it have to do with this thread exactly? Aren't you hijacking? (an ironic term considering the subject of the thread isn't it?)
Actually your right. We are, and I appoligise. I thought the initial claim and refutation was a little on topic, but it has shifted and we should stop. I will at least. I just saw this post and you called me out correctly.

Sorry again.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 23:13
Actually your right. We are, and I appoligise. I thought the initial claim and refutation was a little on topic, but it has shifted and we should stop. I will at least. I just saw this post and you called me out correctly.

Sorry again.

I second what he said. Agree to disagree CNTOAN?
The Black Forrest
23-05-2005, 23:16
two words: target practice.

hehe j/k

Psst.

Hey buddy. If you think only conseratives own and can shoot guns, you have a great deal to learn.
The Black Forrest
23-05-2005, 23:18
Ok thread hijackers.

Why not start a new thread to argue about the shrub?
Cannot think of a name
23-05-2005, 23:18
I second what he said. Agree to disagree CNTOAN?
I even removed my 'last word.' I'm sure we'll have an 'on-topic' chance to go at it again, we can return this thread to it's intent.
The Second Holy Empire
23-05-2005, 23:20
7th grade U.S. History class, bell just rang, as we were leaving my principal came on the announcments with tears in her voice and said the towers have been hit. Although I was pretty young and didn't really know what happend from the announcments I felt pretty angry and just walked out and muttered to myself, "Fucking terrorsits."
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 23:21
I even removed my 'last word.' I'm sure we'll have an 'on-topic' chance to go at it again, we can return this thread to it's intent.

I agree with you dude!
CanuckHeaven
23-05-2005, 23:21
I love how people are always saying how bad Bush was prior to this incident. Be advised that we wouldn't have gone to war with any nation had 9/11 not happened.

And yes, I firmly believe that
Ummmm Bush was planning a way to get Saddam before 911. So I am sure that there was going to be a war, one way or another. :(

It is unfortunate that Bush tacked Iraq onto the war on terrorism map.

BTW, for the record, I was at work when the tragedy occurred. I was called into the para medics room (who had the TV on). At that time, the first tower was smoking but no one was sure of what was going on. When the 2nd plane hit the towers, I got a sick, uneasy feeling in my gut. I realized that I was witnessing the deaths of many people and that it was an attack against the US. My condolences to anyone here who lost a friend or relative in that catastrophe.
New Shiron
23-05-2005, 23:24
9/11 ranks with one of those days I will always remember....

in the 1940s everyone remembered where they were when they learned about Pearl Harbor, and then later, V-E and V-J Days

in the 1960s, it was the assassination of John F Kennedy, and then later (and more happily) the moon landings

as a NASA brat (my Dad worked there 30 years) I remember where I was when I heard about the Challenger, and then later, the Columbia. Both hurt just as deeply.

But I think only Pearl Harbor will compare with our national consciousness the way 9/11 did ... for the same reasons. America, which had essentially been adrift in compliancy and a little (but clearly not enough) wariness about the world situation, was brutally and unexpectedly (from a public viewpoint) shaken out of that and events were set in motion, for good or ill, that will impact the world for decades to come.
Corneliu
23-05-2005, 23:26
as a NASA brat (my Dad worked there 30 years) I remember where I was when I heard about the Challenger, and then later, the Columbia. Both hurt just as deeply.

Even I remember where I was for Columbia. Not so much Challenger because of my age at the time but my parents remember.
LazyHippies
23-05-2005, 23:28
I was working on some sort of report or research paper for university and all the librarians were talking about it. I asked them about it and found out what they knew (not much at the time). So, I went online to find what I could, cnn.com was down so the best I could do was get filled in on what was happening by a friend who was online and watching cnn. I felt some shock, some disbelief (the tower fell?!), and some satisfaction. I finished my research, went home, and skipped all my classes for the day so I could watch the coverage.
Arytian
23-05-2005, 23:29
I was in a Judo grading competition, didn't know much about it, tried to turn on the TV for The Simpsons I think it was, only saw a tower and black smoke, didn't realise what it was really. Then I heard and just said "O...Fuck!", I was only eleven
Great Dalatonia
23-05-2005, 23:32
I was on my bus to school when a kid came on and told us that a plane hit one of the towers. Everyone thought it was a joke untill 1st period, when it was announced over the loudspeakers. I started crying so hard (I'm orginally from Staten Island and all of my relatives are either firefighters or police officers in Manhatten or Queens). The entire day I was freaking out.
Kaumpa
23-05-2005, 23:40
It was my seniur year of high school.
I was probably in band (first hour)
I went to study hall and they were showing the buildings burning on TV.
I had too much social studies homework so I didn't think much of it.
I went to Social Studies next and we watched the TV all hour.
My teacher muted it to talk about its significance right before the Pentagon was hit. Before the end of the hour both towers had calapsed.
Since I went to a perochial school we went to chapel and prayed and the chapel speeker delivered a message, but I don't remember how applicable it was to the events that had just transpired. Choir was next and we had just happened to be rehearsing Be Still My Soul. Many of us had a hard time keeping it together as we sang. For much of the rest of the day we spent in front of the TV. However in a few of my classes we actually managed to get something accomplished. Some suggested that we cancel school because a number of schools in the area were canceled, but our principle figured that it wasn't necessary since it was doutful that the next terrorist target was a Lutheran high school in Detroit.
Teh Cameron Clan
23-05-2005, 23:41
I remember I had just gotten up a while ago and was getting ready for school and my mom was upset about something but I didnt realise what had happened until about 30min later while I was in the car going to school. all day no one got much done mostly taked about what happend and I remember watching the towers go down and the chill it sent thruought me thinking of all the people still in the buildings.
The Second Holy Empire
23-05-2005, 23:43
The worst part for me was that during the school day everyone knew a tradgedy was going on but the teachers refused to show us the news because of what we might see, however; they were just as eager as us to know what happend so my day consisted of all of us in our homeroom with soem unlucky teacher while the rest watched tv behind closed doors. Also students were being called down for early dismisal in groups and my best friend just dissapeared. Later I remember lunch with dozens of parents in the cafeteria talking and I walked outside with my friends and I thought I was in a dream and everything seemed to be moving slowly. Very crazy and disturbing day.
Kalthorn
23-05-2005, 23:52
I was FURIOUSLY MASTERBAITING OMGOMGOGMOGMOGOMGGMOGMOGOMGMOGMG LOLOL!!!! Just kidding. I was in the school library looking for a book to read for some stupid book report assignment when our teacher called everyone over to watch CNN on television (Our school had projector things on the ceiling so you could watch tv/put on presentations etc) and we all watched it on there. I remember watching the towers collapse and was like "whoa, this is like a movie". It didn't seem real.
31
24-05-2005, 00:40
I was in Japan, in my apartment with my roommate at the time, a muslim, and we were about to watch Chicken Run. A friend emailed me on my kaitai and told me to turn on the news, we did and saw it happening.
Katganistan
24-05-2005, 00:44
I was teaching across the river. Many of my students' parents worked there or in the environs. We watched the towers go down, then had the entire transit and school systems on lockdown. We had to stay until each student was picked up. Some weren't.

Some of our students were working in the Towers in the "Co-op" program. They survived, thank God, but needed extensive therapy for what they saw.

I had to continue to go through the motions of teaching to keep my students occupied, and had to shut all the windows because of the ash and concrete dust raining in like filthy snow.

One of my students, who is an amazing young man, said exactly the right thing at the right time to me, which allowed me to keep my composure as we tried to struggle through the day with some modicum of normalcy.

I had to spend three months breathing in dust, smoke, and incincerated people, and beating it out of my socks before coming in the door.

It was not precisely the most pleasant experience of my life.
Eh-oh
24-05-2005, 00:45
i was walking home from school at the time
Funky Beat
24-05-2005, 04:00
I was watching CatDog when I first heard about it... but it actually happened really early in the morning our time so I would have been sleeping when it happened...
Lianeth
24-05-2005, 04:19
Raining, school out, I asleep. Heard the news, dismised it as a joke of poor taste. Ate waffles, took a bath, promptly forgot the news. Reveled in the downpour. I find out about noon, stare flatly at all doomsday-prophets(esses), know that it is too late to get reliable info... stack it in the "memorable events" file in my brain.
Vaitupu
24-05-2005, 22:45
There had been rumors from the journalism class that a plane had hit some major building...It had happened within the last few minutes of class, so even students from that class wern't really sure what had happened.

I went to honors geom., and the principal came on and announced that the WTC tower had been hit. At first, it really wasnt a big deal...a plane hit a tall building, it's happened before. I was a little worried because I have family in that area, but none in the WTC buildings

I went down to the office to make a photocopy of something, and watched the 2nd plane hit...the principal (holding back tears) announced it immediatly as it happened.

The rest of the day was spent just kinda...being.

I remember my spanish teacher saying it was "those muslims", and I just wanted to punch her for being so stupid...Yeah, it was all "those muslims" because they're all the same. To this day, she still disgusts me for making that comment in a school system with several muslims, not to mention at a time when many were just worried about family members and wern't looking for placing blame.

I remember it must have been a tuesday, because I was supposed to have drama club. I was a sophomore, but had gained respect and trust in the group, and it became my job to decide if there was going to be a meeting that day. I said no, and the advisor made a sign that said "go home, and be human for the night". The club members came up to the door (I was sitting there to answer questions about some rehersal time and such), saw the sign, and walked in any way. They sat down, and comforted eachother. It really was a great thing to see, that this club was close enough that they chose to treat eachother as family.
New Sernpidel
24-05-2005, 22:56
I was walkin from my math class to my science class when i first found out, the science teacher had it on the TV. That was all we watched for the rest of the day.
Dominus Gloriae
24-05-2005, 23:01
I was at school, just waking up when my relatives told me what happened,Iturned on the BBC world service to hear what happened.
Neo RK
24-05-2005, 23:01
School. When I first heard it I was arriving home from school, and I thought it was either a joke, a nightmare or misinterpreted information.
CelebrityFrogs
24-05-2005, 23:03
I was in venice at the time, and due to not seeing a TV, I was unaware of it till two days later when I met an american guy on a boat from Italy to Greece. I don't generally buy newspapers when I'm away, but I got one when I arrived in greece. I think I'm probably one of the few people in the western world who was unaware for a few days of it happening.
Maugham
24-05-2005, 23:04
I only heard partial information. I remember sitting in my CLASS 102 waiting for the professor. He was 20 minutes late and counting ... I wrote in my scribbler "I think my prof has been hit by an enemy plane."

Then I got home and realized exactly what had happened and felt awful.
JDillinger
24-05-2005, 23:33
I remember turning on the news in the morning, before school. I said "Hey mom, they've grounded all flights."

"oh really? well, lets go to school"

in the car, i realized why those flights were grounded.
it was the only thing on the radio on the whole way to school, but i didnt really realize it was a big deal. after 2 or 3 periods of watching nothing but this, i finally understood.

i guess it didnt affect me much anyway.



the following is taken from the yes men's website(gatt.org):

A matter of perspective helps. On September 11, 3000 people died in the towers as a result of terrorism. On the same day, 24,000 people died of hunger, 6,020 children were killed by diarrhoea, and 2,700 children were killed by measles. (New Internationalist Magazine, November 2001, pp. 18-19)
The Bauhas
24-05-2005, 23:34
I was sitting in my English class, reading.
The teacher told us what happened, and switched on the TV to keep us all posted on what was going on.
Wurzelmania
24-05-2005, 23:35
Got home from school a few minutes after the first hit.

Stopped caring by the time I got to sleep.

Realised what a stupid thing that was when I read the morning paper and saw what Bush was saying.
Mamicum
25-05-2005, 00:08
I was listening to the radio when i first heard the news. In a very dark-humour kinda way, the Dj was halfway through playing 'Burn Baby Burn' by Ash when he cut the song short and announced that a plane had just flew into one of the twin towers. I think he was 'asked to retire' in the end, which was kinda mean cos how was he to know what was going on right at that time on the other side of the world (I'm English).
Vaitupu
25-05-2005, 04:54
the following is taken from the yes men's website(gatt.org):

A matter of perspective helps. On September 11, 3000 people died in the towers as a result of terrorism. On the same day, 24,000 people died of hunger, 6,020 children were killed by diarrhoea, and 2,700 children were killed by measles. (New Internationalist Magazine, November 2001, pp. 18-19)

It really is tragic how many people die daily when their deaths could be prevented...

but I think there is an explination for 9/11 and why it is viewed as being so tragic. It was man doing it to man. disease is a virus or bacterium...hunger could be thousands of things from poverty to famine to bad harvest. But for 3000+ people to be slaughtered by other humans, its shocking to say the least. I think it also affected my region more harshly than others...I'm in Connecticut, so we are very closely tied to New York City. It was our volunteer fire troops and police troops and regular citizens driving to the city daily to help clean up, then driving home and breaking down into tears. It brings it close to home. I can see how being in England can create a great deal of seperation, but here it was impossible to just say "wow, that sucks" and keep going.
Nekone
25-05-2005, 05:01
what was I doing... I was sleeping. (happened about 3-4 o'clock in the morning... so it was one hellava wake up call...

same thing when the Challenger exploded.
Phantasmere
25-05-2005, 05:07
I was on my way to Wise, Viriginia, for my 9th grade class field trip. We were without T.V. for two days; you can imagine how many of us were huddled around the radio.
Portrigh
25-05-2005, 05:13
On duty at Northwood HQ, London. We didn't have TV in our section but had a radio, total stunned silence for a while as we listened then dashing around to try and see some TV picks......but by the time we finished work it was party down the SNCO's Mess for Cpls Night, so it was out of our minds for most of the night, all was talked about.....

Suppose being in the military you look, evalute and then get on with things....
Californian Refugees
25-05-2005, 05:22
It was six months before I got married. I was living in a tiny room in Hong Kong, and even though I had a TV, there was no place to connect it to....so couldn't turn it on. My fiancee called me and described to me what was happening (911) on the evening news. I didn't really take her seriously, figuring she was over-reacting, and didn't really think about it until I showed up for work the next morning and saw continual replays on the TV in the lobby. I was pretty much in a state of shock all morning.
Lord-General Drache
25-05-2005, 06:30
I was in IPC. On the way to school, I'd heard about a plane hitting the first tower, and thought "Odd..Must've been someone who got lost and crashed their Cessna." I wound up getting to school a bit early, and told my teacher about it, who turned on the news. When I saw the first tower fall, the girl in front of me commented on its collapsing..I thought she must be mistaken, that it was simply alot of smoke obscuring it..then the second one went. Later, one of the principals made the announcement that teachers were to leave the TVs turned off and that students get the news at home, and that it was interrupting class time. *rolls eyes* That seriously pissed me off.