NationStates Jolt Archive

This is in response to the fact that the movie "World Trade Center" even exists. It's only been five years, people. A movie shouldn't be made this early about it. There is an event that happens every once in a while that you can remember where you were and what you were doing. For many, this is it. So, what were you doing and where were you when you heard about the WTC or the Pentagon?

I was a freshman in High School back in California, and I was on the bus to school. Usually we listened to this shitty top 40 station that I detested, and I would listen to my Walkman. But I couldn't hear the radio station, and so I figured that it was broken. Everyone was talking to eachother, and I wasn't paying too much attention. Then I heard that the radio was indeed on, but not on the top 40. It was on the local AM station, and I heard the description I remember it clearly: "…there is smoke and fire billowing from the Pentagon, there both civilian and military running from the fire, and military fire services are trying to control the fire. We have just received word that the South Tower of the World Trade Center has collapsed…" I was stunned, the radio continued about the Pentagon. There were people crying on the bus. Others were talking anxiously, regurgatating what they had just heard on the radio, listening intently to each other though they had all heard the same thing, but they listened as though they were hearing it for the first time, because they just didn't believe it. Still others, and this was the majority of the people on the bus, myself included, were dead silent, shocked, listening to the radio like it was the most important thing ever. The entire five-mile ride to school was solemn. The entire day was solemn. That was 9/11 to me.

Where were you and what were you doing?

I was at home on the computer playing The Sims when my brother came in and said "jets just flew into some big building in the city!"

I immediately turned on the television to see what happened, and literally just froze in my seat, because I had realized it was the WTC, where my uncle worked. Then I heard about the Pentagon and such before seeing the WTC collapse.

It was such a surreal day... :eek:

Meh, for me 9/11 was just something to watch on TV. What meant much more to me was the 1998 Omagh Bombing. And they made a movie about that a few years later.

crying

I was in class, a girl ran into the room saying that we were At War. We turned on the TV and we caught the second plane crash into the WTC. Through the rest of the day every class was playing the news channel.

I was in 8th grade. They made an announcement over the loudspeakers but I didn't hear anything else about it until I got home at 3 and I saw the news reports. Of course, this was after the towers were hit and collapsed so I didn't see the attacks occur in real time.

I was playing in mud....

Kidding. :)

I was on the road. My ex-roommate and I were on our way to his home town on the other side of Connecticut. As we were traveling down I-95, we noticed a few oddities. For instance, every weigh station was open. They're hardly ever open! Then we saw a sign that said all bridges and tunnels into Manhattan were closed. Wel, we knew something was up, but we had no idea what until we got to his uncle's house. WHen we got there, he told us that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center. When we got to his basement rec room and watching CNN, we learned that two planes had crashed into it; One into each tower and that's when I said, "That's no accident". As we watched for the next couple hours, we learned about the Pentagon, and flight 93 and I watched as the towers collapsed. It was pretty horrifying.

I remember clearly saying, "Do these people have any idea what they've done? If they knew aything about their enemy, they would know just how big of a mistake this was." And I was right. ...Until we somehow got sidetracked by Iraq. *sigh*

I was actually in the 9th grade, in history class learning how the Music died (think about the song American Pie). Another teacher came in and told the teacher to turn on the television, that a plane had hit New York. I ended up watching the TV for the rest of the day in school... with the acception of French Class, because the French teacher said that "it has nothing to do with the French Language"

*snip*

I was in 4th grade, and at school. That morning I'd gotten busted for not doing my reading assignment even though I'd been sick the day before and didn't have the book with me. My sister stayed home though because she was still sick. At one point during the day there was a lockdown. I didn't know what was going on and figured, well, maybe it's a drill or something (nobody knew what had happened). After school I understood why- my mom and my sister were at home watching the news and my sister said "some buildings got blown up today!" and I remember watching the whole thing thinking, who could do this? What kind of person would do this? I didn't cry, I was PISSED.

And I'm still pissed about what you called me in the movie thread! :mad:

I was playing "Axis & Allies" on computer, playing as Japan and bombing the living shit out of the US.

Then my mum called me and told me, and I watched TV for the rest of the afternoon. They didn't show Star Trek that day.

I was 11 sitting in science before lunch and I remember a teacher from the office asking my teacher to come outside they talked for a bit and the teacher came back in as if nothing had happened

Only learnt about it when I got home odd really this had absolutely no affect on me or the kids at school the only real time someone got scared was when we invaded Iraq and a friend asked me worriedly about if we would come under attack I foolishly said that wouldn’t happen

(oh and Saddams pre-war speech made me late for school and thus get an hour detention after school I hope that bastard hangs for this!)

I was on my way home from school when I heard about it. I must admit that I smiled when I heard it, because the idea was so prepostuous that I didn't manage to comprehend what I'd just heard. I didn't realise it until I got home and I was in a state of shock for about three days afterwards.

I was in 3rd grade... I remember that the weather was great and when I was in class a teacher came and told the teacher to turn on the tv. When she did we all saw the WTC 1 in flames and a helicopter flying around the building. The teacher soon turned the tv off. I had no clue what was happining. I didnt know what the WTC was. When I got home I was outside playing with my friends and then we heard a large boom. Then we lived in apartments and everyone outside was looking up at the sky and then later ran inside. Once I got inside the tv was on and all I saw were two buildings coming down, The next day I was watching the news and i saw home videos from people from the ground running from huge walls of smoke. When I grew older then I learned what happended and currently watching a movie on tv(New) about the WTC and 9/11....Quite Scary.

I was at recessand they just kept us outside for almost 2 hours before they let us in. then they told us.

It was the morning after second night that my oldest had slept through the night, the first night she had slept through the night I woke up every 10 minutes to check on her, and the night of the 10th I had been able to sleep, for the first time in months, and my stupid mom calls me at 6am and leaves the following cryptic message

"there was like this plane and some building, and it's scary"

so I woke up, turned on the TV, just in time to see the second plane hit:(

Then my kid woke up hungry, and I nursed her while answering the 40 some odd phone calls that came in..........

EDIT: I have less vague memories about the OKC bombing since I was less than a mile away from it.

I was in 4th grade, and at school.

:eek:

I was in Friedberg, Germany (I'd been a Private First Class for 3 months) working on my HMMWV in the battallion motor pool. It was in the afternoon and we heard on the radio that a plane hit the World Trade Center. We all assumed it was a Cessna or something like that. Then we heard it was a larger plane, I vaguely remember a DC-10 being mentioned and we said, "Well, that sucks. Oh well." And then we heard another plane hit, and then we knew something serious was going on. I remember a Palestinian group claiming responsibility, but they quickly reneged on that. We got a phone call from the First Sergeant telling everyone to have a rucksack packed at 1700 formation. We ran back to the barracks to see the news and I got there just in time to watch the second tower collapse. The base had gone to Threatcon Delta (the highest alert status) and my platoon was assigned to be the post quick reaction force. We ended up living in the MP station for about a month. We could go eat every meal (the chow hall was on the other side of the street) and we could go shower about once every 3 days. We got put on alert to go help the MPs round up soldiers from bars since the Turks in town were rioting, but the Polizei (in their usual fashion) handled it.

I was at home, randomly napping (it was around 4pm here). Got up and switched on the TV, and instead of the regular programming they showed a split screen with the burning WTC on one side and our then chancellor Schröder giving an impromptu press conference on the other.
I was all sleepy and had to do a veeeery slow double take, because the towers with all the smoke pouring from them looked like footage from your typical action movie, so I couldn't really figure out what Schröder was doing there.

Then I called a friend.

Late in the evening, I finally managed to reach a friend working in downtown NYC.

Then I spent the next three days in front of the TV and the computer.

On the 14th I flew to Malaysia on a university field trip. That was rather eery, especially since they had to change the route so as not to fly over Afghanistan, which had just started to be bombed.

Sophomore year of high school, in my Advanced Placement American History class (APAH, greatest class in the history of high school), and we were getting ready for the 'colonial debates'. The principal got onto the PA and told the teachers that something had happened in New York, and that they should turn on the televisions. All of my teachers gave up on class, and watched CNN, except for my biology teacher, who was a witch, and my band director, but what he did was he gave us the option to go outside and sit on the grass or watch TV, we all opted for sitting outside, it was lovely weather. Then in an act of supreme munificence, he canceled after school rehearsal.

i was in school for most of the day and managed to not hear about it at all until i got back to my place with my mate Alex, who used to hang around mine sometimes on the way back to his house, and my mum called to say 'turn on the TV!'

i couldn't quite believe it for some time, and just remember sitting down and watching in near-silence for the next hour or so as the second tower got hit.

I was on a bus being taken down from the High School to the Junior High School (I had Orchestra up at the High School, since the School District was too damn cheap to hire a teacher for the JH). 2 guys in front of me started talking about how they were going to go home and "try it out" on Flight Simulator (These were 8th graders, so cut them some slack). I had no clue what they were talking about so after 5 minutes of wheedling I got them to tell me what the hell had happened, but I thought they were shitting me.

I went to math class and told the teacher "Someone told me an awful joke about the news" and she just looked at me and said "It wasn't a joke".

I was a fucked up little 7th grader, so I spent the rest of the day with my friends happy about the war we were going to get to see... :(

I was in school, and afterwards I went to a restaurant with a couple of class mates to get supper. We weren't near any televisions or radios, and it wasn't like people in the restaurant were talking about it, so we had no idea what had happened until we got home in the evening. By that time there wasn't much doubt about what had happened, so a couple of us went running, and when I came home I went to bed. I remember being quite "meh" about the whole thing; it was on the other side of the world and a bunch of foreigners, what did I care. I remember having Cambridge exams to study for around that period, so that was much more important to me.

I had just woken upo and gotten out of the shower when my mom comes in and tells me that i needed to come and see the news. I came out and sat down and started watching. I saw the clip over and over again. The bit where the planes hit. It took a while to sink in that we had just been attacked. Being a 5th grader, i tried to get out of school for it, but no dice.

I was siting in math class...they teachers didn't even let us watch the news

I was a fucked up little 7th grader, so I spent the rest of the day with my friends happy about the war we were going to get to see... :(

Yeah, I know what you mean. I was in 8th Grade, and I felt so much anger that I wanted to literally nuke the Middle East and kill as many Muslims as possible...of course, I calmed down and let reason prevail. I saw that such a recourse was as evil as the attacks themselves.

It was really scary how strong a reaction those attacks provoked, almost to the point of supporting religious massacre.

I had just come home from school where I did an intership (future teacher Eng/Bio) and had lunch in front of the tellie. I was channelsurfing, hoping to get an idea for English class on the next day. I kept switching between BBC and CNN and fell asleep with CNN on. That kind of digestive slumber where while you do have your eyes closed and the brain shut on stand-by, you still hear what they're saying.

And then they talk about some airplane hitting a building in NYC. Huh. Those crazy sports airplane pilots, trying to pull a stunt or what? Three years before that in 1998 I had been to NYC (only made it to the 1st floor of the WTC, lacking time that day...) and my sister and me were invited by one of her teacher's friends to take a flight around Manhatten in a Cherokee Piper.
Still have some great b/w pictures from that flight (if only I knew where!).

Anyway, I kept listening to them saying that it was the WTC which was hit - and then my sister and mother got home as well and they started showing the planes hit the towers.

Spent the whole day watching 3-4 different channels on 2 televisions. And I didn't have any problems finding a topic for English class the next day.

Elaboration from me!

I was horrified and riveted initially, then I became fascinated and detached. After an hour, I found myself just watching. It was a rough jolt when the towers collapsed, but I relapsed into be detached very quickly afterwards. I was pissed at my biology teacher, because she was a failure at life, and didn't understand the historic importance of the moment, and I had the spend the entirety of lunch convincing one of the fellows at my table that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with it, and another fellow that the US Government had nothing to do with it.

That's me, captain level headed analyst.

When I got home, I blew off the stress by mowing the yard, and playing Command and Conquer: Red Alert. That was arguably the best I'd ever done with that game.

When I got home, I blew off the stress by mowing the yard, and playing Command and Conquer: Red Alert. That was arguably the best I'd ever done with that game.

When I first read this, I thought you meant RA2, the one where you blow up the WTC in the first mission as the Soviets! :eek:

I'd just arrived late at work again, and one of the girls in admin came over to my desk and said she'd just heard something about a plane hitting the WTC on her desk radio. I asked her what sort of plane, with no terrible amount of concern. I'd thought she'd meant something the approximate size of a Cessna.

She said she thought it was something bigger than that, and asked our IT guy if there was an way we could patch in one of our spare plasma monitors into the office TV cable to see if there was anything on the news.

We found some coax cable and plugged in - first thing we saw was the one tower all smoking. I was stunned; Just as I was about to say something, a second plane crossed into view and hit the second tower.

And we were all stunned then. The rest of the morning was spent trying to figure out what was going on, where it was going on, and whether to be concerned for my safety or the safety of any of my loved ones.

Work let out about a quarter to eleven.

8th Grade, Computer Applications (2nd Hour). It never seemed real to me, I couldnt get it too that day, but some part of sort of died when the second plane hit. It was so obvious that it was intentional. It finally seemed real when the culmination of news and speeches made me realize we were retaliating.

A thought-
<> I despise Bush as any kind of leader, I dont think he could be expected to competently run a hot dog stand. However, it cannot be denied: that day, America was out for blood, and I suspect he wouldnt even be president now if he had not made the choice we now know to have wrong.

When I first read this, I thought you meant RA2, the one where you blow up the WTC in the first mission as the Soviets! :eek:
Didn't even think about that at the time, but no, it was the original Red Alert, with the weird game pace and everything.

I was on my way to work and listening to NPR when reports came in of a fire in one of the WTC towers. By the time I arrived at the office and booted up the PC to check the news browsers, the whole tragedy was beginning to unfold. I work for a Car Rental company at their headquarters and we went into an immediate "red alert" mode when all the flight cancellations started. We ended up having to set policies for several hundred of our US locations for one-way rentals between locations that were then mainly franchise owned and without pre-eisting agreements. At the time, this was the only way stranded passengers could make their way home and we had to assure we had vehicles for these customers let alone figure out a way for the vehicles to return in like manner to their home base. The events in NYC, The Pentagon and Pennsylvania were traumatic in and of themselves to us but compounded by the high level of service we were called to perform in the first change of our world when the towers fell.

Thinking Oh great, now we will hear about this FOREVER and a day!:mad:




I am so tired of hearing about this....I was unaffected then and remain so. I watched it for 4 seconds and then watched music videos and played video games the rest of the day.

They had been teaching us about those starving poor countries elsewhere (which was almost incomprehesible to me--how could there not be plentiful food and jobs?) and so, when I heard that a few thousand had died, it didn't seem to be as big of a problem as dying children in Africa. I never really cared about it, actually. Do you remember all the paranoid news and stuff we got after september eleventh? I thought it was utterly ridiculous that people would make such a big deal out of it.
But I never thought we would go to war due to it, since it wasn't a country that had attacked us. Heh, cray-zee.

I was busy all day on the 11th, and didn't hear anything about it until the 12th. I do distinctly remember thinking "I bet they pick a random country to invade." I guess I proved my precognitive abilities true.

Well I was in 3rd grade ( I know, it's shocking that I'm young) and we had just gotten out of music class. There was some message about it on the announcements and our teacher said "This is what we'd call a 'National Crisis', kids." I had no idea what was going on and remember that footage of the attack was all that was on for that day. I was mad because I didn't get to see Digimon that day. I was a stupid kid.

I was working in the warehouse of a large moving company at the time. I went out on first break, and noticed one of the guys sitting at the picnic table. Now, keep in mind that this guy is kind of a large, mutant-man with a serious speech impediment. The first words out of his mouth were 'we got turned back at the border'.

'Really?' I said.

'Yeah, America under attack!' (I had to get him to repeat it a couple of times, partially because he was difficult to understand at the best of times, and I was having a hard time believing what he was saying.)

Moments later, other people were coming out to light up, and everyone was talking about the first tower going down. A bunch of meatheads in the warehouse went on about nuking the middle-east and so on, but I was wrapping my head around the fact that I had just read Tom Clancy's 'Debt of Honour', where one of the characters crashes a jumbo jet into the white house.

It was all a little surreal.

Thinking Oh great, now we will hear about this FOREVER and a day!:mad:




I am so tired of hearing about this....I was unaffected then and remain so. I watched it for 4 seconds and then watched music videos and played video games the rest of the day.
I'll be only too pleased to add to your displeasure. Narcissistic twit.

I was getting ready for work. I had gotten a cup of coffee and gone into the living room to watch the news while I drank it. I think I was sort of mesmerized for the next half hour as I watched everything happen. It was 6:00 am California time, so I was watching things as they actually happened. I still get chills when I think about it.

I remember thinking that I was so glad my kids were out of the Navy, because this was going to mean war.

I was sleeping. Then I got up for the dress rehearsal of the play I was starring in at the time. It went great. So did the final performance. It was a tournament of sorts, and we placed first in Australia. What?! Oh right, the WTC attacks..yeah, it was quite the damper on my big day, lucky it was only the dress rehearsal.

I had taken a temporary position with the British government doing some consulting for a MP. The organization I was with had set me up on one of those tourist bus tours of London, I had just arrived the day before.

The bus driver, who had email going to his cellphone, got on the loudspeaker and said a plane hit the WTC. Now the first thing I thought was "wow, that's horrible, some small plane flying into JFK or Laguardia lost an engine, flew off course, and crashed into a building. Tragic, hope people are OK."

Then a few minutes later we heard another plane had hit. At this point I realized...this wasn't an accident.

Things got a little crazy after that.

I was going to a school that was mixed in with other grades at the time, anyway we had a 10 minute break around ten, someone had brought in a tiny radio, (Size of an Ipod) and was showing it off, the teacher didn't care really, anyway in the middle of the student listening he just stopped talking... Everyone just stopped and stared as he repeated the report that came over the radio... It was right when the second attack happened. We got shocked and fearful. I was just 'there' most of the day, I couldn't think or anything. Some people tried to teach but it was pointless. Everyone was too on edge.

Especially before everyone found out where Flight 93 crashed, we were worried that they would hit something like a nuclear powerplant or something. We were guessing what they could reach with what fuel they supposedly had while causing a large enough explosion, Which was basicly everything in the Northeastern part of America.

As for myself, I remember thinking that I knew now how people felt on December 7th 1941.

When I snapped out of it, I was angry, When I went home I played Red Alert also, then Half-life, then every other FPS I could get my hands on, Because I wanted to see the ones who did it suffer, but since I couldn't, I killed Aliens and Evil Commies instead.

I'll be only too pleased to add to your displeasure. Narcissistic twit.



http://www.abestweb.com/smilies/ecomcity.gif



You done now?

Oddly enough, I was travelling across the Hwy. 11 bridge between New Orleans East & Slidell. I was working as a travelling salesman at the time and was on my way to a new account. Anyway, that's the bridge I'm pretty sure everyone saw pictures of on the news following Katrina because the storm lifted entire sections of the bridge up and dropped them in the lake!

Smoking a cig around w. 10th st. Getting back to Queens was a bitch but at least the busses were running when I got there.

I had just woken up at 3 in the afternoon, and logged onto a business-related forum.

Right away, I saw a post titled something like:

"OMG PLANES ARE CRASHING INTO THE WTC!"

and another thread timestamped soon after that (from the same guy) went something like:
"ANOTHER ONE JUST CRASHED!"

The veracity of that particular forum was...minimal, so I decided to check CNN to verify, knowing that if anything like that really happened, they'd still be on about it even though it was about 6 hours afterwards.

It was For Real!! That was a shock. I watched the TV for about half an hour, then turned it off since all they were doing was saying the same stuff repeatedly only using different words. Just the typical crapola pseudoreporting that news people do when they don't yet know anything besides the obvious, but can't bring themselves to relinquish the airwaves either.

As I watched that 1/2 hour's worth of actual news, I thought, "This is War. I wonder who's gonna Get It?"

I sure didn't expect it to be some wing-dong place like Afghanistan...

I was reporting to my CIA boss on the explosive rig we had just set up in the WT... erm... I mean... I was getting dressed to go to work. Yes, that's it! I was putting my socks on when they cut the CNN to show the smoke coming out of the first tower hit.

Somewhere in the backblocks of Canada, away from any TV, radio, internet, newspapers, etc. We didn't know it had happened, until we came back into town two days later.

I was in bed when it happened.

But at school people talked a bit about it the first day. We made jokes about wanting the school to get hit. The next day, when we had all seen the NEWS footage, there was a very different attitude.

I was in bed, and was scheduled to fly to Providence, Rhode Island to visit my brother on the next day (September 12th). My brother woke my girlfriend and me up with a phone call, saying "You're not coming." When I groggily replied (living then in Ellensburg, WA, it was something like half past six when the second plane hit) with some form of "huh?", and he just said "turn on the TV" and hung up.

My brother is a good talker and we've lived across the continent from each other for some time, so he never likes to leave a phone call without at least a bit of conversation; I knew something huge had happened. I turned on the TV and I don't think I turned it off for about 18 hours. We just sat there and said "holy shit" about once every couple of minutes. What else could we do?

We eventually flew out to Providence by way of Newark on September 17th. The flight from Newark to Providence took us just east of Manhattan. The smoke from Ground Zero was still pouring out of the rubble and trailing off over the eastern horizon. I will never forget that sight or the absolute silence in the cabin of that plane.

I was actually in the 9th grade, in history class learning how the Music died (think about the song American Pie). Another teacher came in and told the teacher to turn on the television, that a plane had hit New York. I ended up watching the TV for the rest of the day in school... with the acception of French Class, because the French teacher said that "it has nothing to do with the French Language"
Jeez. I'd like to think that had I been there, I'd have said "Actually, it does. See, these people attacked the USA -- my country. And without my country, yours MIGHT NOT EXIST ANYMORE and NEITHER MIGHT YOUR RIDICULOUS, OVER-VOWELED, FAGOTTY LANGUAGE! Now turn the damn TV news on, fuckwad." Of course, I probably wouldn't have, but I might have thought it.

I was late for class and didn't know what was going on until I sat down and my art teacher was talking about it.

Jeez. I'd like to think that had I been there, I'd have said "Actually, it does. See, these people attacked the USA -- my country. And without my country, yours MIGHT NOT EXIST ANYMORE and NEITHER MIGHT YOUR RIDICULOUS, OVER-VOWELED, FAGOTTY LANGUAGE! Now turn the damn TV news on, fuckwad." Of course, I probably wouldn't have, but I might have thought it.
And all French teacher in US are French? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?

Anyway. I had just came home from school. Turned tv on to watch the 16.00 news. Saw the second plane crashing into the South Tower (live). Surfed between news channels for the rest of the day.

Thinking Oh great, now we will hear about this FOREVER and a day!:mad:




I am so tired of hearing about this....I was unaffected then and remain so. I watched it for 4 seconds and then watched music videos and played video games the rest of the day.
Once again, you display that sense of utility we've come to expect from you.

And all French teacher in US are French? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?

Not ridiculous at all. If I'd have been in his/her place, I'd have been in high school, highly agitated, and likely not caring about such distinctions. How do you know that teacher wasn't French? My HS German teacher was German, is it so ridiculous to assume that a French teacher just might be French?

Not ridiculous at all. If I'd have been in his/her place, I'd have been in high school, highly agitated, and likely not caring about such distinctions. How do you know that teacher wasn't French? My HS German teacher was German, is it so ridiculous to assume that a French teacher just might be French?
With ridiculous I meant this part "See, these people attacked the USA -- my country. And without my country, yours MIGHT NOT EXIST ANYMORE and NEITHER MIGHT YOUR RIDICULOUS, OVER-VOWELED, FAGOTTY LANGUAGE! Now turn the damn TV news on, fuckwad."

I was in secondary school, walking down the hill to the bus, when I heard one of my classmates across the road saying some disaster had happened in the US. Wasn't unitl I got to the shopping centre where I was supposed to meet my Mom that I realised something was really up. There is always the same shitty tunes played all over again and again in this shopping centre butn ot that day the radio was on, and then my Mom told me. At that stage the second tower had just fallen and reports were that up to 50,000 were dead. It was pretty scary, just the thought of the economic collapse that could have been.


Its funny most ppl remember where they were when they heard about the twin towers, Princess Diana (if your European) but can anyone remember where they were when mother Theresa died?

Its funny most ppl remember where they were when they heard about the twin towers, Princess Diana (if your European) but can anyone remember where they were when mother Theresa died?
Because when an old woman at the age of 87 dies of natural causes, it's shocking news...

I was giving a luncheon-party for a few intimate friends ( and one whom I planned to make intimate ;) )

With ridiculous I meant this part "See, these people attacked the USA -- my country. And without my country, yours MIGHT NOT EXIST ANYMORE and NEITHER MIGHT YOUR RIDICULOUS, OVER-VOWELED, FAGOTTY LANGUAGE! Now turn the damn TV news on, fuckwad."
Nope. Still not ridiculous. Ridiculous that you couldn't be bothered to use the quote tags, but that's splitting hairs.

As I tried to tell you before, had I been in that position -- 14-17 years old, in high school, every other classroom around me tuning in and discussing the event and the reasons behind it -- that's how I might have responded.

I've tried nuance, now I'll try frankness: read my whole post, not just the parts that piss you off. You just might find something in the entire paragraph that mitigates your unreasonable jump to a conclusion.

Clear enough?

I was sleeping, but when I woke up (in my bording school) everyone was crowded around the TV watching reports of it.

I was in sixth grade, at morning break. I heard that they evacuated the downtown of the city and that there was a bombing in NY but the principal didn't feel the need to tell us what happened until well after lunch.

As long as WTC is done in taste and isn't an 'America - Home of Jesus and the Shit' movie I think that it's okay to do a movie, even this soon. But the profits should go to a charity or something, 'cause it's one of those things that doesn't seem right to profit by.

It happened around 1:30-3:30am here.
Maybe 6ish i don't really know.
I was sleeping at the time, normally i'd be up at 7:20 to get ready to catch a 7:40 bus for school.
Mum woke me up around 6:30 or something and told me, i said sometihng like What cho talkin bout Willis!
Had a look, went back to bed, woke up went to school, had a computers class first up so the teacher pretty much gave us a free class and most people were viewing it over teh web.

Some people had a Physical Education camp and some played Possum of their knowlede of what went on earlier that day.

I have no idea what I was doing

Clear enough?
Clear. But ridiculous. I think we should move on.

I was in my kitchen. Watching the news.. Then I went to school and it was pretty normal. We talked about what had happened though. That night I watched more stuff about it on the news then went to sleep. Meh.

Later on when Ossama was blamed i went to geeks with guns and downloaded a target over his face for throwing stuff at.:p

I was in school.. I think we were reading Black Beauty..

Ugh..

There wasn't a single tv channel that didn't change into a news station for two weeks after that..

Even mtv changed over to some affiliate thing..

At home with the radio on, the programme being interrupted for "a special news feature".
My first reaction: "they had it coming".

I had just got home from school and heard it on the radio. :(

I and almost everyone I knew watched the news from 4pm to 10pm. (even here all other programming was cancelled)

I had just got home from school and heard it on the radio.

I and almost everyone I knew watched the news from 4pm to 10pm. (even here all other programming was cancelled)

Ditto. I was in 5th year (11th grade) at the time.
Also, as the scale began to be revealed to me, I began to feel a sort of admiration in a way for the logistics of it. (Purely fascinated how they managed to get it to work) Still do. It was quite impressive planning etc.

Ditto. I was in 5th year (11th grade) at the time.
Also, as the scale began to be revealed to me, I began to feel a sort of admiration in a way for the logistics of it. (Purely fascinated how they managed to get it to work) Still do. It was quite impressive planning etc.

I bet the people who helped it happen feel a great deal of pride everytime they see the plane hit or the tower fall.

I bet the people who helped it happen feel a great deal of pride everytime they see the plane hit or the tower fall.
I'd say so, yes. It was still quite an impressive amount of planning and logistics that ended up working for them.

I was in my grade 9 geography class, and my teacher came in to the room and told us that the world trade centre towers in new york had collapsed from a bombing(by the time I found out, it was probably between 10-11am, long after the attacks). At lunch time, which was next period, I told my friends and they were shocked. I guess I was, too.

I was in school and people where acting very weird so I got the whole week off of school and thats it.

I hate Towel Heads

I was on the top level of the Ballston Common Parking Garage (part of Ballston Common Mall). I watched the plane that hit the Pentagon hit the Pentagon.

Kinda unmistakable.

I remember I got my wisdom teeth pulled and felt really sorry for myself -and when i got home the whole shebang went down.

Puts things in perspective...

Well, my little bro woke me up saying "Sis, a plane crashed into those tall buildings in Nueva York, come and see it!", I went out of my bedroom, made some coffee as I watched CNN and zapped through the information list of channels in TV.

Then the second plane crashed and the terrorist attack theory took shape...

My only comment? "The fuck, this is going to be a hell of a day at work"

It was indeed...

I was on the top level of the Ballston Common Parking Garage (part of Ballston Common Mall). I watched the plane that hit the Pentagon hit the Pentagon.

Kinda unmistakable.

Which reminds me. In late May this year, I punched a guy at a nightclub here in Fairfax because he was going on about how the Pentagon crash was faked.

He left in a hurry, because a significant number of other patrons wanted their turn.

It pisses me off when people say it was faked.

Which reminds me. In late May this year, I punched a guy at a nightclub here in Fairfax because he was going on about how the Pentagon crash was faked.

He left in a hurry, because a significant number of other patrons wanted their turn.

It pisses me off when people say it was faked.

what a...civilized exchange of opinions. You indeed are a true product of your culture, and a correct analogy of your country's politics. "Hey!, that's not true. I'll punch you so you can realize it".

was working in a kitchen in a hotel. We heard a plane had it one of the towers and thought it was kind of funny... a 2 seater plane has flown it such a big building!! Talk about not paying attention!! must of been a women pilot, etc...

only heard the proper story when i was driving home.

I live 6 hours ahead of Manhattan, so at the time the planes hit, I was in the last class of school. I overheard a phone conversation about it on the train on the way home about an hour later - something about planes flying into a skyscraper in NYC. At that time, I filed it away as a reference to some movie or video game.

I remember feeling pissed though because he (the guy in the train, talking on the phone) said something about "those Amis getting what's coming to them", and at that time (pre-Iraq and all) I felt a lot closer to my country of birth than I do now.

When I got home, I heard it on the radio, and realized it was an actual event. Shocked me a bit, and the wave of sympathetic rage had me wishing Osama bin Laden and the people of Afghanistan a thousand deaths.

It took a few months before a few things sunk in (such as, "these people have rights, too", and "they do have a reason to be pissed at us other than the they hate our freedom BS", and "WTF has Iraq to do with it all?!") and I could think reasonably again. Then I noticed that hardly anyone else seemed to. And that's where we're now.

what a...civilized exchange of opinions. You indeed are a true product of your culture, and a correct analogy of your country's politics. "Hey!, that's not true. I'll punch you so you can realize it".
I was tired of hearing him rant about how the whole thing was faked by the Bush administration, etc., etc.

I listened to his crap for about 30 minutes before punching him without warning. All sorts of tinfoil stuff about faked videos, etc., how the plane couldn't have burned up, etc.

It's one thing to have a difference of opinion - it's quite another to hate Bush so much that you're willing to believe in a massive uberconspiracy that is obviously false.

I was at work and I overheard some people talking about a plane crashing into a building. I figured it was some kind of accident and continued working. But I kept hearing them talking and realized this wasn't a "routine" accident, so I got on the internet. About that time, the 2nd plane hit, and the internet slowed to a crawl. We waited at work, listening to the news, and then they let us have the rest of the day off. I was numb, and then angry.

It's one thing to have a difference of opinion - it's quite another to hate Bush so much that you're willing to believe in a massive uberconspiracy that is obviously false.
Yeah, and that justifies assault how?

You talked about the final solution for the muslim problem. That earned you a punch in the face without warning ten times more than the guy ranting against Bush, if a muslim was nearby, let's say, a moderate egyptian muslim. However, you didn't get any. Computer magic.

It's one thing a difference of opinion - it's quite another to hate muslims so much that you're willing to believe in a genocide plan to solve whatever differences you have.

everything depends on perspective, dont you think?

I was at a friend of mine, playing lego and stuuf kids do when they're twelve. I came home and my Sister shouted from the bathroom that a few planes had hit the WTC in New York. My reaction:"Hahahahahaha, you're kiddin'...right?"

Yeah, and that justifies assault how?
You tell me. Many others wanted their turn, and the bartender was not willing to call the police to help him.

The bartender told him that if he stayed, he couldn't be responsible for his safety.

You tell me. Many others wanted their turn, and the bartender was not willing to call the police to help him.

The bartender told him that if he stayed, he couldn't be responsible for his safety.
So as long as it's in a mob committing a crime is ok. Nice, real nice.

You tell me.
Ok:
It doesn't justify assault.

Maybe you could have been the bigger man and walked away?

You tell me. Many others wanted their turn, and the bartender was not willing to call the police to help him.

The bartender told him that if he stayed, he couldn't be responsible for his safety.So it's only a crime if someone calls the police and the victim isn't unpopular?

You tell me. Many others wanted their turn, and the bartender was not willing to call the police to help him.

The bartender told him that if he stayed, he couldn't be responsible for his safety.

That...is assault nevertheless, if a girl enters that bar, get a few drinks, and bitch about "all men are dogs" and that kind of statements, then you are in the right of raping her "without warning", with "many others wanting their turn", and the bartender not willing to call the police to help her, and telling her that if she stayed he couldn't be responsible for her safety?

Please.

That...is assault nevertheless, if a girl enters that bar, get a few drinks, and bitch about "all men are dogs" and that kind of statements, then you are in the right of raping her "without warning", with "many others wanting their turn", and the bartender not willing to call the police to help her, and telling her that if she stayed he couldn't be responsible for her safety?

Please.

See The Accused (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094608/).

That was exactly what inspired and motivated my post. Again, you seem to be attuned with me.

That was exactly what inspired and motivated my post. Again, you seem to be attuned with me.

Not a bad thing at all. ;)

I had just started a position as general manager of a company-I got in early and was getting a lot done before the phones started ringing. The ceo called in-he was in NYC and said a plane had hit one of the towers-we assumed it was a small private plane, and how could that happen on such a perfectly clear day?
It soon became clear that it wasnt an accident-the other plane hit, then the Pentagon was hit.
I can still remember the disgusting chill that I felt when I heard the news caster say one of the towers was "coming down" in a monotone,matter of fact voice. I watched this towers as they were built-it was stunning and shocking beyond comprehension to see them come down.

Reports said there were dozens of planes unnaccounted for and people expected many more to hit targets. I spoke to my wife once to speculate wether or not to get the kids from their schools. We agreed to talk again in a half hour, then the phones stopped working. We couldnt make or rec any calls. I had dozens of people looking at me, all with the same concerns about their families-so I let the ones go that wanted to, stayed a few more hours, but couldnt reach any clients, they couldnt reach us, so I closed for the day. It was al ong ride home, the cel phone that was always ringing was silent and I couldnt reach my wife to see if everything was alright-a relief to get home and we were ok.

It was surreal. The uncertaintly was horrible. My brother's company had been in WTC until just the previous month, but he was still in NYC and we couldnt get in touch with him till the next day when he walked to Brooklyn.
My friend was an exec at Cantor Fitzgerald. He didnt make it. He left his wife behind, pregnant with their first and only child. We were connected and related to so many people that were lost or injured that day. As we started to talk about it, we realized with horror one after another all the people we knew that were in that area. One friend had a victim that jumped land on the pavement a few feet from her as she ran. She isnt the same.

I had just started a position as general manager of a company-I got in early and was getting a lot done before the phones started ringing. The ceo called in-he was in NYC and said a plane had hit one of the towers-we assumed it was a small private plane, and how could that happen on such a perfectly clear day?
It soon became clear that it wasnt an accident-the other plane hit, then the Pentagon was hit.
I can still remember the disgusting chill that I felt when I heard the news caster say one of the towers was "coming down" in a monotone,matter of fact voice. I watched this towers as they were built-it was stunning and shocking beyond comprehension to see them come down.

Reports said there were dozens of planes unnaccounted for and people expected many more to hit targets. I spoke to my wife once to speculate wether or not to get the kids from their schools. We agreed to talk again in a half hour, then the phones stopped working. We couldnt make or rec any calls. I had dozens of people looking at me, all with the same concerns about their families-so I let the ones go that wanted to, stayed a few more hours, but couldnt reach any clients, they couldnt reach us, so I closed for the day. It was al ong ride home, the cel phone that was always ringing was silent and I couldnt reach my wife to see if everything was alright-a relief to get home and we were ok.

It was surreal. The uncertaintly was horrible. My brother's company had been in WTC until just the previous month, but he was still in NYC and we couldnt get in touch with him till the next day when he walked to Brooklyn.
My friend was an exec at Cantor Fitzgerald. He didnt make it. He left his wife behind, pregnant with their first and only child. We were connected and related to so many people that were lost or injured that day. As we started to talk about it, we realized with horror one after another all the people we knew that were in that area. One friend had a victim that jumped land on the pavement a few feet from her as she ran. She isnt the same.

That's pretty sad. It should be remembered as a tragedy.

But, what about the victims of the tsunami, the rivers filled with corpses, the clouds of buzzing flies around tons of dead human meat, the little kids running around camps trying to ease their hunger in something more than a piece of leather from a rotten belt? They deserve a day too, and to be remembered as well. I had nothing to do with neither, but both hurt the same.

I was tired of hearing him rant about how the whole thing was faked by the Bush administration, etc., etc.

I listened to his crap for about 30 minutes before punching him without warning. All sorts of tinfoil stuff about faked videos, etc., how the plane couldn't have burned up, etc.

It's one thing to have a difference of opinion - it's quite another to hate Bush so much that you're willing to believe in a massive uberconspiracy that is obviously false.
And yet for some reason I don’t feel the need to escalate words about a stupid paranoid conspiracy to the level of violence

You tell me. Many others wanted their turn, and the bartender was not willing to call the police to help him.

The bartender told him that if he stayed, he couldn't be responsible for his safety.
So a lot of people wanting to do something makes it right?

So a lot of people wanting to do something makes it right?
Absolute truth makes it right.

Absolute truth makes it right.
I didn't realize absolute truth came in the form of several bar patrons beating the crap out of an idiot.

Absolute truth makes it right.
So if I know someone’s (admittedly stupid) opinion is wrong it justifies assault … nice.

So if I know someone’s (admittedly stupid) opinion is wrong it justifies assault … nice.
If it's something as blatant as "Bush made up the whole 9-11 attacks, no one got killed, no plane crashed at the Pentagon, it was all done with special effects..."

That last part, especially since I saw the plane crash, is galling.

I believe it's like trolling. Ever wonder why people troll on the Internet? Because they can say things that are completely stupid and not worry about getting their dental work rearranged.

I didn't realize absolute truth came in the form of several bar patrons beating the crap out of an idiot.
Absolute truth as in, "I saw the plane crash into the Pentagon" as opposed to "Bush made it all up."

Absolute truth makes it right.
Well, the absolute truth of the law says you're wrong and that you're a criminal.

If it's something as blatant as "Bush made up the whole 9-11 attacks, no one got killed, no plane crashed at the Pentagon, it was all done with special effects..."

That last part, especially since I saw the plane crash, is galling.

I believe it's like trolling. Ever wonder why people troll on the Internet? Because they can say things that are completely stupid and not worry about getting their dental work rearranged.
Idealy people would be mature enough to not re-arange dental work for opinions at all

Well, the absolute truth of the law says you're wrong and that you're a criminal.
Didn't work that way.

Didn't work that way.
Nevertheless you are.

i don't remember were i was on the ninth of november.

Well, the absolute truth of the law says you're wrong and that you're a criminal.

Disgruntled patrons in a bar arguing with their fists seem to overlap Law where he lives.

i don't remember were i was on the ninth of november.That might be because you weren't alive for any of them...

That's pretty sad. It should be remembered as a tragedy.

But, what about the victims of the tsunami, the rivers filled with corpses, the clouds of buzzing flies around tons of dead human meat, the little kids running around camps trying to ease their hunger in something more than a piece of leather from a rotten belt? They deserve a day too, and to be remembered as well. I had nothing to do with neither, but both hurt the same.


Please dont for a minute suggest I overlooked the victims of the tsunami. After writing a check for a week of my pay AND my wife's to the Red cross, (giving til it hurt-we werent in a position to go without this money)the two of us worked hard to organize and collect donations from our church, boy scout pack I'm a leader of and the Mom's club my wife is the treasurer of- as well as my employer and my wife's- Food,water,clothing,tarps,gloves,blankets,money, backpacks full of comfort items specific to women,babies and children...formula, wipes,diapers
All in all, my family and I spent many hours collecting items and delivering them, hundreds of mles on our cars.
I did all I was physically able to do and encouraged many other to do so too.
My wife investigated adoption of a tsunami orphan, but realistically, we decided we couldnt as I have three children already.

Dont presume to discuss charity and giving with me.

You can only be certain of what YOU did or didnt do yourself for the victims.
That tragedy is still fresh in my mind.

Nevertheless you are.
What's interesting is that in the US, assault can be justified if the other party uses "fighting words".

In other words, if they say something that would more than outrage the average reasonable person.

So, it's as if the law says, "if he's trolling really hard, and everyone around you agrees he's trolling, you can smack the troll."

I was at college. We weren't told by the powers that be, primarily because it was such a strict place that they didn't want us to know in case it distracted us from our work. I went home, saw it on TV, saw the whole bloody thing repeated at least three times before getting bored with it and putting on a DVD.

I believe it's like trolling. Ever wonder why people troll on the Internet? Because they can say things that are completely stupid and not worry about getting their dental work rearranged.

Much the same as the reason why people develop fake personas online as well -- 'cause it's anonymous.

What's interesting is that in the US, assault can be justified if the other party uses "fighting words".

In other words, if they say something that would more than outrage the average reasonable person.

So, it's as if the law says, "if he's trolling really hard, and everyone around you agrees he's trolling, you can smack the troll."
No average or reasonable person would hit for some stupid conspiracy theory, at least I hope we are not not that degenerate as a society.

What's interesting is that in the US, assault can be justified if the other party uses "fighting words".

In other words, if they say something that would more than outrage the average reasonable person.

So, it's as if the law says, "if he's trolling really hard, and everyone around you agrees he's trolling, you can smack the troll."
Suuure, kid, I'm sure that's what the law says and I'm sure that's how any reasonable person would see it.

Suuure, kid, I'm sure that's what the law says and I'm sure that's how any reasonable person would see it.
Works that way here.

If, for example, I was to flame your mother in person, and you hit me, the police would not bother to arrest you, because the prosecuting attorney would not take the case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_words

What's interesting is that in the US, assault can be justified if the other party uses "fighting words".

In other words, if they say something that would more than outrage the average reasonable person.

So, it's as if the law says, "if he's trolling really hard, and everyone around you agrees he's trolling, you can smack the troll."

It depends upon the state, I think. Plus, fighting words word mitigate, not absolv;, unless you can show that they lead you to believe your act was in self-defense. Otherwise it just changes the mens rea thingy.

What's interesting is that in the US, assault can be justified if the other party uses "fighting words".

In other words, if they say something that would more than outrage the average reasonable person.

So, it's as if the law says, "if he's trolling really hard, and everyone around you agrees he's trolling, you can smack the troll."
So much for the bullshit about no one having a right not to be insulted then...

It depends upon the state, I think. Plus, fighting words word mitigate, not absolv;, unless you can show that they lead you to believe your act was in self-defense. Otherwise it just changes the mens rea thingy.
In Virginia, we're pretty much off the hook if we have witnesses. The police won't even bother to arrest you.

What's interesting is that in the US, assault can be justified if the other party uses "fighting words".

In other words, if they say something that would more than outrage the average reasonable person.

So, it's as if the law says, "if he's trolling really hard, and everyone around you agrees he's trolling, you can smack the troll."
That's not how it works. Case law has found that insults to ideas or beliefs aren't enough to constitute fighting words. If this guy didn't insult you personally, or try to threaten you with violence, you weren't within your rights to hit him. If people were allowed to "smack the troll", I'd be within my rights to deck a preacher for telling me and my family we were going to burn in Hell.

That's not how it works. Case law has found that insults to ideas or beliefs aren't enough to constitute fighting words. If this guy didn't insult you personally, or try to threaten you with violence, you weren't within your rights to hit him. If people were allowed to "smack the troll", I'd be within my rights to deck a preacher for telling me and my family we were going to burn in Hell.
Certainly worked that way for me.

In Virginia, we're pretty much off the hook if we have witnesses. The police won't even bother to arrest you.

I'll have to remember that next time someone gives me lip in arlington.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_words

From your source: "fighting words" those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace

How did these insult or inflicted injury or incited a breach of the peace? Furthermore, the case you're pointing to describes a person who was arrested by the constituted authority, not someone who was punched by a drunk in a bar.

Certainly worked that way for me.
Please, if he had pressed charges you would have been arrested. That he didn't doesn't excuse you.

Works that way here.

If, for example, I was to flame your mother in person, and you hit me, the police would not bother to arrest you, because the prosecuting attorney would not take the case.
Some random rant about a plane hitting a building (or not hitting it) is not the same as a direct insult and it is not reasonable for them to know what impact it had on you

I thought you were more reasonable then that

From your source: "fighting words" those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace

How did these insult or inflicted injury or incited a breach of the peace? Furthermore, the case you're pointing to describes a person who was arrested by the constituted authority, not someone who was punched by a drunk in a bar.

The bartender was convinced that if the guy didn't shut up, there would be a riot in the club.

The bartender was convinced that if the guy didn't shut up, there would be a riot in the club.

Tho' srsly dude. It must have been a pretty lame club if one drunk conspiracy nut guy could cause a riot.

The bartender was convinced that if the guy didn't shut up, there would be a riot in the club.A logical conclusion if they sell alcohol in that establishment...

Tho' srsly dude. It must have been a pretty lame club if one drunk conspiracy nut guy could cause a riot.
No kidding he should have been laughed at like he deserved

The bartender was convinced that if the guy didn't shut up, there would be a riot in the club.
Then the bartender had the right to have him removed from the bar, that doesn't give you the right to hit him.

Then the bartender had the right to have him removed from the bar, that doesn't give you the right to hit him.

I just used to cut people off when they started to get tedious. They nearly always leave on their own a few minutes later when alcohol is no longer available.

I was in school, when I came home at 3.55, I saw it on tv and thought "well this is fucked up right here." It was a sunny september day as I recall.

I was in a geography lesson when one of the PE teachers came in and told us. Oe guy in my class started laughing because he thought it was a joke. He got one of the coldest stares I have ever seen.

I was in Grade 7. Got up in the morning to go to school, turned on the news, and saw buildings exploding.

9/11 has happened about 23 times for me, I cant remember what I was doing on each one.

I was goofin' around on the computer and CNN was on in the background and I saw the events unfold and said, "Well ... we deserved that." and turned off the TV.

I was in 5th grade. All I remember is I was in the car on my way to school when the radio announcer was screaming about it.

Where were you and what were you doing?
I was sleeping. my sister told me that a plane flew into the WTC, and I was like, "oh... ok..." then she said that another plane hit and I was still half asleep going... "right... ok..."

then I really woke up and saw the news...

I was out shopping for some electrical tools, and returned home just in time to catch it on the TV. I had watched The Towering Inferno a few days earlier, so though it was a strange coincidence that a fire like that was happening for real. When a minute later I saw that it was a terrorist attack, my response was a matter-of-fact "Oh. So someone finally went and did it."

Where was I ? slaving over a hot grinding machine at work when someone said the 2pm radio news said a plane had crashed in WTC1
2.30 pm radio news another plane had hit WTC2..... we all thinking Cessna type planes or at the worst , lear jets.
3pm radio news WTC2 had partially collapsed (work was rapidly coming to a halt)
3.15pm Bombs gone off at the pentagon (Something big is happening)
get home at 3.30pm in time to see WTC1 collapse on the TV
4.10pm stop standing in front of TV with mouth open, call friends in the US, can't get through, resort to e.mail and IRC.

7am September 12th Verdict at work: Who ever is responsible gonna get their asses kicked so hard they going into orbit.

The only 2 days of world events worth remembering are the fall of the Berlin war when we knew the cold war was over, and Sept 11th, when we knew WW3 was really gonna start.

I walked into my second class of the day and saw that CNN was already on. After I realized what had just happened, my first reaction was, "We are going to be bombing somebody before the end of the week." That class never got started, we watched CNN the whole period, but the rest of the day went along normally.

I was goofin' around on the computer and CNN was on in the background and I saw the events unfold and said, "Well ... we deserved that." and turned off the TV.
Should be lol'ing to that?

It was within the first week of going to a new school in manhattan and I so I was still trying to get used to the school. My mom had dropped me off that day, and I was in my second period history class when it happened. A teacher came rushing into the room and whispered something to my teacher, and he looked surprised, but went on teaching. Then, in the halways, there were rumours spread by the older kids that there was a bomb in the school, but I didn't know for sure what was going on. When the buidlings fell, an assembly was called for the youngest grades, and parents who were in the city would come pick there kids up. I remember I was picked up relatively early, my mom walked up from her job to my school as soon as she found out. I remember seeing one girl in my grade was hysterical cause her mother was supposed to be in one of the towers that day, but her mother was ok, she never made it into the towers. After my mom picked me up, we stayed at a friends house untill the subways were running again, just watching the news. But after that day, I still haven't seen any video of it.

My father, who was still in Brooklyn when it happened, say the first plane strike from the window. He took a picture of the smoke coming out of the building, and then decided to go to work, as usual. Then he was stuck in the subway for a couple of hours cause he was on the line that went right through the wtc.

Its funny I remember that day so clearly, I haven't really thought of it in ages.

So, what were you doing and where were you when you heard about the WTC or the Pentagon?

I was teaching less than 8 miles from the WTC. I had to keep my students, many of whom had family working in the WTC or its environs, calm. I had to worry about keeping them safe while painfully aware that there was nothing I could really do about it.

I was also afraid because my fiance was in DC and since the cell phones transmitted from the WTC, I could not get him.

When I heard a jet scream by overhead, I must have gone absolutely blanched, because one of my students (13!) walked over to me and whispered in my ear, "They're military jets, miss. They've cleared the airspace over the country."

I won't bore you with details about ash raining in our windows, or covering everything/being breathed in for the next three or four months, or about the raining burned debris.

I was teaching less than 8 miles from the WTC. I had to keep my students, many of whom had family working in the WTC or its environs, calm. I had to worry about keeping them safe while painfully aware that there was nothing I could really do about it.

I was also afraid because my fiance was in DC and since the cell phones transmitted from the WTC, I could not get him.

When I heard a jet scream by overhead, I must have gone absolutely blanched, because one of my students (13!) walked over to me and whispered in my ear, "They're military jets, miss. They've cleared the airspace over the country."

I won't bore you with details about ash raining in our windows, or covering everything/being breathed in for the next three or four months, or about the raining burned debris.


Just remember, there are some who still believe it never really happenned, and was all a combination of stunts, special effects, and Photoshop, all orchestrated by Bush.

I have to put up with idiots like that here.

I was on my way to class, heading out of my dorm building. I passed by the lounge and saw some people watching a TV screen. It looked like some kind of action movie set in New York City, with one of the Twin Towers on fire or something. As I watched, a plane flew right into one of the towers.

Then I noticed that a lot of people were crying. I asked a kid next to me what movie they were watching. She didn't take her eyes off the TV as she said, "It's not a movie. It's real. That's New York."

I was teaching less than 8 miles from the WTC.

Less then 8 miles? Thats probably not in manhattan, cause the smoke mainly blew towards long island, I think. Do you teach in downtown Brooklyn, perhaps? I always thought of you as teaching at Stuy, for no good reason, but I think you'd have a different memory if you were there.:(

I was on my way to class, heading out of my dorm building. I passed by the lounge and saw some people watching a TV screen. It looked like some kind of action movie set in New York City, with one of the Twin Towers on fire or something. As I watched, a plane flew right into one of the towers.

Then I noticed that a lot of people were crying. I asked a kid next to me what movie they were watching. She didn't take her eyes off the TV as she said, "It's not a movie. It's real. That's New York."

After I saw the plane hit the Pentagon, I went inside the nearby Ballston Common Mall (I had been on the roof of the parking garage) and went into the Radio Shack, where they had TVs going.

A lot of really elderly people walk around the mall together before the rest of the shops open up, just to get some exercise.

They were all in there, watching the WTC burn. All of them were crying, and one of the older men said, "This is just like Pearl Harbor. We're at war."

He was smarter than most of the posters on this forum. And I won't forget what he said.

Please dont for a minute suggest I overlooked the victims of the tsunami. After writing a check for a week of my pay AND my wife's to the Red cross, (giving til it hurt-we werent in a position to go without this money)the two of us worked hard to organize and collect donations from our church, boy scout pack I'm a leader of and the Mom's club my wife is the treasurer of- as well as my employer and my wife's- Food,water,clothing,tarps,gloves,blankets,money, backpacks full of comfort items specific to women,babies and children...formula, wipes,diapers
All in all, my family and I spent many hours collecting items and delivering them, hundreds of mles on our cars.
I did all I was physically able to do and encouraged many other to do so too.
My wife investigated adoption of a tsunami orphan, but realistically, we decided we couldnt as I have three children already.

Dont presume to discuss charity and giving with me.

You can only be certain of what YOU did or didnt do yourself for the victims.
That tragedy is still fresh in my mind.

I am not discussing charity. I did donate money for that too. didn't try an adoption just because if I do not have the time to care for a dog, less for a child.

I am also not presuming. I also didn't try to say you were overlooking the tsunami tragedy, but the society as a whole. We do not remember that day in special as perhaps the international community remembers 11/9. And I think we should, that's all.

Defensive stance, no?

and one of the older men said, "This is just like Pearl Harbor. We're at war."

He was smarter than most of the posters on this forum. And I won't forget what he said.

War against Al-Quaeda, hell yes. They deserve fair punishment and retribution for what they have done to the world.

War against Islam, no way.

Final solution for the muslim problem? That is as criminal as crashing a plane against a civilian building. Sorry, actually it is worst.

Punching a guy in a bar without warning because he used his free speech to talk about his opinions, even if he is a wrong as 2+2=4578? Criminal too, and as wrong as the others. Youre not better than Al-Quaeda, if something or someone out there says or do something you don't like, you answer with unwarranted violence.

War against Al-Quaeda, hell yes. They deserve fair punishment and retribution for what they have done to the world.

War against Islam, no way.

Final solution for the muslim problem? That is as criminal as crashing a plane against a civilian building. Sorry, actually it is worst.

Punching a guy in a bar without warning because he used his free speech to talk about his opinions, even if he is a wrong as 2+2=4578? Criminal too, and as wrong as the others. Youre not better than Al-Quaeda, if something or someone out there says or do something you don't like, you answer with unwarranted violence.


Sorry, I'm at war.

Sorry, I'm at war.

With who?

With who?
You're making the argument that just because the opponent is decentralized and diffuse, there's no real opponent.

Islam is the river in which the fish swim. They've taken a page from Mao. This is Mao's idea of guerilla warfare taken to an international level.

As far as I'm concerned, Islam needs to be watched carefully, and radical elements within it need to be monitored, and if necessary, eliminated. Any power they have over any nation-state needs to be curbed or eliminated.

So while Islam itself (and the majority of Muslims) may not be the enemy, they certainly conceal the vast majority of the world's terrorists.

You're making the argument that just because the opponent is decentralized and diffuse, there's no real opponent.

Islam is the river in which the fish swim. They've taken a page from Mao. This is Mao's idea of guerilla warfare taken to an international level.

As far as I'm concerned, Islam needs to be watched carefully, and radical elements within it need to be monitored, and if necessary, eliminated. Any power they have over any nation-state needs to be curbed or eliminated.

So while Islam itself (and the majority of Muslims) may not be the enemy, they certainly conceal the vast majority of the world's terrorists.

Not really, I am making the argument because I do not want the confusion to reach another level.

Let me try another way, with a comparison. Here in my country we have a problem. Over 70% of the crime is committed by people "of color", as you call them. Several members of my family have been victims of criminals, my father was kidnapped for a day, my brother was assaulted in order to steal his car, my little brother and me have been mugged twice each and I got the nice gift of a rape attempt...Guess what?, all of them by people of color.

We can then guess, that although black people aren't criminals as a whole, in the black community of this country hide most criminals, by simple logic. However, to assume that the black community need to be watched carefully, and the potentially dangerous members, like the ones that carry guns, or are in gangs, should be monitored, and if necessary, eliminated, I would get the word racist painted all over my face. In any case, they are not the enemy of the war against crime, but they certainly conceal the vast majority of this country's criminals, so any power they should have over the goverment and societ should be curbed or eliminated. And yes, that sounds pretty nazi, KKK, or whatever extremist discrimination group you find suitable.

Of course I do not approach black people at midnight in an empty parking lot, I have enough experience, or in dark alleys I would run if some approach me, but then, should I get the police to arrest them just because they are blacks? Should I scream every time a black guy approach me? Should we forbid black people to walk at night without proper supervision?

The opponent is decentralized and diffuse, too, in that case. Watch the muslim community? Nothing wrong with that. Impose restrictions on them because they are potentially dangerous, and being suspicious of any muslim because any of them could be a terrorist?, no. That would be outright discrimination, and the USA is a place that should be proud of being a discrimination-free country, no?

The opponent is decentralized and diffuse, too, in that case. Watch the muslim community? Nothing wrong with that. Impose restrictions on them because they are potentially dangerous, and being suspicious of any muslim because any of them could be a terrorist?, no. That would be outright discrimination, and the USA is a place that should be proud of being a discrimination-free country, no?
Conducting massive surveillance on the entire Muslim community in the US would not be discrimination.

If they are the river in which the fish swim, and we're after fish, then we cast our lines in the river, not on dry land.

Well, today is the anniversary of the Omagh bombing. For me, that is more of a defining moment than Sept. 11th.

Well, today is the anniversary of the Omagh bombing. For me, that is more of a defining moment than Sept. 11th.
Everyone has an anniversary for some cruelty.

I am not discussing charity. I did donate money for that too. didn't try an adoption just because if I do not have the time to care for a dog, less for a child.

I am also not presuming. I also didn't try to say you were overlooking the tsunami tragedy, but the society as a whole. We do not remember that day in special as perhaps the international community remembers 11/9. And I think we should, that's all.

Defensive stance, no?

Was I being defensive? Yes. You know what you were saying, you just said it to the wrong person. I dont talk about helping people that need help.
I help people that need help. And I encourage like-minded people to do the same.
Right now, Im part of a group helping people right here in my community, who's homes were destroyed in a flood last month. There arent too many other people helping them, they didnt get too much publicity, but they are hurting.

hey, who remembers Farenheit 9/11? wasn't that like, two years after the real incident?

With who?

with whom.

hey, who remembers Farenheit 9/11? wasn't that like, two years after the real incident?
No one does, because it sucked. It wasn't funny, it wasn't irreverent, it was just 'oooooh, look at the fat man make up conspiracy theories.' Mikey's a lucky fellow. Even if he never makes another movie, he'll be up to his double chin in corndogs and nachos until the day he dies of a massive coronary.

No one does, because it sucked. It wasn't funny, it wasn't irreverent, it was just 'oooooh, look at the fat man make up conspiracy theories.' Mikey's a lucky fellow. Even if he never makes another movie, he'll be up to his double chin in corndogs and nachos until the day he dies of a massive coronary.


:D Thats a great summary!

:D Thats a great summary!
Reminds me of the movie, Team America, where's he's a gluttonous socialist weasel.

Thinking Oh great, now we will hear about this FOREVER and a day!:mad:




I am so tired of hearing about this....I was unaffected then and remain so. I watched it for 4 seconds and then watched music videos and played video games the rest of the day.


You could alwaysnot post about it since it obvious disturbs your important life of music videos and video games.

I was in secondary school, walking down the hill to the bus, when I heard one of my classmates across the road saying some disaster had happened in the US. Wasn't unitl I got to the shopping centre where I was supposed to meet my Mom that I realised something was really up. There is always the same shitty tunes played all over again and again in this shopping centre butn ot that day the radio was on, and then my Mom told me. At that stage the second tower had just fallen and reports were that up to 50,000 were dead. It was pretty scary, just the thought of the economic collapse that could have been.


Its funny most ppl remember where they were when they heard about the twin towers, Princess Diana (if your European) but can anyone remember where they were when mother Theresa died?

I was in a TGI Fridays when Princess Diana died. It was big news in the US, too.

I hate Towel Heads
Warned for ethnic slurs.

Less then 8 miles? Thats probably not in manhattan, cause the smoke mainly blew towards long island, I think. Do you teach in downtown Brooklyn, perhaps? I always thought of you as teaching at Stuy, for no good reason, but I think you'd have a different memory if you were there.:(

No, I wasn't at Stuy. I teach in a school between Boro Park/Bensonhurst.

I was 17 years old, just out of high school and staying with my grandmother. It was nine days before I moved into my freshman dorm at uni. I woke up, got some coffee, turned on the news (my grandmother doesn't watch a lot of TV), and immediately ran to the phone to call my parents in D.C. Proceeded to have an anxiety attack because I couldn't reach them and they both, for various reasons, go to the Pentagon from time to time (really not frequently at all, but I was still scared). Calmed down when they finally called that afternoon, but was still in shock for the rest of the day.

I was on the road to my parents house, before making a stop to pick up a copy of my birth certificate in town. Both my parents were already at work when I arrived, so I turned on the TV (I have no cable at my apartment, and I'm a recovering TV addict). I sat there shocked and speechless, as the first thing I saw when I turned the TV on, was the second plane impacting the WTC. I called my uncle Dave, who was in the Air Force reserves at the time (security police), and he told me that he couldn't talk, as he had to get his military gear ready in case he was activated (which he was).

I stayed at my parents house most of the day, and nearly didn't get my birth certificate before the town hall closed.

I assume we are discussing the WTC attacks. I was doing demolition on some rich guy's house. My boss got a phonecall, and walked over to the radio, where he switched it to a news station. As guys heard the news, the word spread across the site. Soon we were all siting around a table, listening to this cheap radio.

Most of us were shocked. Some of us were cynical, saying things like 'it was bound to happen sooner or later'.
Interestingly, I was working with another Chilean (I am one too) and neither of us felt very bad for the USA initially. To this day, I think that was a horrible reaction on our part. I can only say that it came from the dark part of me, and I did not give into it.

Chileans also remember September 11th, as it was on that day in 1973 that Pinochet killed Allende and took over. Since Pinochet was openly supported by the USA, many chileans tended to feel some resentment against the USA on that day. I do not think most of us continue to do so.

Was I being defensive? Yes. You know what you were saying, you just said it to the wrong person. I dont talk about helping people that need help.
I help people that need help. And I encourage like-minded people to do the same.
Right now, Im part of a group helping people right here in my community, who's homes were destroyed in a flood last month. There arent too many other people helping them, they didnt get too much publicity, but they are hurting.

Pffft, I exactly know what I was saying, and exactly to who (or whom) I was saying it, and it wasn't what you assumed I wanted to say, the "I know exactly what you were thinking attitude, and I know exactly what you wanted to say" is a bit rude. I didn't state anything about you, you took it that way. Please don't try to make the same mistake you are blaming on others.

For the record, I'm not being defensive, I just think we had a misunderstanding. Already clarified, by the way.



with whom.

Thanks for the correction. I'm not an english native speaker and I'm really thankful for grammar and spelling corrections that can improve my use of the language. If you see mistakes like that one again in any of my posts, please do not hesitate in remarking them like you did, I will really aprecciate it. This message goes for other people in this forums, too.

Thanks for the correction. I'm not an english native speaker and I'm really thankful for grammar and spelling corrections that can improve my use of the language. If you see mistakes like that one again in any of my posts, please do not hesitate in remarking them like you did, I will really aprecciate it. This message goes for other people in this forums, too.
The use of who and whom is one of the trickier finer points in the English language. As a rule of thumb one would use whom more often in the interrogative form or after a preposition. Don't feel too bad, though, just imagine someone trying to learn the correct use of quien, quienes, cuyo, cuyos, cual and cuales in Spanish.

The use of who and whom is one of the trickier finer points in the English language. As a rule of thumb one would use whom more often in the interrogative form or after a preposition. Don't feel too bad, though, just imagine someone trying to learn the correct use of quien, quienes, cuyo, cuyos, cual and cuales in Spanish.

Me imagino.

Thanks for the enlightment over the grammar issue, in any case. How it goes in Mexico?, still the López Obrador followers making some trouble or the little earth shake scared them off a bit?

i was in music class and the teacher came in laughing and told us one plane crashed into the tower.
when got out one person said "hey do you think the world is going to end?", but know one else cared.
time i got home the second plane crashed.
after that we started making fun of the american kid cause he wanted to be a piolot.

The use of who and whom is one of the trickier finer points in the English language. As a rule of thumb one would use whom more often in the interrogative form or after a preposition. Don't feel too bad, though, just imagine someone trying to learn the correct use of quien, quienes, cuyo, cuyos, cual and cuales in Spanish.

I've always thought the use of those words in Spanish was quite simple really. As for the who/whom question, it's also simple. Use "who" in all cases in which it's not operating as an object. If you're familiar with Latin, "who" is used pretty much only for the nominative case.

i was in music class and the teacher came in laughing and told us one plane crashed into the tower.
when got out one person said "hey do you think the world is going to end?", but know one else cared.
time i got home the second plane crashed.
after that we started making fun of the american kid cause he wanted to be a piolot.

Your teacher's a sick fuck, and so are you.

Me imagino.

Thanks for the enlightment over the grammar issue, in any case. How it goes in Mexico?, still the López Obrador followers making some trouble or the little earth shake scared them off a bit?
Still making trouble. They intended to camp out of the legislative building but were forcefully removed. Obrador says he'll be back (but first he's going to send his followers) and that he'll do whatever it takes to keep the elected candidate from taking power.

Still making trouble. They intended to camp out of the legislative building but were forcefully removed. Obrador says he'll be back (but first he's going to send his followers) and that he'll do whatever it takes to keep the elected candidate from taking power.

I hope he doesn't plan something really stupid like a coup or something like that...

But he has an awful lot of followers, no?

I've always thought the use of those words in Spanish was quite simple really. As for the who/whom question, it's also simple. Use "who" in all cases in which it's not operating as an object. If you're familiar with Latin, "who" is used pretty much only for the nominative case.
The use is clear, however coming from Spanish is a bit harder to know which one to use since we use the same word for both cases. Many non-native Spanish speakers have trouble with cuyo and cual but for different reasons.

I hope he doesn't plan something really stupid like a coup or something like that...

But he has an awful lot of followers, no?
Many followers, but only because Mexico has a lot of people. Only something like 16% of the population voted for him in the election. And not all of those would follow him into rebellion.

He doesn't have enough following for a coup so far. His plan is more of provocation to make the government do something violent and use it to get more people on his side. His party should be more worried, since they could be isolated in Congress and they don't have anything approaching majority.

Many followers, but only because Mexico has a lot of people. Only something like 16% of the population voted for him in the election. And not all of those would follow him into rebellion.

He doesn't have enough following for a coup so far. His plan is more of provocation to make the government do something violent and use it to get more people on his side. His party should be more worried, since they could be isolated in Congress and they don't have anything approaching majority.

He doesn't have military support, no? Because sadly, in many of our countries, to initiate rebellion you need to have the typical military gorillas on your side.

I hope everything goes ok and Calderón gets the seat without any trouble.