10 years ago

I forgot it was tomorrow

It will be eleven years tomorrow.

Should we re-share our "Where were you" stories, or just have a moment of silence?

...were we having a moment of silence and I broke it?

....you guys, I'm so sorry. []

Shame on you, JT! Shame...

Nah, on the internet all silence is implied anyway.

JT_the_Ninja wrote:Should we re-share our "Where were you" stories, or just have a moment of silence?

...were we having a moment of silence and I broke it?

....you guys, I'm so sorry. []

A moment of silence on the entire forum seems appropriate.

I was 5 when the attacks happened. My teachers and administrators were very upset, and someone turned on the TVs and then quickly turned them off again, because evidently we were too young to witness such a tragedy. I remember the principal told us to be calm, and we didn't really know what was going on.
When I came home my dad explained there had been, I think he called in an 'accident'. It was like he was explaining our dog had died, which had happened before at that point. He talked about how lots of people had died in New York because someone flew a plane into a building. I didn't really understand the implications until quite some time later.

Since 2001 I have relived the events of that year over and over through movies, testimonials from survivors and family of the deceased, and through my teachers' fervent admonitions that the events of that day were incredibly important and should never be forgotten. In addition to the lives taken in the attack, thousands of soldiers and civilians have died in the Middle East because of the actions of a few men that day. There is a nearly country-wide bias against Muslim persons and the Bush administration took to torturing innocent individuals affiliated with any country in the steppes.
The tragedy of the attack and all that has happened since does not escape me. The true tragedy, to me at least, is that the actions of such a select few could so incense Americans as to create a culture of paranoia, racism and distrust. I am indeed proud of my country, but these are not prideful actions.

My take on 9/11 is that it's a reminder that beneath everything, we are all human, for better or for worse, particularly regarding the early responses to it.
When all of those people died in the buildings, and on Flights 11, 175, 77, and 93, and when the towers collapsed, it led to what Ziggy described, which is a whole other tragedy in of itself. But the immediate response to the attacks wasn't one of fury and a desire for vengeance, but a concern for the safety of those who could still be saved, and a desire to mourn for those who could not have been saved.
The deaths of those 2,996 people led to the true emotional nature of huter or showing itself on a national scale, for better or for worse.