I don't want to talk about where you were ten years ago Sunday - I feel that's been discussed ad nauseum over the years. I want to talk about different things: what your initial thoughts were, what you did to try to get back to "normal", how your life has changed as a result of what happened, etc.
For me, the biggest concern was for some of my friends. At the time of the attacks, I lived in the international dorm at Miami and as such, we had quite a few Muslim/Arab students in the dorm. While I had no worries about their safety from our hallmates, but rather the rest of the university community and society in general. I was afraid they'd be unfairly persecuted for where they were born, what color their skin was, or what religion they practiced. All other thoughts of that day are just numbing shock, staring at the television for hours on end wondering what the fuck had just happened. I remember how the internet essentially crashed as it became the primary way of getting information, trying to contact loved ones, etc. Didn't turn off CNN for like five straight days.
Interesting questions. I'm not sure I remember what my initial thoughts were (although I'm sure "OH, HOLY SHIT" was in there somewhere...stunned horror, and concern for people I knew in New YOrk), or how I got back to "normal"...the latter probably just with the passage of time.
Since then, I have found it saddening how thin the veneer of racial and religious tolerance is, in a distressingly large portion of our society. Some people simply can't handle a world more complex than "us vs. them", it seems.
I visited Ground Zero when i visiting New York for ECP. I remember just feeling really sad about being there and was close to tears. Someone asked me if I knew anybody in the towers which I responded with a no. I simply stated that every day people never deserved this. I think he was really shocked I'd get so emotional without any sort of personal attachment and to be honest I was kind of wondering why I felt that way. I think in the end though it was just hard for me to not feel for what happened there, seeing that empty pit that looked like it had been barely worked on made me realize that years ago it was nothing by mangled metal and burning wreckage. It made me think what a waste, the pointlessness in unbridled anger, what is the world doing to try and stop this from happening and worse how would we all react when the same sort of atrocity happens again which IMO it already has a few times with the bombings in London and Russia and the terrorist shooting spree in Mumbai.
@Twigby - I did the same thing during ECP. I'm pretty sure I actually cried though. I have to agree with you about the enormity of the hole in the ground, thinking about what had been there, what it all meant...it was overwhelming.
@-j: I know what you mean about people not being able to handle something more complex than "us vs. them". It seems sad that for some ways that we were able to stand together as a country (and a world, for that matter) in the immediate aftermath, it feels as though we've regressed beyond even what we were like in pre-9/11 times in some regards.
Yeah, I visited Ground Zero with Paully and Fergie when we were there for ECP. It was weird how it made me feel a little sick to my stomach and sad.
That's really how I felt when I first heard about it. I was stunned and a little scared. It was unreal to see the towers burning like they were. It made me wonder how someone could intentionally do something like that with the intent of causing so much harm to other people.
At the time, I didn't know anyone in New York, but it hurt to see that happening.
My initial reaction was based off of crazy rumors that were flying around the lunch room. My uncle was stationed at Fort Hood at the time. He was due to get out of the Army in a couple of weeks and had a three month old baby. I think my first concern was that he'd be called back to duty after having served 11 years. The enormity of the situation didn't hit until I got home from school.
My mom was sent home from work early. She was sitting on the couch in tears, glued to the TV. When I walked in she gave me the biggest hug and kiss. Then we sat and watched everything unfold over, and over, and over. My brother came home a little while later. I don't remember what was said, but I remember us all squished on the sofa with tears rolling down our faces.
The sadness subsided a bit when President Bush gave his speech. Then the "let's get the fuckers who did this to us" attitude kicked in.
Most importantly, I remember everyone in the community coming together to support the United States. For once in my life, I finally felt what it was like to be an American. I finally got "it".
I still can't watch footage from that morning without getting a big lump in my throat or tears in my eyes. I watched a special on the NatGeo channel last week. I nearly lost it when they showed the victims jumping from the towers; or the next morning when all you could hear was the whistling of the devices that help you find fallen firefighters.
Sometimes I can't help thinking about something like that happening in Boston. That's when I really empathize for New Yorkers. While it was an attack on our country, New Yorkers lost a lot more than us that day.
I have never seen ground zero. I should have done that for ECP. Everything was weird that day on 9/11, and for a long time after that. it was hard to get a grasp on what was happening. I had friends of friends that worked in the buildings, but I couldn't wrap my mind around it at all. I still can't wrap my mind around it.
I typed a 8 paragraph reply to this. Then I realized just how personal it was. So, all I can say is this. In 2001, I was dealing with some very serious stuff. Then, that happened. It made me feel even more hopeless, and more alone than I already felt. Feeling that alone was sad. At the same time, when I saw women who were mourning their fiancees and husbands and boyfriends who died, I didn't feel as alone. That was the first time that NOT feeling alone was actually sadder than feeling alone.
When 9-11 happened, I didn't have any friends or family in NYC. Just in Long Island. I was freaked out about them and their safety. They were obviously safe, but at the time I really didn't know what could happen next.
I was 19 then, so I've changed a lot in the past 10 years - a lot of my views on society and politics were formed in college, and that event certainly affected the way many people look at society. But other than that, I'm not sure how much it really changed me. I will still cry if I spend too much time listening to stories of the deceased, and I will still become enraged when I think of all the war, fighting, racism, etc. that has happened as a direct result, and often as a way to sort of....make up for what happened? There really isn't anyway to do that.
Getting off topic though. We actually watched a CNN documentary at school yesterday, which of course meant crying quietly in the back of the room for a while. But I realized I had sort of forgotten how much fear there was around that time, what with all the anthrax scares and all. I guess if anything changed, it made me realize how much in our secure feeling everyday lives COULD be made into a target. I still believe in the inherent good of most people, but I know that shitty things can and will happen.
I reflected on this for a long time before I posted. I started a few responses and then deleted them because they didn't properly convey the message I was trying to express. I dunno.
I guess, to answer your questions, my initial thought (like many other people, I'm sure) was that it looked like something out of a movie. It didn't look real. I kept wondering when the alien mothership was gonna show up and combat Will Smith, who, of course, would save the day. It didn't seem at all real to me until I watched the towers fall. That's when it really hit me. At that point, I just felt tremendous sadness and also, a great anger within me.
For the weeks following the attacks, I made tee shirts, weirdly enough. I forgot all about it until this thread. I made tee shirts for my family at first but then people at school wanted some too, so I made a bunch of them to hand out. I also went to vigils and kept lit candles on my front window to show my sorrow. It was odd I think, because I, thankfully, don't have a personal connection to the attacks other than being an American and being a human and just caring about what was going on. I felt unified for the first time with a community that I never felt part of (because of my obvi hatred for Miami, which raged badcore when I was younger but has mellowed over time).
As for how things got back to normal for me, they just did. You have to go on, you know? It was easier for me because, again, I didn't have that personal connection. There was grieving on a national level but not a personal level. I didn't have plans to make. I just had to keep going, and so I did. And then it was a year later, and two years, and so on.
posted on Friday, Sep 9th by Muppy
I don't want to talk about where you were ten years ago Sunday - I feel that's been discussed ad nauseum over the years. I want to talk about different things: what your initial thoughts were, what you did to try to get back to "normal", how your life has changed as a result of what happened, etc.
For me, the biggest concern was for some of my friends. At the time of the attacks, I lived in the international dorm at Miami and as such, we had quite a few Muslim/Arab students in the dorm. While I had no worries about their safety from our hallmates, but rather the rest of the university community and society in general. I was afraid they'd be unfairly persecuted for where they were born, what color their skin was, or what religion they practiced. All other thoughts of that day are just numbing shock, staring at the television for hours on end wondering what the fuck had just happened. I remember how the internet essentially crashed as it became the primary way of getting information, trying to contact loved ones, etc. Didn't turn off CNN for like five straight days.
Interesting questions. I'm not sure I remember what my initial thoughts were (although I'm sure "OH, HOLY SHIT" was in there somewhere...stunned horror, and concern for people I knew in New YOrk), or how I got back to "normal"...the latter probably just with the passage of time.
Since then, I have found it saddening how thin the veneer of racial and religious tolerance is, in a distressingly large portion of our society. Some people simply can't handle a world more complex than "us vs. them", it seems.
I visited Ground Zero when i visiting New York for ECP. I remember just feeling really sad about being there and was close to tears. Someone asked me if I knew anybody in the towers which I responded with a no. I simply stated that every day people never deserved this. I think he was really shocked I'd get so emotional without any sort of personal attachment and to be honest I was kind of wondering why I felt that way. I think in the end though it was just hard for me to not feel for what happened there, seeing that empty pit that looked like it had been barely worked on made me realize that years ago it was nothing by mangled metal and burning wreckage. It made me think what a waste, the pointlessness in unbridled anger, what is the world doing to try and stop this from happening and worse how would we all react when the same sort of atrocity happens again which IMO it already has a few times with the bombings in London and Russia and the terrorist shooting spree in Mumbai.
@Twigby - I did the same thing during ECP. I'm pretty sure I actually cried though. I have to agree with you about the enormity of the hole in the ground, thinking about what had been there, what it all meant...it was overwhelming.
@-j: I know what you mean about people not being able to handle something more complex than "us vs. them". It seems sad that for some ways that we were able to stand together as a country (and a world, for that matter) in the immediate aftermath, it feels as though we've regressed beyond even what we were like in pre-9/11 times in some regards.
Yeah, I visited Ground Zero with Paully and Fergie when we were there for ECP. It was weird how it made me feel a little sick to my stomach and sad.
That's really how I felt when I first heard about it. I was stunned and a little scared. It was unreal to see the towers burning like they were. It made me wonder how someone could intentionally do something like that with the intent of causing so much harm to other people.
At the time, I didn't know anyone in New York, but it hurt to see that happening.
My initial reaction was based off of crazy rumors that were flying around the lunch room. My uncle was stationed at Fort Hood at the time. He was due to get out of the Army in a couple of weeks and had a three month old baby. I think my first concern was that he'd be called back to duty after having served 11 years. The enormity of the situation didn't hit until I got home from school.
My mom was sent home from work early. She was sitting on the couch in tears, glued to the TV. When I walked in she gave me the biggest hug and kiss. Then we sat and watched everything unfold over, and over, and over. My brother came home a little while later. I don't remember what was said, but I remember us all squished on the sofa with tears rolling down our faces.
The sadness subsided a bit when President Bush gave his speech. Then the "let's get the fuckers who did this to us" attitude kicked in.
Most importantly, I remember everyone in the community coming together to support the United States. For once in my life, I finally felt what it was like to be an American. I finally got "it".
I still can't watch footage from that morning without getting a big lump in my throat or tears in my eyes. I watched a special on the NatGeo channel last week. I nearly lost it when they showed the victims jumping from the towers; or the next morning when all you could hear was the whistling of the devices that help you find fallen firefighters.
Sometimes I can't help thinking about something like that happening in Boston. That's when I really empathize for New Yorkers. While it was an attack on our country, New Yorkers lost a lot more than us that day.
I have never seen ground zero. I should have done that for ECP. Everything was weird that day on 9/11, and for a long time after that. it was hard to get a grasp on what was happening. I had friends of friends that worked in the buildings, but I couldn't wrap my mind around it at all.
I still can't wrap my mind around it.
I typed a 8 paragraph reply to this. Then I realized just how personal it was. So, all I can say is this. In 2001, I was dealing with some very serious stuff. Then, that happened. It made me feel even more hopeless, and more alone than I already felt. Feeling that alone was sad. At the same time, when I saw women who were mourning their fiancees and husbands and boyfriends who died, I didn't feel as alone. That was the first time that NOT feeling alone was actually sadder than feeling alone.
When 9-11 happened, I didn't have any friends or family in NYC. Just in Long Island. I was freaked out about them and their safety. They were obviously safe, but at the time I really didn't know what could happen next.
I was 19 then, so I've changed a lot in the past 10 years - a lot of my views on society and politics were formed in college, and that event certainly affected the way many people look at society. But other than that, I'm not sure how much it really changed me. I will still cry if I spend too much time listening to stories of the deceased, and I will still become enraged when I think of all the war, fighting, racism, etc. that has happened as a direct result, and often as a way to sort of....make up for what happened? There really isn't anyway to do that.
Getting off topic though. We actually watched a CNN documentary at school yesterday, which of course meant crying quietly in the back of the room for a while. But I realized I had sort of forgotten how much fear there was around that time, what with all the anthrax scares and all. I guess if anything changed, it made me realize how much in our secure feeling everyday lives COULD be made into a target. I still believe in the inherent good of most people, but I know that shitty things can and will happen.
I reflected on this for a long time before I posted. I started a few responses and then deleted them because they didn't properly convey the message I was trying to express. I dunno.
I guess, to answer your questions, my initial thought (like many other people, I'm sure) was that it looked like something out of a movie. It didn't look real. I kept wondering when the alien mothership was gonna show up and combat Will Smith, who, of course, would save the day. It didn't seem at all real to me until I watched the towers fall. That's when it really hit me. At that point, I just felt tremendous sadness and also, a great anger within me.
For the weeks following the attacks, I made tee shirts, weirdly enough. I forgot all about it until this thread. I made tee shirts for my family at first but then people at school wanted some too, so I made a bunch of them to hand out. I also went to vigils and kept lit candles on my front window to show my sorrow. It was odd I think, because I, thankfully, don't have a personal connection to the attacks other than being an American and being a human and just caring about what was going on. I felt unified for the first time with a community that I never felt part of (because of my obvi hatred for Miami, which raged badcore when I was younger but has mellowed over time).
As for how things got back to normal for me, they just did. You have to go on, you know? It was easier for me because, again, I didn't have that personal connection. There was grieving on a national level but not a personal level. I didn't have plans to make. I just had to keep going, and so I did. And then it was a year later, and two years, and so on.