September 11, 2001. To Remember.

[gforce422]

In memory of all the firefighters who sacrificed their lives for others, for those who died in the Towers in the attack, and for those who continue to serve overseas.


We will never forget you...

[Llewthepoet]

R.I.P. It's really sad!

[Tum0spoo]

R.I.P. It's really sad! Never forget.

Sure we will. They said never forget about Pearl Harbor, and in my history class a student asked, "Who's Pearl Harbor? Everyone always be talkin' bout this girl Pearl. Who is she?"


It's not called define cynical for nothing.

[Tom Flapwell]

So a future student is going to ask about Nina Levin?

[BladeRaptor]

R.I.P. It's really sad! Never forget.

How can we forget. I'm sure all of us remember where we were and what we were doing that day.

I was a high school senior, in my second period Political Science class, of all things, with one of the strictest teachers the school had to offer. My thoughts were with my next class, and the girl who sat in front of me in it when word of the attack arrived. An announcement came over the school's PA system telling us about it, and to turn on the TV's that every classroom was equipped with to watch the special reports on it with the rest of the nation.

We did so for a while, until our teacher turned the TV off and tried to continue the class as if nothing were happening. At first we just thought she was being her usual difficult self, not even letting this disaster faze her, much to the class' dismay.

Soon, third period came, Elementary Functions. The TV was tuned in to ABC, with the late Peter Jennings reporting, and from the image on the screen, I saw that the first tower had collapsed while I was travelling between classes. There would be no equations that day, but even so, not one of us was happy. Not me, not the girl who sat in front of me, nor anyone else. Seeing her saddened amplified the pain I was feeling inside. I wanted to do something, anything, to comfort her, but I was in a state of stunned shock just like she and the rest of the class was. There was nothing we could do except keep our eyes fixed on the screen.

For me, major disasters always bring with them a feeling of abject helplessness, fantasies of myself at the scene, helping out, often imagining using special powers, along with the realization that, no, I'm not a superhero, and my fantasies are just that. I was just an ordinary high school senior who could only watch the tragic events unfold, just like millions of people all over the country. Then we all watched in helpless horror as the second tower came crumbling to the ground. Soon after, school let out early, and they gave us the next day off. It would have been a treat if not for the circumstances.

The next time our Political Science class met, the teacher started by giving us an apology for her actions that day, along with the truth of the situation. She turned the TV off not out of strength but out of weakness. She couldn't bear to watch it anymore.

My thoughts go out to those who were taken by the attacks, and those they left behind. May they rest in peace.

[Doc Sigma]

I, also, remember the entire day in detail.

It was morning, and for some unknown reason I was dawdling on my way to work. (Back then I normally left around 6:30. I just couldn't motivate myself to stop playing computer games.) I heard my mom waking up, so I figured I'd wait until she was up so that I could see her off. I heard her come down the stairs, and said "Hi Ma, I'm on my way to work." She said "Hi Chris, a plane crashed into the World Trade Center." I was like, "whaaaaaa???" Needless to say I did not go to work that day... I called into work (my boss said they were sending people home, if they wanted to leave), and I stayed home with my mom.

We ended up seeing the second plane crash live, and seeing the towers crumble live.

There was an election scheduled for that day, and my mom and I walked to the polling place in the afternoon (about a mile each way). The town was eerily quiet. I remember thinking that we HAD to get out and vote... that if we didn't, the bad guys "won", cheesy as that sounds.

My ex-girlfriend (at the time she was my ex-girlfriend too, which makes this more amazing) called me up to make sure I was okay. I'm from Boston and two of the planes were from Boston, which led to this shaking me up a bit more than the average not-really-involved person, know what I mean? I didn't know anyone who died in the attacks, but for awhile I couldn't get over the fact that I probably heard the two planes fly over my house...

[Rooster]

R.I.P. It's really sad! Never forget.

How can we forget. I'm sure all of us remember where we were and what we were doing that day.

Nope, not a clue. Some vague rememberence of saying "wow, that's pants up", but other than that not much.

But then, how many Americans remember where they were when The Omah Bombing happened? Or the Manchester Arndale Centre explosion? Or even the London bombings of 7/7/05?

I've seen too many terrorist attacks on my own country to stop everything the moment the most powerful country (and largest target) on earth gets attacked by some idiots wanting attention.

I'm sorry if that sounds bitter, but I just got on with my life. After all, far worse is STILL going on in Africa and parts of Asia.

[TyVulpine]

So you're saying we just forget about the 2,800+ people that were murdered? That they aren't worth remembering?


Anyway, I had just woken up (didn't have to work to 11 that day) and went to use the bathroom. Came back to my room and turned on the TV (it was tuned to CNN) just as the second plane hit the South Tower.

[Rooster]

So you're saying we just forget about the 2,800+ people that were murdered? That they aren't worth remembering?

No, I'm saying that at the end of the day, it doesn't matter...people live and die, people kill and create...it's life, and to me, like you, my own country's problems and strife is FAR more important than that of my neighbours.

[TyVulpine]

How sad that you can't see beyond your country's borders... That imaginary lines are far important than your fellow man.

[Richard K Niner]

How sad that you can't see beyond your country's borders... That imaginary lines are far important than your fellow man.

I could say the same about you:

Deaths in the States due to terrorism since 2001: 2800
Deaths in Sudan due to terrorism since 2003: pver 400000

[TyVulpine]

You mean Danfur? Sure that's sad. And in Asia, Middle East, Africa.... but 2,800+ people were senselessly murdered six years ago today. So, let's remember them, as well as the others around the world that murdered this day however many years ago. Tomorrow, we could remember those that died that day, and so on.

[Rooster]

Well, millions of innocent people have been senslessly murdered in the war on Terror...quite a few by Coalition forces. So excuse me for lack of sympathy.

But then, it's easy to feel sympathy for people with identaties, right? Not so easy to feel sad for nameless, faceless "evildooers"

[gforce422]

I was eleven years old, and still remember everything.


I was sitting at my kitchen table and was busily doing my studies (I was homeschooled) just like any other day. As I got to my Language Arts section, the phone rang, and my mom answered. I can remember suddenly a look of shock on her face, the she quickly hung up. "Hang on kids," she said. "I'll be right back." She then quickly walked out the front door over to my grandparents, who lived across the street.

After she left, my siblings and I just sat around in confusion. I can remember questions racing though my mind going at a million miles per hour, the big question being, What on earth is going on here?

About ten minutes later, my mother came back. As soon as she walked through the door, I could tell something was very, very wrong. With tears in her eyes, she explained to us that two planes had just been hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center. I walked away from my studies and went outside.

I remember being shocked beyond words. I walked over to my grandparents house to see for myself, and witnessed the planes slamming into the Towers, replaying over and over and over... Each replay felt like a punch to the chest. I could barely breathe.

I stepped outside again, numb. Prior to this event, I had been living in a bubble of security and content, thinking that I had all the time in the world; that I was going to live forever. That bubble shattered, and for the first time I was introduced to the harsh reality of it all. Those people in the tower didn't even have a chance. Then I realized, "That could've been me. That could've been any of us, or any of our friends or family." It was then I realized how fragile life really is. I learned to live like there's no tomorrow, because we really don't know if we are going to even have one.

[Arloest]

I do admit it was definitely a tragedy, but I also agree with Roo's/RKN's sentiments. People are murdered everyday, sometimes in greater amounts than what went down on 9/11. People dying overseas in places like Darfur, Iraq, anywhere, deserve just as much mourning as the 9/11 victims do; yet they don't get it, or at least not nearly to the scale as 9/11 victims do. Why? Because the people who died on 9/11 were Americans, who died on American soil. Nothing more. If 2,800+ were killed in one day, in, say, Afghanistan, 6 years ago, none of us would be talking about it now.