My 9/11 (Flogging the dead horse) (423 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 1.66 on 3 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Dolson (View user info) at 2006-09-08 18:17:18 EDT
Since everyone seems to be sharing their "where was I..." story, I thought I'd give my recollections a go.
On September 11, 2001, I was just beginning Grade 10 in Mississauga, Ontario. Not too far from New York City relative to those in California or England, but the reality of being in a different country made New York a world away. I had been there before, but I had no way to relate.
The school day was like nearly any other. Early September, and my friends and I were more focused on making asses of ourselves than actually bothering to learn anything. We were goofing off in French class when our principal came on the PA, and managed to handle breaking the news as poorly as only she could.
"I don't want anyone to be alarmed, but someone has attacked the United States. Earlier this morning, three passenger jets were flown into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, and a fourth into a field in Pennsylvania."
Ok, makes sense so far.
"Now, we're not going to send you home early. Don't be afraid, nobody is going to attack us. We're all safe at school."
Yeah, the terrorists are going to stop attacking high value American targets and fly a plane into a suburban high school. Makes perfect sense, as I was really worried about this possibility.
Of course, we were young and stupid, and there were more than a few "Ha, America got theirs," going around. We had no idea that this meant that people were dead, and we certainly didn't forsee the consequences that would affect the world five years later. Quickly, this turned to speculation about who would do such a thing.
We all figured it was Al-Queda or some Islamic terrorists, without having to be told. Fifteen year old me also realized that this mean the United States would be opening up a can of whoop-ass on someone. I predicted that whoever had done this would be fertilizer within a month. Nobody would survive the onslaught of the United States military.
I would never have foresaw that five years later Osama would still be thumbing his nose at the Western world, and that the most powerful coalition since the Second World War would have been unable to pacify a few douchebags in Afghanistan. I certainly didn't forsee the Patriot Act, the secret prisons, or Iraq.
The reality of what happened hit over our lunch break, when some teachers managed to rustle up a TV which we could watch. That's when we saw the buildings fall, and the smoke rising over New York. That's when we realized that the fallout from today would probably write the next few years of human history.
I rushed home after school to try and get some American news channels, so I could get the complete picture of what was going on. Local news from Buffalo brought some levity to the situation, when they announced the evacuation of the tallest building in Buffalo (all of 12 stories). To this day, I find the thought of terrorists deciding to attack Buffalo somewhat amusing. I guess it's a way of distracting myself from what it all means.
That's how I remember 9/11. It's not a gripping story like some of the ones I've read today, but I see posting my memories as a Canadian as a way of remembering the 25 Canadians and the thousands of Americans who died. I sincerely hope their deaths were not in vain.
User Reviews
Submitted by DeadHorse (user info) at 2006-09-08 20:42:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Din't they catch an Al Quaeida cell in Buffalo about two years back?
Submitted by whiskey_jack (user info) at 2006-09-08 19:16:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I was also in school in Canada at the time, except being an American meant that suddenly the Canadians felt I should know what was going on. Like I was better informed than the news or US military for that matter.
All I remember is a feeling of dread. I thought of how America has never been attacked, and so the prospect of Americans being killed in mass like that was appalling. Though what scared me the most was knowing what the reaction of my country would be. I knew we would end up mounting our own war to crush our attackers and remind people why we are the strongest and why we aren't to be fucked with. I know we would overreact and that we wouldn't stop at just those directly responsible but anyone in that oil laden region we could connect to our problems. And lo and behold we did just that.
Submitted by awesome_face (user info) at 2006-09-08 18:20:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
decent