9/11 - Same Ol', Same Ol'

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9/11 response a huge overreaction

 

I voted that it was more than that. The magnitude of the event usually dictates the response, and 9/11 was of such a magnitude that it demands a similar response. I could not get the link to come up on my computer, unfortunately. I will say that if she means to say that the War in Iraq has nothing much to do with 9/11, in that case, I would agree that she is correct.

 

I changed the link.

On the one hand, terrorism is terrorism. On the other hand, the scope here was much greater. On the other other hand, was it made more significant because it happened in the U.S., on a different continent from the terrorists' home base? And if so, is this so-called significance really enough to set it apart from anything else?

 

I remember the moment the attack happened. I was putting on my uniform to go to work........as a holiday rep in an airport!

However, I think 9/11 is now being used as an excuse by people who want to feel that they are fully justified when commiting racial abuse

 

It was different in that it was a defining moment for an entire generation of americans.
Just like for those who were alive when Pearl Harbor was bombed or JFK was assassinated.
Everyone that was alive then & old enough to understand what was happening is/was just like silvery, they can tell you exactly what they were doing at the moment that they heard about the event.

Me, i was sitting in my office doing daily bank deposits when the news came over the radio of the first plane hitting the towers. For the rest of the day people would wander into the store & just stop & stare at the tv as the events unfolded.
One elderly gentleman came in & sadly shook his head as he muttered "it's happened again". I was curious, so i followed him to his car & asked him what he meant, he explained to me the generation thing & that this will leave a scar on the minds of the americans alive right now.
Just as we had excesses & abuses after the attack on Pearl Harbor(think of the internment camps) we have had(& probably will have more) excesses since the 9/11 attacks.

 

Merely the degree of planning, the specific targets and the scale of the casualties elevate the attacks as more than just another terrorist strike. Add in the heated rhetoric, it was closer to a declaration of war.

It planted the seeds of fear in the people in a way that hadn't been there since WWII, and they haven't learned much better, have they?

 

It was different because it happened to us. People in the US aren't used to terrorism. We weren't before 9/11 and, truth be told, we aren't now. I suppose several other nations look at it differently. England has had the Irish conflict and groups like the IRA for a long time. I don't even need to go into Israel and that entire area. I don't know about France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the rest. Here in the US, with the exception of a few home-grown wackos that mainly targeted small to medium sized government buildings, the closest thing to a foreign terrorist attack we've had to my knowledge was Pearl Harbor (military regulars attacking military targets) and we started a war over that.

Saying 'It was just another terrorist attack' is like saying 'it's just another gunshot wound' to someone who was just shot in the shoulder. If they're a mercenary commando who grew up in Peru or the like, that's probably a good thing to say. If they're a 38 year old computer technician who's worst wound beforehand was a papercut, it doesn't help any.

 

I agree with NOG -- to the US citizenry, it was something much, much more. To the Israelis, it was likely "huh, that was a big one, but to us it's not an uncommon occurrence."

I do think that the US reaction to it was understandable, but nonetheless not as effective as it could have been.

 

I think, this would require a clear undebateable definition of terrorism, and the view through many different view points taken from around the world.

think about it this way, in the US it was 9\11 in modern Iraq, it was tuesday

 

I got a frantic call from my mom, who told me to turn on the news. "It's like a movie, but it's real."

I remember the news showing palestinians celebrating and passing out cake. And thinking "Why are they showing us this? Do they want to start a war?" There's no news value in showing such behaviour.

My first thought on 9/11 was that Israel would be the only country to benefit from this, so I was curious to see how the story panned out.

After months of media stories, I actually started being suspicious of muslims myself. I lost a friend over it, by accidentally insinuating that he was a muslim (he was Irani, but not muslim). Nowadays he walks the streets alert and cautious. I can't imagine how his life must have changed.

I voted "It was something else", but not for myself. I'm personally more disgusted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, disasters, famines, etc., since counting casualties is the only way I can relate to them. On 9/11 something happened to 'us', but nowadays I remember something happening to 'them'. Why? Like Bush said: "You're either with us..."

The whole situation has taught me that the media isn't here to inform us - they're spin doctors.