Were you personally AFRAID on/after 9/11?

[UdoKier]

I was at my office in Miami that day, and was of course going through a range of emotions from sad to furious all day, but didn't feel the least bit afraid for myself or my family.

Being a reality-based person aware of the frequency of terrorist attacks here and around the world, I never for a moment forgot that these are isolated incidents, and that my chances of being in a fatal car wreck are much higher.


...and yet, one of my co-workers (a strange guy who is libertarian-leaning quasi-right-winger) was about to piss his pants. Not to ridicule him, but he was running around the office saying very loudly (Oh my God. Oh my God. We're on the 18th floor. Oh my god, they are shutting down the federal building and the courthouse! Oh my God, I've got to get the kids out off school and go home. Oh my God."

And he insisted on leaving by 11 am eastern time. As distracted as I was, I wasn't worried about my kids, and I really just wanted to get my work done. But of course, they sent us home after lunch.

I understand the feelings of trauma, but if you were not in NYC or in a famous high-rise in maybe LA or Chicago, or if you had loved ones flying at the time, you really had nothing to fear that day...


So were you PERSONALLY afraid for yourself?

[Solly Mack]

1. nope

[MuseRider]

2. Nope

but then I am in Kansas. Nobody in their right mind would do anything here. I mean, who would really care?

[proud2BlibKansan]

75. I would care!

And no, I wasn't scared either. Too far away.

It was a school day. Happened right as I got to work. The principal told us to turn OFF our TVs so the kids couldn't watch it. At first I was pissed. I am a news hound and I thought the kids should be able to witness history, as gruesome as it was.

But that night one of my friends who teaches in a different school called me and told me that a kid in her school (4th grader) who is Muslim stood up on his chair and cheered when he saw the plane hit the WTC on the TV in his classroom. His classmates jumped him.

So I was glad we hadn't shown it to our kids. And a day or so later, when I had seen that plane crash thousands of times, I was comfortable that we had not let our kids at school see it.

Another interesting thing is that a kid in my class was the only one in the entire school whose parent came to get him and take him out of school that day. Within a few weeks, his parents had bought land in a rural area east of KC and put a trailer on it. They admitted they were so freaked out by 9/11 they didn't want to live in a city anymore.

[MuseRider]

76. The only thing I can say

is that KC would be a better target than Topeka! It would have been hard to not know what was going on. You spared them that day but I am certain they ended up getting more than enough of it.

[brainshrub]

3. I remember being dazed and grief-stricken.

For the first time I understood why the ancients would tear their clothes and wail in the streets when something bad happened to their people.

[Radical Activist]

4. No.

I was living in a small town at the time and there was no reason to suspect it would be a target for terrorists. I think the shopping mall warnings right after 911 were a sick and blantant why to spread fear to towns that were not in any real danger.

I slept in on 911 and didn't know it happened until hours later.

[Fridays Child]

5. Afraid of Muslim extremists? No. Afraid of Christian extremists...

...and their political arm, the neocons? Yes.

[bullimiami]

6. bush scared me right after 9/11. still does.

but scared or islamic fundamentalists? nope.

hey udo fellow miamian.
i was driving in to work on I95 around 125th st when I heard about it on the radio.
went in to the studio which is in the southwest and we sat around the tv for several hours and all went home early. i remember what a weird day it was.

[Piperay]

7. Yes, I admit I was scared

something so unbelievable happens and it made me really see that anything could happen. I was afraid for a couple of weeks then I had a very close brush with death right in my own home. After that I realized that I faced more of a threat in ordinary things then I did from terrorism and I haven't worried about terrorist since then.

[Don Claybrook]

8. I had fears that day

I was near Sacramento. No, I didn't think any sort of attack on Sacramento was imminent. But for the first 3 or 4 or 5 hours, I wondered if our government, our military, had any clue/plan. I remember that there were several false alarms with airplanes that hadn't yet checked in, that sort of thing. I remember wondering if other buildings/cities would be hit that day.

More than that, I was afraid of what all of our futures looked like. I wondered whether we'd get into a nuclear exchange with someone over this.

After about 3 days, Bush had once again lost all of my sympathies, when it became apparent that this would be a polital tool for him.

After about 3 weeks I started wondering if Bush had something to do with it. I still have those questions.

[libnnc]

9. I was scared because

at the time my partner was an ATCer at Greensboro (she was working that day) where there is a very large petrol tank farm very close to the airport. The rumor at that time was that area (right beside I-40) was a prime target for terrorists.

[FrenchieCat]

10. Me....I got really afraid during election 2000.....and not a minute

after. It was all downhill from there. Everything that happened after that....I wasn't neither afraid nor surprised.

[mpanno]

11. I was sickened, sad, then angry.

My kids and husband were home. I was terrified when the snipers started up in DC. I thought that was more likely to spread to other cities.

[joneschick]

12. I was with a friend

whose fiance was in the air on his way to NY. It was a rather tense several hours waiting to hear where his plane put down.

My husband was planning to leave for Bangalore, India on 9/12---he thought he would just have to leave some electronics at home but that he would still fly as scheduled.....

another friend was to have flown home to CT, I took him to visit the butterfly exhibit the next day for general relief.

I was with another friend who was from NY, she was terribly concerned about many family and friends at home. She eventually learned of the deaths of four friends.

so I guess, not personally afraid--more disoriented.

[bennywhale]

13. As a Brit, my feelings were initially immense sympathy

and shock. I was in a caravan in the middle of nowhere at the time watching it live on a portable telly. It was the way the fear spread around the world that frightened me. Reports of lost contact with planes came from all over Europe. Cities 1000s of miles away were shutting down. Canary Wharf in London was evacuated. It was a very strange experience making the world seem rather tiny.

I also thought, oh fuck world war 3

[uppityperson]

61. I still think: oh fuck, this is used to start WW3, mixed feelings

Not afraid for myself at that time as far as terrorist attack. Fear was only that what would happen, what would Mr.bush do with this, WW3 excuse. Shock and sorrow at the loss of life. Amazement that the towers could fall so straight down like they had had a demolition team do it.

[Nihil]

133. Yes - sympathy and shock sums it up

>Canary Wharf in London was evacuated.

I was working in a window-less computer room a few blocks away from
Canary Wharf and tracking the tragedy via news sites on a different
server. When the news came through that Canary Wharf was been cleared,
the three of us in the room did a mental calculation, agreed that
CW couldn't reach us if it fell over and decided to carry on rather
than get stuck in the over-crowded tube system with a bunch of panicking
commuters.

I wasn't afraid but remember the feeling of "Are you *sure* this is
the news and not a film trailer?" ... very unreal.

[Kingshakabobo]

14. Not afraid but..

Not afraid but I live in Chicago and I do recall, for months after 9/11, visualizing, while on my "L" ride heading down-town, what it would be like to witness a plane crash in to the Sears tower.

In retrospect, I realize terrorism got to me in a subtle way.

Also, I must admit, dirty bombs cross my mind once in while when I travel to my office down-town.

[Withywindle]

87. the Sears Tower thing...

...I have to admit I sometimes STILL catch myself doing that.

Rumors that it was on a target list don't help.


And sometimes I still get really emotional about being glad to see it in a way I didn't before. I appreciate that sinister, horned, corporate-Satanic looking thing in totally new ways. I love the way it looks like a sleek moderne version of Barad-dur, Sauron's tower in Mordor. And it's so visible from so far away when I'm coming home--just like the lights of the WTC used to be such a joyful beacon when I was taking that long Greyhound or Amtrak trek to NYC when I was in school.

[Walt Starr]

136. Pshaw

I WORK IN THE TOWER!

I wasn't there the day it happened. In fact, I was still living in the city at that time and was driving to a vendor conference in Shaumberg when the first plane hit the tower. Getting back to our apartment that day was a pretty crazy ride as I was listening live to the events in New York.

I showed up to work on 9/12 at about 6:00 AM as I am a manager and it was important to demonstrate to the staff that everything would be business as usual/

[Kingshakabobo]

152. Honestly, I didn't think it would happen to....

Honestly, I didn't think it would happen to the Sears tower but it did make me think. I would imagine it crosses your mind once in a while.

The mass exodus from down-town was kinda freaky though. It was like a Godzilla movie in slow motion with all the people walking and driving north-bound at once. I waited several hours before departing so I could catch an "L" north to Wrigley. I was isolated in my office all day so the magnitude of the situation didn't hit me till I ran in to some neighbors on my block and they were all freaked out.

[ithacan]

15. my fear was of Bush

as soon as I heard about it, I just knew Bush and the right wingers would capitalize on it, exploit it, and use it to crush as much dissent and democracy as possible, They knew and know that their extremist agenda would never fly if they were honest, so they have to do what dictators the world over do: crush any possibility of opposition.

And that's exactly what they've done since Sept. 11.

[EFerrari]

103. Mine, too. Immediately. And I remember him intimating

that Iraq was behind the "attacks" by 9/12 but don't remember where.

And I remember Paula Zahn grilling poor shocky people still searching for loved ones, like the coldhearted b!tch she is.

[whistle]

16. I became afraid when the roadways in Florida near military...

...installations were set up with armed 'round he clock guards and Kennedy Space Center was closed to the public.

[autorank]

17. I was in the DC area and, yes, I was afraid but people here stayed calm.

Despite the fact that POTUS was touring the Southeast and Midwest in a jet protected by a phalanx of fighters.

After the Pentagon crash, I called my daughter on her cell phone. She was about 2.0 miles from the Pentagon and was outside when it occurred -- heard the crash, saw the smoke. We gave her a back way to get from where she was to where we were, about 20 miles. Scary stuff.

In the 72 or so hours after the attack, there was a palpable fear that there would be more. After all, the infrastructure for much of the internet is in this area, a logical target, not to mention all the government facilities.

The people in DC were terrific, particularly since * was not around and the rest were in a bunker somewhere. People stayed calm, supported each other and kept working! It was just amazing.

???Question??? I recall * trying to give a speech when he got back from some room in the WH. I also remember him crying and having to stop the speech. Does anyone else remember. When I mention that to people now and then, they say what? It was really pathetic and let anyone who saw it (or imagined in perhaps) that we are totally screwed every day and night that * is in the WH.

On edit: I lived in NYC for 10 years before moving here. While I was a calm but stunned DC area resident, I had a parallel sense of utter rage at what was done to my former home, the very best city in the entire world.

[CBHagman]

60. You know, I do not recall Bush doing that speech.

I work for a newswire service, and we were trying to cover impromptu briefings (i.e., in a parking lot, in one case) and generally keeping track of things. I do not recall Bush shedding a tear, but perhaps it was something I didn't have to cover.

What I do recall about that week is the photograph of the members of Congress, some leaning against colleagues due to grief, gathered on the steps of the Capitol, singing "God Bless America."

I also recall that Bush switched rapidly into a vengeful mode, as did CNN, when most of us were still in shock and grief. CNN was running a logo, "AMERICA'S NEW WAR," within a few days. Only the service at the National Cathedral seemed to approach the right spirit, as did some sermons given by a priest at another Episcopal parish.

[autorank]

77. This is now getting strange. I'm sure I saw it but now my wife is

looking at me like, :wtf:.

I remember that scene when they sung God Bless America." Was that before or after they were all evacuated by helicopters? Now I know that's not a capitol-legend. When I heard about that, I was just furious. You'd think one of them would have the courage and daring to sit at their desk and say, no way! But they didn't.

After I heard about that, plus * flying around, plus the "brain" trust in the bunker, I had a wonderful feeling of calm as though sanity had returned to the area in the absence of the bloviaters.

The response in NYC and DC showed two highly adaptive responses to traumatic events, although substantially different in expressiveness.

I've often wondered how much of press Bush-boosting resulted from a traumatic response by the NY based press and the need for "a solution" in the form of a "strong leader" just to quell their fears. I'll keep wondering too because there's no way to really demonstrate this.

Glad you're here!

[Chomskyite]

98. That was the

. . . "I'm a loving man" speech that Bush gave standing in front of the Oval Office desk. I thought it was a good acting job, but not good enough.

[indie_voter]

18. I was afraid of the crazies looking to beat up brown people AND

I was afraid of the fundamentalist Islamists who attacked us.

[personman]

19. I wasn't personally afraid for myself or my family.

I live in a small town in Ohio (ironicly called Orwell) with a population of aproximately 1,500 people. If Al-Queda nuked us they'd be like "fuck...we just wasted a perfectly good nuke and killed 2 drunk rednecks and a cow..."

-personman

[Bouncy Ball]

20. No.

I remember a lot of parents picking their kids up from school early and I thought "are you kidding me? We're in ________, Texas, we aren't even anywhere NEAR any large buildings or other targets, what the hell?"

I was pretty damn shocked, but went about my day.

[phylny]

109. As I mentioned before on this thread,

we lived right near Dulles Airport in Virginia, and I worked at an elementary school.

LOTS of parents picked up their kids early, but we had been instructed not to tell the children what had happened, so the kids that were left we like, "What IS GOING ON???" No duh, kids ;)

When I finally got home, my own children (high school, middle school, and elementary school) wanted to know why I didn't come to pick them up when other parents had. I told them, "I was at school taking care of other people's children just like I knew other people were taking care of my children."

A side note that I had forgotten: Some time later, when the school had to be retrofitted to be a "shelter in place" in case of a biological or nuclear attack, we all joked that we were going to hoard food and lock our classroom/office doors for survival purposes (popcorn, anyone?) and the cafeteria manager, a woman my age who always called me "young'in," winked and said to me, "Oh, I have enough on hand to feed everyone in this building for at least four days."

[Bouncy Ball]

127. Yep. I talked to several teachers who wanted to run out

of our school and go pick up their own children.

I gently chided them that while they were THERE during the school day THESE kids were their obligation, and how would they feel if their kids' teachers went running out on them to go pick up HER children?

They agreed they would not be happy about it.

;-)

People were panicky, just took a bit of calm and rational thinking to sort it out. But I trusted my daughter's teacher to keep her with her and the parents of my students trusted ME to keep them with me and do my best to keep them safe and I took that VERY seriously.

[Blue_In_AK]

21. No, not afraid, just sad to my core. n/t

[HuskiesHowls]

22. * and friends are a LOT scarier than terrorists!!

[corbett]

23. Not Afraid Because Only The Body Count Was Real

It wasn't a real terrorist attack. I nearly lost a family member in Lower Manhattan so I'm not typing out of my ass. 9/11 was not a real terrorist attack. All of the details you'll ever need are at the bottom of the following page:

http://www.reopen911.org

It was Cheney's deal. The chimp knew that something would happen on that fateful day but not high treason.

[HeeBGBz]

24. I wasn't really afraid for myself

Just shocked and frightened of the uncertainty of what in the hell was happening.

My boss at the time was a freeper cop and I was working in a restaurant full of people. The tv was on in the breakroom and everytime I went back in the kitchen, something else was blowing up. My wacko freep boss was freaking out, strappin' on his pistol and saying "This is world war III" Made for a very paranoid day.

[cbear70]

25. I admit

I was afraid...just three months earlier I lost my baby girl at birth so was grief stricken already.. this just terrified me and I felt this overwhelming need to get my oldest child out of school. I did eventually calm down and realize I was misplacing my grief but still just stayed glued to the tv just to make sure...

I had such an array of emotions..

[Just Me]

26. 9/ 11 HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH MY PRESENT CONCERNS!

'KAY?

However, I'll tell you what I most HATE about 9/11,...

That day has been used as an EXCUSE for power-mongering American "representative" to steal my liberties, wage a war of aggression, commit war crimes and torture human beings, funnel public wealth to corporate assholes,...and, basically, take advantage of people's fear for profit!!! :grr:

This imposition of 9/11 shit gets on my last, remaining nerve!!!!

I'LL NEVER FORGET THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11 AND ALL THOSE WHO USED THAT DAY TO THEIR ADVANTAGE/PROFIT/POPULARITY!!! I WILL NEVER, EVER, EVER FORGET THAT!!!!!

[jayfish]

27. I Did Have A Couple Of Unnerving Moments.

I was at UofM v. Illinois on 9/29. The Big House was packed with 107k people. There is a big air corridor around that area and the sky was full of planes, all damn day. I missed quite a bit of the game.



ON EDIT: The other time was the summer after 9/11. Our local museum had the dead sea scrolls on display all summer.

Jay

[classof56]

28. Not really afraid of another attack.

I was very worried about a friend who worked near the WTC in NY until I heard at last that she was okay. I took Amtrak from WA state to DC (plane trip on 9/13 was cancelled), spent several days sightseeing in the nation's Capital, where the no lines no waiting was nice, and the restrictions and searches weren't too bad. Then drove cross-country from Virginia to the West Coast, listening to lots of talk radio on the way (BAA=Before Air America), but really had no fear of being attacked. I'm still not afraid of terrorists, but sure as hell am afraid of Bush&Co and all the wacko right wingers who fancy themselves in charge.

Tired Old Cynic

[thecai]

29. No, I Was Expecting It

A few months prior to 9/11, my neighborhood almost had a plane crash into it, a witness reported it to Fairchild Air Force Base, but there was no follow-up investigation.
Just days prior to 9/11, a neighbor and I were discussing how corrupt leaders, et al, could "allow" a "terrorist attack" as an "excuse" to obtain greater power or declare martial law. Instilling fear upon the public makes them easier to control and manipulate.
Personally, I was more concerned over our protection from a terrorist gvt., but unafraid.

[Gormy Cuss]

30. No

I assumed the terrorists had made their point on the East Coast for the day, and any plans to come after the West Coast would be later.

Weirdly, the one person I know who went into full blown panic mode drove
4 hours to his home immediately upon hearing the news, not to be near his family but to be near his guns. Did I mention he's a major league conservative Repub?

[B Calm]

31. I live 25 miles from one of the largest inventories of nerve gas

in the world and I wasn't afraid.

[Lannes]

33. For myself no

For my Family in Washington and Manhattan yes.

[dave123williams]

32. I was more shocked than scared, until I smelled it.

It...was kind of like...a combination burning gasoline and bar-b-q'd meat. It scared the shit out of me. It still scares the shit out of me sometimes.

[yowzayowzayowza]

34. Naw, I did the math right away...

If a 9/11 were to occur every year, you, me and every American would STILL be 5 times more likely die in a drunk driving accident. I felt a lot like during the impeachment BS. I'z heapz more afraid of those trippin' than the precipitating events.

[SW FL Dem]

35. I wasn't afraid for myself but I really wanted to get my kid

from school. It was a selfish thing, even though I kenw he was safe, I needed to have him with me as the horror unfolded. I called the school and they told me for the kids'sake, they wanted to keep things as normal as possible, so I left him there.

[Birthmark]

36. Not afraid for a microsecond!

I was angry. Very, very angry indeed! </Marvin the Martian>

The whole terrorist thing completely fails to impress me. As many people die in car wrecks every month as died on 9/11. That doesn't excuse the terrorists, nor negate the tragedy; but it helps to bring some perspective to the event.

[Bluebear]

37. Yes I was terrified.

>but if you were not in NYC or in a famous high-rise in maybe LA or Chicago, or if you had loved ones flying at the time, you really had nothing to fear that day<

That's easy to say in retrospect but at the time and for quite a while thereafter I was petrified. Of course, had I known that W fell asleep at 11pm that night I may have felt a little more at ease, since he wasn't concerned.

[alcibiades_mystery]

38. I was 6 blocks from WTC when plane 1 hit, and 3 blocks when plane 2 hit

I wasn't scared until the moment that plane 2 hit. But I held it together. I was freaked out when the south tower went down and we were enveloped in smoke, primarily because we couldn't then see the tower from where we were, we just saw people running toward us, then the smoke cloud. I thought it was all over.

Also scared going over the Brooklyn bridge, with the fighter jets whizzing in hearing range overhead. That was freaky. I moved at a fast pace walk til I got over the other side.

[jayfish]

46. I Can't Imagine...

what that must have been like. Even after seeing it a million times.

Jay

[Catherine Vincent]

39. I was a little afraid but not much.

They let everyone go home early and the schools too. I was stunned at what I saw on tv (the pentagon, the collapse of the twin towers). But when I got home that evening with tv on and posting on the NYTimes forums at the time, I didn't rest from bashing Bush*. And boy did that piss off the repukes. They expected me and others to keep quiet on bashing him because of what just happened to our country. I got yelled at, cursed at and everything. At that time I didn't understand why? Now I do. Those folks were so in love with Bush it was a Cult! And they still are, after all what has this jackass accomplished in his court appointed presidency? Not a damn thing.

I probably would have held up bashing Bush on that day but after seeing Congressman Weldman on CSPAN ranting and raving about all what happened and he said in so many words that it was Clinton's fault, I was seeing red! I will never forget what that bastard did. I bring this up everytime someone ask how everyone felt on Sept. 11.

[amazona]

40. I was afraid for several people I knew

One had surgery scheduled, it had to be re-scheduled because all of the blood needed for transfusions had to be sent to the hospitals near the Pentagon. I heard the rumor that the Sears Tower would be hit next, and I was worried for a friend who (I thought) had departed for Chicago that day. He actually overslept and decided not to go. I was also worried for several business contacts in Manhattan, since my geography is shaky and I wasn't sure how close they were to that area. They were all fine though.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[oasis]

41. Condi had already blown her assignment as head of national security,

she wasn't going to let it happen twice.

[Lannes]

45. I saw a report that said that she didnt even know that was part of her job

No kidding.Ill post it if i can find it.

[lonestarnot]

42. Hell NO! Just aggravated that I knew we had been had by the regime

somehow. My dread was later confirmed.

[ken-in-seattle]

43. Nope

But it made clear to me the layout of the dark future. I was already aware of the PNAC letter to Clinton in the 90's and there machavelian ways so I scareed a few people by correctly predicting many of the feel good stupidities to come in the following weeks.

I was in a high rise datacenter (90% of all internet traffic to the west coast and the pacific rim) trying to route around a NAP in NYC that had gone down when the tower collapsed and the jerkwads in Herndon VA were just paralyzed with paranoia.

Later in the day I used maps and cell phones to guide some lebanese associates through southern CA in a rental car and rented hotel rooms on my card for their route back to civilization. I had them all buy baseball caps and tropical shirts for the ride so the northern CA hiway patrol would leave them alone. I had to rent a limo and driver team for the owner of a canadian company (pakistani) so he could get to a meeting in Vancouver BC. His business dissolved in the following weeks since he could not get back into the us even though he owned 20 mil worth of property and had been a canadian citizen for 12 years.

I go ballistic even now when I hear morons say "everything changed"
-------------

The only thing we have to fear... is fear itself. FDR

[phylny]

112. You realize that the "jerkwads in Herndon VA"

were right under the airport where flight 77 took off, right? You also realize that Herndon is close enough to D.C. that thousands of people were affected by what happened to friends and colleagues at the Pentagon, and that we were on high alert by federal goverment order on September 11th and 12th? That there were so many conflicting reports that day that we all thought we were under imminent attack, and people were not only worried about their jobs, but their children?

Jerkwads indeed. :eyes:

[ken-in-seattle]

116. Their job at the time was to deal with the emergency, just like mine.

several thousand routers fell off the net at once and their only job and mine was to route around them. This was the original intent and reason for the internet. The techs were not frozen, it was the suits. Panicked and unable to make any decisions, the managers who rose through the ranks or came out of the military had to take control while the MBA's fled the buildings. I was working in a so called "target" building and every tech and other "essential personel" stayed at their post when they evacuated the building.

[phylny]

149. How gallant of you to be so understanding.

People with no training in military operations, who had a terrorist plane whiz past them in the morning, with kids in schools that were locked down, with federal government installations surrounding them really should have taken a page from your book of calm and collected.

[DearAbby]

44. I was horrified watching the 2nd tower fall down..

But I was never frightened for my own safety. The tramatic sight of that plane slaming into that building and seeing them tumble down, is what has kept this party in power, and should never underestimated.

I felt sadness and anger, and an erie strangeness, something is not right...I know it sounds funny, of course nothing was right, our lives changed at that moment...but an underlying...SOMETHING WAS NOT RIGHT.

I know I am wording this wrong...

[MrSlayer]

47. I wasn't scared. I was very, very pissed off.

I have to admit I instantly thought it was some Arab group and wanted Chimpo to nuke the fuck out of everyone in the Middle East because of how personally I took it. But, being that it was so personal, going over the facts I have to find the "official" conspiracy theory to be wanting. I can't help but believe our own government, at the best, turned their heads and let it happen for their own political purposes. The stonewalling of even a whitewash investigation, the outright lies, the ignoring of the August 6th memo, Richard Clarke being blown off time after time, Ashcroft and other officials being told not to fly commercially and other oddments all add up to us not being told the real truth. I'm still pissed off about it.

[sharonking21]

48. I voted YES

because during the first hour or so I was terribly afraid--I had no idea if it was to be a more general attack or not. Once I realized that it was not a generalized attack I calmed down somewhat.

I was off work at my mother's house getting ready to take her to the doctor when someone called and said "Turn on the TV--we are under attack." We did so, enough to see what was happening, but then had to leave-- so I was driving and unable to get exact word of what was happening until we got to the clinic.

On the way down there I called in to work to be sure that I wasn't needed--I was on the Bioterrorism team for my health agency. My knowledge of all the things that potentially could happen probably made me more frightened than others.

After that I was just terribly quiet and depressed.

I notice, however, that unlike the years before 9/11, I either leave my TV running in the background or go check every so often to be sure nothing has happened.

[expatriate]

49. I was in another country

So I certainly wasn't afraid for myself. I also found out about 911 after the fact, as I was sleeping when it occurred. I woke at 3 AM and checked my email to find a letter from my mother assuring me that all was well with some family members in New York and telling me that the WTC had been destroyed.

She didn't know it, but I had six friends working in the WTC. It turned out that a family member was on one of the planes. I lost seven people that day.

So my reaction was overwhelming grief and a feeling of utter helplessness and frustration. Wanting desperately to have been able to talk to them one more time. And anger.

I feel more anger now when I see what has been done in the name of 9/11.

The very next weekend, I had a trade show to do at the tallest building in Australia. This was normally a lucrative event for me, with lots and lots of people attending.

Nobody showed up. Only about fifty customers, when normally there were thousands. All afraid of being in a big building, in case terrorists decided to bomb the Teddy Bear and Craft Show.

[sabra]

50. worked in the penthouse of a famous Chicago highrise...

so I was a little afraid, especially when they "didn't know" where the 4th flight was heading...

[expatriate]

51. I was in another country

So I certainly wasn't afraid for myself. I also found out about 911 after the fact, as I was sleeping when it occurred. I woke at 3 AM and checked my email to find a letter from my mother assuring me that all was well with some family members in New York and telling me that the WTC had been destroyed.

She didn't know it, but I had six friends working in the WTC. It turned out that a family member was on one of the planes. I lost seven people that day.

So my reaction was overwhelming grief and a feeling of utter helplessness and frustration. Wanting desperately to have been able to talk to them one more time. And anger.

I feel more anger now when I see what has been done in the name of 9/11.

The very next weekend, I had a trade show to do at the tallest building in Australia. This was normally a lucrative event for me, with lots and lots of people attending.

Nobody showed up. Only about fifty customers, when normally there were thousands. All afraid of being in a big building, in case terrorists decided to bomb the Teddy Bear and Craft Show.

[barb162]

52. yes, very much so

Terrorists can attack anywhere and in any way and 9/11 proved it. I thought and still think they will attack again and I am wondering why they haven't done it here yet since 9/11.

[earth mom]

53. I was devastated for the people who had died

and felt uneasy, unsafe and unsettled for months and months. It took me forever to wake up and figure out the lies and the deception of the BFEE and to understand that it was either MIHOP or LIHOP. I was clueless and had lived an apolitical life up to that point. But once I realized that things weren't adding up, I became determined to find answers-I demanded answers-and I searched them out in spite of the corporate medias despicable blackout of the truth.

I really hope there are millions of people out there just like me....people determined to get to the truth. It gives me hope that once the majority of people in this country know the truth-we WILL triumph over these evil bastards in the end!

[cmd]

54. I was concerned about my children

One was in a Cleveland high rise; the other next to an air force base. Personally I wasn't afraid for myself.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

55. Sad and angry and certainly uneasy

but not afraid for our safety here in the Florida Keys or the safety of my family in Indiana or Michigan. I was more afraid of the ramifications, knowing that bush and company were running the government. And sadly I was right.

[CBHagman]

56. I was in DC and had relatives and friends in New York.

It's a real "Six Degrees of Separation" situation for people who were in my situation. We all know someone who lost a co-worker, church member, colleague, acquaintance, relative or friend.

My own place of work was then a couple of blocks from the White House, and D.C. was emptying out pretty fast. Some of our staff went home, but my entire department stayed.

Going home that night was eerie, as the Metro was utterly deserted, as was the downtown of D.C. That really makes an impression.

The next day the newsstand I always went by sold EVERY single newspaper it had.

[ebayfool]

57. No, just heartbroken. I remember thinking, at the time, 'this is how

people in other countries feel' - Ireland, UK, Israel, etc. Heartbroken & marveling that people could function w/that weight on their hearts all over the world. Almost like losing innocence, if that makes any sense? That seemingly American sense of safety & sureness of 'it can't happen here'? Personally afraid, no. Fearful of the shape of our future? Very much so. That hasn't gone away, it has transmuted into something colder & harder - but not tied to the 9/11 attacks. It's firmly attached to the terrorists in the White House. They make me fear for the shape of our future. My kid's & grandkid's futures. That doesn't just break my heart. It makes me almost burn w/a fury & hatred that I've rarely felt before. I've always thought hatred was a bad emotion. Now I see it as a tool to forge purpose. It helps keep purpose white-hot & lasting, purpose to use any opportunity to help stop the onslaught on my family's future.

Sad. I'm more afraid of my own government, even after the WTC.

[kysrsoze]

58. Yeah, kind of afraid - my office is 6 blocks from Sears Tower, 30th floor

It was unnerving to say the least. I booked home on a train and worked there for a couple days. There was a LOT of talk about Sears Tower being one of the main targets.

[mopinko]

63. my hubby works right there, too

walks past the sears every day. he was in toronto at the time, tho. i was afraid because he was so far away. i also had to go downtown the next day to get a copy of his birth certificate, because we didn't think he would be able to get back in the country. going downtown sept 12 was the creepiest experience i think i have ever had.

[mcscajun]

59. Shit, Yeah! I Was Fuckin' SCARED.

I was on my way to work in the Wall Street Area in NYC. Running a bit late that morning, still in the car on the NJ side of the Hudson River, hear on the radio that a single plane has hit the WTC. This is the initial report, when folks weren't even aware yet that it was a passenger jet. Then the update...it's a big plane. I'm still heading east. Then the next update...a second plane; and at a bend in the highway the WTC comes into view, and I can see the smoke pouring from the towers.

I can put two and two together as well as anyone. One plane could be an accident; two means deliberate attack. The adrenaline is pumping, I'm on the cell phone like a shot to let one sibling know I'm okay -- she doesn't even know what I'm talking about (they didn't have a radio on in her office). Thousands of cars are still moving (very slowly now) eastbound towards the toll plaza. I make an immediate decision to get the FUCK OUT OF THERE and not try to get any closer to NYC.

By now, I've switched the radio over to WCBS-AM all-news radio. I've got friends in NYC south of the towers. I'm trying to call them and getting no answers (no shit, sherlock!).

I'm hearing all kinds of scary stories coming out of the city, and unconfirmed reports about other planes in the air over the Tri-State area. I'm feeling terribly alone and exposed in my car and just want to get HOME.

I'm on Route 280 heading west when I hear the report of the first tower going down! WTF!!! This is impossible. I'm now driving one-handed, 'cause my other hand is covering my mouth while I'm screaming. (I used to work on the 45th floor of the South Tower, so I'm internalizing the experience at that moment.)

I am totally freaking by now, and I finally reach my hometown, careen on two wheels around the corner to my house, throw myself out of the car before I realize I've left the keys in the car and the engine running, go back, turn the car off, get into the house, turn on the TV JUST in time to SEE, Live, the second tower collapse.

I will never, ever forget how scared I was on that day. If I'd been running on time, or had had an early meeting, I might have been exiting the PATH station under the towers.

[Ladyhawk]

62. Nope. I was in a house out in the sticks.

There was no reason to be personally afraid. The full horror of the attack took awhile to sink in, however. It seemed like a movie or something at first, then I realized, "Damn, that really happened!"

[Clark2008]

64. I was a little afraid, but only because I live near Oak Ridge.

You figure if the country's being attacked, they might go for the weapons facilities. I'm about 20 minutes away.

[BamaLefty]

65. I Was Sick Because Of The Tragic Events On My Beloved Nation

but being in rural Alabama I had no reason to be scared.

[davekriss]

66. Yes

I felt fear. At least, I think you could count it as "fear" -- it was more a kind of gut-wrenching anguish than the chill of fear.

I worked in the Chrysler building in NYC at the time, for a British firm. Though I was on my way to the airport (Westchester) when the planes struck, my team watched the second plane strike from my office before evacuating. I got to Westchester just as they closed the airport so I hightailed it back to my Connecticut home (otherwise I too would have been marooned in Manhattan).

Over the weeks and months following, the Brits in the office would bluster that, hey, they experience terrorism all the time back home, it's no big thing. But even to them it was a big thing. That entire winter in the Chrysler building, when in a conference meeting (for example), whenever a jet on a low flight path to or from La Guardia rumbled by, the room would still. Conversation would slow or stop. Then after the doppler shift and the jet was clearly heading away from us, you could sense a collective sigh of relief, then conversation would continue.

So tell me no one felt fear in NY. You'd be wrong, we did.

[geek tragedy]

67. My fiancee was in a train under the WTC when the first plane hit.

You bet your ass I was afraid.

[FreedomAngel82]

68. I remember that day

I wasn't quite as shocked as some other people. In some small way it was like my higher self was expecting it or something. I don't know. It was a weird day. I live in a sorta small city in Tennessee. There's really nothing here for some big terrorist's to attack that would effect the whole nation like with the WTC and Pentagon.

[CJCRANE]

114. I know what you mean...

I'm in the UK and for the whole year there were news stories about how the new administration was tearing up this treaty or that treaty (Kyoto, ICBM, ICC etc) and generally just turning it's back on the world. Plus with the anti-capitalist riots in the summer, it all seemed connected and inevitable somehow.

[Reverend_Smitty]

69. I was in a high school in suburban NJ...so no

I was saddened and enthralled by the days events but I was never personally afraid

[SmokingJacket]

70. My partner was in the air when it happened --

I got off the phone with him before he boarded the plane, did some housework, turned on the radio, and heard about the first tower.

Oddly... I wasn't afraid, just anxious, as everyone was. I was relieved to hear from him, of course; but the feeling I had was that this was much bigger than me... that I, personally, was not at risk, but that lots of other people were. Hard to describe.

[napi21]

71. NO! I still think we need to be more afraid of US terrorists!

The Tim McVeys (sp) and the KKK and the abortion clinic bombers. I wasn't afraid of a foreign terrorist, but I wouldn't put a Dem bumper sticker on my car because I was afraid some Ga. idiot would key my car! Pr sone nut would see it while driving down I85 and run me off the road, or take a shot! That's the shit that scares me the most!

[liberalhistorian]

72. I was absolutely terrified, and I don't see how

anyone could not have been. When the news came over about the PA plane and they thought there were more headed for us, it was even more terrifying. I remember my mom calling me at work telling me about it, then telling me to go to the ATM and get as much money as I could out of it, to be prepared. We all gathered around the radio at work (I was in a small office with no TV); we heard on our local radio news about a plane sitting on the runway at the Cleveland airport, being examined. I then went to my son's school to get him out, there were many other parents there for the same purpose. We also learned later that day that the PA plane had been turned around directly over Cleveland.

For the first time in my life, I really, truly understood exactly how my grandparents, and everyone else alive and aware then, felt when Pearl Harbor happened. They'd always described the total sense of fear and uncertainty to me, but I never fully understood or appreciated it until I experienced it myself.

[amazona]

138. yeah I think there's a lot of memory editing that goes on

At the time everybody was afraid but now that a lot of time has passed some people forget how they really felt. A friend described it to me as, every time you access a memory and store it back in your brain, it gets compressed and changed a little bit. Kinda like a JPEG. People were afraid everywhere, in small towns and big ones. A man from my nearby small town was killed in the World Trade Center. He was there on business, you see. The whole world is linked. Easy for some to say now, 3-1/2 years later, that you weren't afraid. But we were all afraid and it was a shared experience.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[cally]

73. Yes,

My husband was in NY so I was afraid for him. I could see the national guard gathering about 100 yards from my house and the roads were closing within 1/2 a block from my house. I live very near the staging area for the National Guard in my area. It scared me because I thought they must have a reason to close the roads and call up the National Guard. I was scared.

[ladeuxiemevoiture]

74. In NYC that day, I was terrified, though I laugh about it now!

:D

Because I remember it was a beautiful, sunny day, and the towers were burning, and I knew immediately it was a terrorist attack, and I kept thinking, "Omigosh, what if they've planted worse things elsewhere around the city, like a chemical weapon?" All I could think was to go get my boyfriend and then I was going to convince him we needed to run up the West Side Highway (avoiding any contaminated east-blowing winds) to, eventually, the mainland, and from there we could hitchhike to my folks far away. LOL :D I laugh about the naivete of it now...

[Walt Starr]

78. My wife was, I wasn't

I went to work very early on 9/12 in the biggest target in the country after 9/11

[XOKCowboy]

79. No... Mad but not afraid..

I was in Koha HI working. Being so far away from mainland America tempered the fear. My coworkers didnt have to be at work till late afternoon and after watching a couple of hours of the towers falling we went snorkeling to get our minds off of what was happening. We figured that if it was the end of the world, then best spend it looking at pretty fish.

[fed-up]

80. I was afraid for family in D.C. and a little for my own family

Being on the West Coast it was a call from a friend at around 7:15am PST that woke me up and got me to turn on the TV. I was mortified to watch as the tower, then towers came down, or was it just one I saw live, don't remember now. I have a brother that works a few blocks from the White House, but I didn't know the address and was terrified the entire day that another attack would happen. I finally heard from him that evening and he described the chaos that descended on D.C. that morning as he bailed out of there and headed for home in the burbs.

Having recently lost other family, friends and neighbors I was overwhelmed with grief at the huge number of casualites, and was further horrified at the thoughts of what our idiot president would do in retaliation. I even went so far as to track down websites that showed where nuclear fallout would hit, luckily I am in a somewhat "safe" zone, but I did buy some gas masks on ebay before they went skyrocketing in price. (Now I use them at protests ;))

I suffered severe anxiety attacks in the following months and became physically ill due to a weakened immune system from stress brought on by the constant terror alerts. I soon disconnected my satellite dish, at some point saw Michael Ruppert live (fromthewilderness.org), found cooperativeresearch.org and started reading everything I could find online and slowly regained my sanity.

It took a year, but I finally quit freaking out when they would change the color code and would just laugh instead. Now I am disgusted every time they pull some terror alert crap.I wasn't worried so much for myself, but for family or other innocents that would be in the line of fire due to the insane aggressive policies of this fucked up "democracy" we are currently part of.

[norml]

81. I'm in Nebraska. Who's going to bother with terrorizing Nebraska?

There's no point in it.

[undergroundpanther]

82. Afraid?

I was more afraid that there would be martial law declared on 9/11 than anything else.
I was more afraid in the rush to pin the tail on a scapegoat,alot of innocent people would get rounded up,harassed threatened and disappear.
And so some extent that happened.. That kind of controlled hysteria being unleashed is what I was very afraid of..hysteria led to a fever pitch by the government's command and propaganda mixing with horror fear and trauma.

I was scared of the self righteous angry wing nuts who can't think beyond whatever bush says it true who are at heart common bullies

For instance a few days after 9/11,I saw a red faced republican turd in my town at that time harassing a family of Sikhs. At target. Their kid was crying and hiding behind his dad. His dad just said nothing. They were trying to just avoid being hurt... I defended them and humiliated the fuck outta the hothead..I Helped the Sikhs to their car which was plastered with fresh stickers saying God bless America,I love my country,and I felt so sad and ungodly pissed off.

I was really scared of the wriggle room and distraction this incident would get for sick ass authoritarians on the right,and hometown bigots hiding under the flag...and later when the press alleged all this stuff about Bin Laden it seemed to convenient.. (I say alleged because truthfully I dunno If Bin Laden did this or not..He's an asshole to be sure,and he is a dangerous fanatic.. but is he the guilty one for 9/11? or is he a collaborator,or a fall guy?? Or is he in it with boosh??. Who knows nobody is busting ass to catch him.Maybe he's already "caught" and hiding out,stowed away at Boosh ranch where they are boyfriends behind closed doors??? Who the fuck knows ??

But I do know this I don't trust ANY of them... I expect no truth or honesty from any "leader" or government because IMHO they are all self serving,evil, power hungry and corrupt to the core.
The "official" 9/11 flap made no sense to me on 9/12 or even now..Why were they so clueless,I wondered if they REALLY were as clueless as they appeared? And in the lame ass"investigation" that wasn't one,where the questioning was totally designed to protect the guilty,when Condi pretended to blow off the questions about a memo called Bin Laden determined to attack the Us I knew the"leaders" in our government are very dangerous to the American people and the world and they are in control and taking us into hell so they won't have to go there.. ..A fish like a chain of command rots from the head down.

Also I had remembered soon after 9/11 a few years before reading about in mainstream press how Bush and some of his oil cronies had "business" ties with Bin Laden,Pictures of them together shaking hands and all ...All before Bin Laden was the poster boy for"terrorism". I remember reports of Rumsfeld talking oil shit with him and Reagan talking to the Taliban about getting the commies..The right wing liked to bullshit with Osama and the Taliban long ago and back than they didn't care about the atrocities the Taliban did..no more than they care now..Besides Abu Gharib is the kind of shit Boosh accuses Bin Laden and Saddam of doing.. All three are a bunch of fucking hypocrite sociopaths all of them.

Apparently Bush liked the Taliban as long as they did what he wanted. Just like the House of Saud I guess.
Maybe the Taliban is STILL in the Right wing's back pocket,After all none of these people have morals they are STRAUSS fans and Machiavellians,fanatics with a heavy dowse of Nietzsche and Ayn Rand rationalizing..in other words they are a bunch of robber baron sociopath liars.

So what on Earth caused this rift between this international band of robber barons?
I had my reservations about believing all the too consistent hype and the cock sureness about who did 9/11 on TV..I saw the evidence being carted away before any real investigation could be done.I was suspicious that 2 planes that are made of aluminum could knock down buildings designed to withstand earthquakes and storms.
I wondered about the third plane and why it took so long to scramble jets that should have been there.

I was weirded out with the startling lack of debris and damage on the pentagon lawn..I saw too many damn anomalies to just go along with the media......And Soon I began to suspect it may have been an inside job,and soon after that I got real scared..martial law? When? Patriot acts?? Yikes.Why didn't any one oppose this power grab??

Looks like Bush and his Pnac Pax Americana buddies had their Catalyzing event like Pearl Harbor ever so conveniently on schedule to justify a fake war and destroy our Constitution and shred the New Deal.. Why?

They are deliberately crashing civilization because they know damn well this way of life is UNSUSTAINABLE. Why is bush's ranch so green friendly while he advocates coal and pollution and all..Can you say CULL.

There is a shadow government,and it is a fucking tyrant and the people in this shadow government are playing good cop bad cop with the American People to keep us from seeing the oligarchy that is our real enemies,we are so duped while all sides we don't bother to investigate benefit from the theft and lies....and now since so much of our Constitution,our protections from tyrants is gone because of authoritarian assholes on the right and spineless sold out Dem's on the left going along with the plan.. I hope Boosh gets his waterloo too..and soon,because frankly when the crash comes,we will be shook out of complacency,by then it will be too late to stand against it without alot of horror and bloodshed.

The time to have turned this country around was during the Carter years..but Carter wasn't blunt enough to tell the people what the stakes were and how it applied to them personally..and the people were a bunch of oblivious consuming cows.And they voted in the beginning of the end of our nation with that piece of shit Reagan.If you notice this admin has alot of recycles from Reagans..Coincidence? I think not. WAKE UP! This right wing power grab has been a coup that has been planned and acted upon slowly for many decades. Creeping corporatism and creeping theocracy stalking it's way bit by bit to cull millions and create a very stratified oligarchical prison state so that the rich will never suffer or have to deal with uppity plebeians again. The haldol implants,the food full of toxins, sex,the net, drugs and rocknroll,work until you drop,boredom and fast paced living, fear and violence sexism and the gay agenda etc are the soma they need to keep us distracted anxious,disconnected from each other,fighting against each other,stupid..and weak.

The elites are right on this.. the "people" cannot be trusted to be able to see what is in their own interests or to be capable of self governance.. But the elites are wrong ... because what they fail to admit that some of the people know, they are UNFIT to rule over anyone else.

Either way we have let the corporates and tyrants the bullies and greedy the elitists and cronies damage and use up our only Earth home. We have let sociopaths destroy us in our name,we have played a game with a sickness called civilization,and we cannot stop it because we are addicted to it..
We the people will not take the responsibility to govern ourselves,we do not want to care about the well being of others, we let leaders do it all for us with their systems..,and when they don't do good ,we are so desperate to believe we will pretend they do good when they do bad things.We let experts tell us who we MUST be and we believe them and we enforce conformity on others,even to the point of abuse..
It's a closed loop this way of life.


Slowly we have become unaware and complicit with misused power and we will soon be unwilling,forced sacrifices keeping the elites safe from...us....We will die for them and suffer so the elite of the sociopath humanity will steal the Earth from under us as they take all the technology, wisdom and art of billions and all their generations..all for themselves.

The elites will go hide in space or deep in the Earth,where they are untouchable,kinda like now just more secure..The soldiers and blind loyal cops will fight for them until they feel the pinch or get betrayed..The elites will go to some remote place to wait it all out,Safe... While we die off from diseases,they hold the cures for,we work until death because we have kids, and loved ones..we plod along,as they confuse us with propaganda, red tape and needless beuracracy..and we will have to face anxiety and fear..We will have to face the truth we run from ,that we have been USED..We are complicit,when we keep on consuming generation after generation and avoid DOING SOMETHING about all the decay and damage done to this Earth .Soon the effects will be unavoidable..We will finally feel the horrific results of a civilization catch up to us..All the problems from way back before our grand parents..The problems they left for us same problems that our parents will leave for us.The bucks gonna stop somewhere,and it will not be the elites who will be stuck with the bill....if they can get away with it.


The elites don't care about anyone,because they are incapable of it..They will let us to kill each other in the street,starve, get sick and die or kill ourselves because they have known for a long time we have depleted our earth's resources ,playing the profit game...

And we do not want to take responsibility for our well being together .And neither do the elites want take responsibility for restraining themselves either.The elite have a way to exist in non parasite mode for a time,on the riches we made for them , they have been building up to this crash for decades.

Meanwhile most Americans have no plan for life without civilization.
They can't imagine living any other way other than what they do today. So they do nothing to stop the elites from crashing civilization to save their own sorry skins..ironically from us..thier host.

Denial is a strong delusion too bad it's so destructive.

[question everything]

83. On 9/23 I had a family emergency that necessitates going to the airport

to catch a plan. it was so dead that I really felt uncomfortable. I even bought a sandwich because I felt bad for the concession people.

The aircraft was so empty that the attendant stopped in mid sentenced when she started with: first rows boarding... and just said: oh, go ahead and board.

[viva la resistance]

84. no

could'nt vote for I just registered, but no.

[NYFlip]

85. I was scared

I live about a mile from the WTC. I had slept in and a friend from LA called to ask if I was okay. I turned on the TV and then started shaking. Threw on clothes and went over to the dance studio where I take class (I'm a dancer) just to be with people. Watched the people walking downtown and uptown. Saw and smelled the smoke. It was like a nightmare. As the shock wore off sadness and anger set in.

[Withywindle]

86. Not for myself (I was home that day) but ..

...my boyfriend worked within explosion-distance of the Sears Tower at that time, so yeah. I was worried to death about him until he got home. (His store closed like almost everything in the Loop that day).


And my ex-fiance (still a very close friend) lived in Astoria and took the N train through the WTC every morning around that time, as did another close friend of mine. So I did freak out about them until I heard from them (both of them _were_ very nearby, and both are still getting some PTSD counseling for stuff they saw.)


For some months after that I admit I was twitchy about the other shoe dropping. I was nervous about planes, skyscrapers, the el, crowds. I did twitch a little every time I saw a low-flying jet disappear behind a skycraper (which is of course any time I looked up).

It passed. It healed, mostly. It never made me want to support the Chimp in anything, in fact it made it all the more terrifying to think this ignorant, arrogant little man was our "leader" during this time.

I do live in a major city that I know has a chance of being a target for something awful someday, and I do still think about it. You never know. But I'm still more likely to be mugged or struck by lightning. :shrug:

[leftofthedial]

88. personally afraid of the bushturdgang

[BurtWorm]

89. I was in Midtown Manhattan when it happened.

I wasn't afraid, though--just shocked and stunned at first, watching the smoke and flames pouring out of the towers from Fifth Avenue in the 50s. It wasn't until later in the day, when I was trying to get home to the Upper West Side from Queens that I was scared. I should never have gone to Queens. I took the last train Eastbound. On the way back, sometime after 3:00, they weren't letting people across the 59th Street Bridge. Cell phone calls weren't going through. People were lined up down the block waiting for a free payphone. People were talking about loved ones not accounted for. I finally got to the phone, but I couldn't reach my wife. I had a fantasy--there was a rumor that Manhattan was being evacuated--that she and our daughter were on a bus to the wilds of New Jersey and it would take me days to find her. At that moment, I felt like I was in the middle of a warzone, and this must have been how it felt to be in Europe in 1945. I was thinking, shit, we've been spoiled and sheltered. The world is right up in our face now. Then they finally let people onto the bridge. That's when I really got scared for a minute, looking at the smoke and ash billowing up from the suddenly unfamiliar skyline and wondering if I was walking on a milelong target.

[fortyfeetunder]

90. I was PISSED

that there was nothing to be done to stop those aircraft. And was incensed that airplanes were used as weapons, making true a prediction I had in January 2001 something like this would happen -- I had thought an event like this would take place Inauguration Day.

Fear, hell no. I was just wondering when it would be all over with so I could resume life as usual. It's been almost 4 years and it ain't getting there....

[Lindacooks]

91. While all the airplanes were being grounded, I felt uneasy.

We didn't know how many more suicide terrorists were on board planes, and I was afraid that more planes would crash.

[6000eliot]

92. Unsettled, but not afraid.

[lostnfound]

93. A little afraid of leaving a young orphan if we were hit too..

but mostly just sad, thinking about how many kids had probably just lost one or both parents.

[Eloriel]

94. No -- but I live in rural Georgia. HOWEVER,

for a few weeks I had a feeling that was basically fear, tho i a braod sense. It took this form: "This isn't how I wanted my later years to be." It wasn't just "terrorists," it was also heightened security and everyone ELSE's fear.

[AntiCoup2K4]

95. I was afraid, only because I knew who was REALLY behind this shit.

....and nobody's proven me wrong yet.

[bumblebee1]

96. I was at home asleep after working a second shift job.

My husband called home around 8 a.m. When I answered the phone, he told me that a plane had hit the WTC. I asked if it was a jet plane. He told me "Yes." Then I told him that something is going on. There are not that many incompetent pilots in the air. Was I afraid? I was too dazed from lack of sleep to be afraid. Then I called him at his job and told him about the plane that hit the Pentagon. That's when I knew something's going on. When I went back to work the Thursday after, one of my co-workers said something about 9/11 being messed up. I had to agree with him. Quite a few of my co-workers didn't come into work for a few days. I had to go to work. I was in no mood to give the terrorists a cheap victory

[Chomskyite]

97. I was afraid for my country

. . . because from what we knew of George W. Bush we knew he'd be both mean enough to kill large numbers of innocent people and incompetent enough to kill THE WRONG people and to put hundreds of thousands of Americans (perhaps millions) at needless risk.

I was expecting a sort of pogrom against Muslim Americans. And we got something close to it, although the media hushed it up.

I thought there was a small chance Bush would employ the atomic bomb against some target or other. He only threatened to do so repeatedly. No atomic bombs have gone off so far. Plenty of Depleted Uranium though, and that alone will of course poison our soldiers and the rest of the world population for centuries uncountable.

So far all that I was afraid of has come to pass.

[AlienGirl]

99. I was afraid of the government's response

I was more afraid that the government was going to use it as a pretext to declare martial law than I was of terrorists. The first thing I did was call a buddy of mine and ask if he thought it was time to get out of the country.

Tucker

[Seabiscuit]

100. Not so much afraid as stunned.

[Vektor]

101. I was devastated by the loss of human life, but not afraid

for my own personal safely. I am thousands of miles from NYC - but I was terribly upset by the event, and for those who were lost.

[anitar1]

102. No, not afraid, but many others seemed terrified.

I was still working at the time , and customers were just going crazy. We are in a small city, so I could not understand their fear. But, Bush, yes. I have always been dubious about certain aspects of the attack.

[Devlzown]

104. I live in Bumfuck, Mississippi.

Hell no, I wasn't afraid. A bombing would probably have been an improvement. And I'm from here. About 5 generations, so don't think I'm hating on the South or anything.

[Eloriel]

129. LOl --

well, if not an IMPROVEMENT, at least a little bit of interest, right? I can identify...

[VOX]

105. Not afraid, but angry and troubled. My wife was stuck 3,000 miles away..

And I work a block from a large urban federal building, which was swarming with LAPD and U.S. Army -- it was just weird to see all these heavily armed dudes in what is normally an extremely quite, humdrum place.

My wife and her mom were in Hawaii, and they were scheduled to return to the Mainland on 9/11. In fact, they were en route to the airport when it happened. It sounds great to be stuck there, but when you're eager to get home and be with your loved ones, even paradise can take on a hellish cast.

But for the most part, I was angry and stunned for a couple of weeks. It was all so goddamned surreal.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

106. Or if...

but if you were not in NYC or in a famous high-rise in maybe LA or Chicago, or if you had loved ones flying at the time, you really had nothing to fear that day...

Or if you had relatives in NYC. Or if you were in DC. Or if you had relatives in DC. Or Boston (remember where the planes came from?) Or if you were stranded by the lack of air travel, far from your loved ones. Or if you or someone in your family worked for an airline, or at a major airport. Or you lived anywhere withing spitting distance of a landmark like the Golden Gate Bridge. Or if you realized that this should have never happened in the first place, and our government was completely ignoring the threat.

That covers a pretty significant chunk of this country, you know. I fell into more than one of those categories. Most of the people I know fell into at least one of those categories.

Being a reality-based person aware of the frequency of terrorist attacks here and around the world, I never for a moment forgot that these are isolated incidents, and that my chances of being in a fatal car wreck are much higher.

Except that on the day you reference, there were four of these "isolated incidents" each of which killed hundreds (and in some cases thousands of people) and on that day nobody could really say for certain whether we'd seen the last of the "isolated incidents."

I find your assertion that people who are part of the "reality-based community" would never be frightened to be quite silly. You must be very proud of yourself. Being a member of the reality-based community, I also would note that our nuclear nonproliferation policies are a fucking joke, and Russia has done a crap job of securing their own stockpile.

So please excuse me if I metaphorically shit my pants on 9/11. I had relatives in NYC. I lived near the GG Bridge and worked next to a fairly major port complex. I have friends in Boston and DC. I'm glad you didn't. I realize some people went overboard with it, but for a lot of people who you didn't bother to include in your original post, the threat was very real.

[0007]

107. No, but I was concerned and wondered how this could happen.

n/t

[phylny]

108. I lived about 10 miles from Dulles Airport in Virginia

and in fact, worked at an elementary school near the airport. Not only were we on lockdown at school, but we were hearing horrible rumors - the FAA building in Leesburg was bombed, the Washington Monument was bombed - and we had no way of knowing what was true until the Loudoun County police stopped by to check in on us.

The thing that made me really afraid was the eerie silence - NO AIRPLANE NOISE - the day after (we had a government-mandatory day off from school the next day) and then hearing a jet screaming in the sky in the early morning. It turned out to be a military jet, but on that day, with no air traffic, it was just so loud in comparison to the absolute silence.

[marions ghost]

126. yes the lack of airplanes overhead the next day was so creepy

I am used to hearing the passenger jets all day long wending their way to and from the local airport, along with occasional military jets. The silence on Sept 12 was Huge. I went outside to listen to it by myself for a long time. That's the day it all sank in--that our world would never be the same again.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

110. There was one moment. I live 50 miles north of NYC and my son and

I saw a plane flying down towards the city, and we thought it might hit Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. Then it veered east and we breathed.

I was very worried about my ex-husband who was out of his midtown office at a meeting and we had no idea where he was.

[bklyncowgirl]

111. Afraid for my husband who was outside the WTC when 2nd plane hit

He called me around 8:45 and told me to put on the radio (I was at work at the time) saying there'd been an explosion and the Trade Center was on fire--people were saying a plane had hit it. A few minutes later he called again to tell me that there was an explosion in the second tower--he witnessed that one but was on the wrong side of the building to see the plane.

I didn't hear from him again for an hour. He managed to hop what was going to be the last subway heading north and ended up at his appointment in Harlem. The building, which was accross the street from Bill Clinton's offices was of course in full lockdown mode at by the time he got there.

Needless to say I was frantic during that blackout hour.

[Vinca]

113. We live near a nuclear power plant and a few months after 9/11

there was an incident that frightened me. I was outside the house and noticed a jet coming in my direction . . . low. It was a large, passenger jet . . . and it was VERY low. My first thought was the nuclear power plant. As it turned out, many people called the police when this incident happened. It turned out the jet had taken off from an airport about 50 miles away and had mechanical problems and was going back.

[morgan2]

115. I wasnt afraid

To be honest I think I was mostly intrigued, I wanted to know everything about what happened and why. Not so much the technicalities, but why it happened.

[China_cat]

117. I was afraid

but of what our government would do/had done.

[Deja Q]

118. I shouldn't have been.

[katinmn]

119. No, but I was a little worried about flying for a while.

[JHB]

120. I live across the river from the WTC...

...but I was at work 30 miles away at the time. I was concerned for my landlord (who worked at the WTC -- having also been there for the '93 bombing, he got out quickly) and for various co-workers who had relatives there or in the emergency services (one of whom was among the victims), but not personally. I would have been concerned with "how am I going to get home" with everything shut down, but as it happened I was house-sitting for my folks that week, since they were away and live closer to where I work.

[pnb]

121. Wasn't afraid for myself

Was afraid for some of my family though, including my mother in law who worked right next to the WTC.

[lukasahero]

122. No but I knew my Muslim co-workers were

At the time I was working in an office of maybe 100 people and the only two Muslim guys were very quiet as we all watched the events of the day unfold. They didn't usually hang out at lunch so I remember being glad that they felt they could sit with us but also very sad that they were probably very frightened about what would happen to them after this.

I also have a friend who works at the Pentagon so I was rather concerned about him.

I am more frightened personally now than I was then now that I'm working in a high rise in downtown Boston. Watching the planes come and go from Logan is a bit unsettling.

[Bridget Burke]

123. Not personally, no....

I was in Houston, not in a highrise building. Shocked & saddened, though. And I began to be afraid of what these events would do to the country--considering those who were in charge.

[dryan]

124. I live in Orlando, Florida...

not to far from Orlando International which is one of the busiest airports in the US if not the world. One of our neighors at the time was very upset because her brother-in-law worked as a maitre d' at Windows on the World (the 5 Star Restaurant that was located near the top of the WTC). She couldn't contact her sister to find out what happened. He was safe but it was pretty stressful for several hours--he had stopped on the way into work on some personal business.

They closed down our office so my husband and I went home. On the way, we stopped at the store to buy some milk (this is the Walgreens on Curry Ford near Chickasaw for Orlando DUers). When we came out, there was a jet flying over head really REALLY low! It absolutely terrified us. This jet looked like it was going to land right in front of us it was so low. There were other people in the parking lot and I remember one man falling on the ground. We didn't have the radio on and I guess this was during the time that the FAA was ordering all planes to land. Just down the street is the County's main waterplant.

A few months later I was at a cocktail party and met Karen Thurman (yes the woman who is now head of the Democratic Party in Florida) and she told me that she had seen the plane hit the Pentagon and how terrified she had been.

[MiniMe]

125. I was in DC that day, about 4 blocks from the White House

Somebody had a TV set and we watched the towers collapse, and in the background we could see the smoke coming up from the Pentagon. They closed our building, as they did with many buildings that day, and we left for home. The rumors on the radio were flying fast and thick, there were rumors that the State Department had been hit, and that the Metro was closed. I hitched a ride with a co-worker, the traffic was so bad it took us 2 hours to get out of DC. We were all in shock I think. When we went through Georgetown, there was a Ryder Truck parked near a government building with police tape around it. We were about 20 yards away and traffic was stopped. I think that was the point I was somewhat scared, couldn't help but think of Oklahoma City. When traffic finally started moving it was really eerie, no planes in the sky, and really quiet, except for the fighter jets flying overhead. When I went to work the next day, almost every intersection had concrete barricades at them, I guess to prevent vehicles from driving into buildings, and there was National Guard and police at every corner. I think that made me more nervous than anything.

[blondeatlast]

128. Working in a government building? Yep, I was a tad jumpy, as

were we all.

[Coexist]

130. When my neighbor asked me why I wasn't pulling my kids out of school

on 9/11 my response was (with no disrespect to those who were at ground zero)

"Land O Lakes is terrorist target #875,342, when we get to a time when targets in the 500,000s are being taken out, I'll start sweating."

I won't let terrorists make me change the way I live my life, because that's when they've won.

[RobinA]

131. I Was Not Afraid

because I was in Montana at the time. I thought it unlikely that terrorists would attack Yellowstone. Had I been at home in Philadelphia, I might have been a little afraid, but more of people's reactions than an actual plane crashing on top of me.

I was freaked when I learned that the WTC had collapsed, I think that affected me the most. A little later I got selfush and thought, Shoot, I never made it up there, now I never will. Of course, part of the reason I never went up to the top was that those things gave me the creeps, being inside them-wise.

[lse7581011]

132. My Fears

were based on a dread for the future. I felt like it was the beginning of the end.

[DireStrike]

134. I was in NYC, though I wasn't really afraid

I guess I've seen too many movies.

A few times I thought I might die, but there was no emotion for me that day. Not to sound dramatic or anything... that was just my reaction.

[Debbi801]

135. I was a little afraid because my husband is a federal employee...

And he is located at one of the gov't locations that was the target of incorrect rumors circulating right after the World Trade Centers were hit... There was so much incorrect info being distributed by MSM--bombs at various locations, other locations being targeted by planes, add'l planes being hijacked, etc.

It was the first time I was sorry that he was a federal employee.

Plus, I was pregnant at the time and not thinking very rationally.

Once he came home from work that afternoon, I was fine as far as being afraid goes. It still saddens me, though. What a tragic waste.

Debbi

Edit for spelling.

[Dorian Gray]

137. I lived in NYC during that time,

and I watched the towers fall from the roof of my building. I had friends who worked in the WTC and downtown, and I was terrified. Rightfully so.

At one point, as fifty people were on the roof of my building (which was only four blocks from the Empire State Building... now I live in Brooklyn) an airplane flew overhead, but it was low. Every person on the roof either threw themselves on the concrete floor or crouched down, thinking it was another terrorist plane. This was after all flights were grounded. My building was 50 stories tall.

It turned out to be a military jet, but we didn't know that at first.

We were terrified. SO, yes, I was frightened and scared. Both for my own personal safety and for the safety of friends and family who were in NYC that day.

[Blue Belle]

139. I was shocked... and I can't say that I was afraid...

but in Portland, there was an eerie silence - partially due to the fact that I lived near the Airport at the time and the noise from the planes had ceased. Plus, there weren't any people on the streets... traffic seemed to stop too. I remember going to sleep that night and having the sounds of fighter jets patrolling overhead shake me to the core... It wasn't fear that I felt - more like dismay that this was happening. I was mad that this was happening in our country, but at the same time I had to have some empathy for countries like Israel where circumstances such as this happen on a daily basis.

If Bush had anything to do with this - whether he is directly responsible or simply let it happen to capitalize on our fear - I hope the same courtesy is extended to him that his soldiers have extended to the inmates at Abu Graib or Gitmo. There are just too many questions and too many inconsistencies left unaccounted for to think that he had no prior knowledge of this attack.

[ceile]

140. Who gives a rat's ass about San Antonio?

So, no, I was NEVER afraid.

[im10ashus]

143. I care. n/t

[im10ashus]

141. I was a little frightened.

I worked right across from the Sears Tower in Chicago at the time. But I was more concerned for my friends who live her in Manhattan, where I now reside, and for a friend who was visiting on business here. She was right by the Towers at the Marriott. All survived, thankfully, but it still concerns me it could happen again.

[Baclava]

142. Shocked and amazed...but one thing was clear....

When the Pentagon blew up I told everyone around me...

"Civilian targets are one thing, but when you attack the Generals in their houses, this means War".....boy, was I right...

[clem_c_rock]

144. ONLY FROM MY OWN COUNTRY

Which I started suspecting was behind the whole thing w/in a couple of weeks afterwards when the ridiculous official accounts started coming in.

Boy I didn't know half of it.

[alarcojon]

145. I'd honestly love to see the results

if this poll had been taken on September 12. I don't believe these figures for a second. Flame if you must.

[Coexist]

146. I. was. not. afraid.

ask me anyday. I was so far from anything that could conceivably be a target it was laughable.

I am halfway between CentCom and Disney - they could have been targets, but no one was a'comin' out here.

[alarcojon]

148. I believe you as an individual

It's the group results I seriously question.

[smbolisnch]

150. Neither do I.

Not for a second.

[minerva50]

147. I work at the Washington Navy Yard

They sent most federal workers home, but the Navy Yard went into a high security level where they shut the gates tight for several hours and no-one could enter or exit. We could see the smoke from the pentagon across the river, but I was not personally afraid. I thought the odds of us being targeted were low. It was just as well we were locked in, we would have been let loose into a gridlocked DC, with everyone else fleeing all at once.

[CJCRANE]

151. UK viewpoint -

On 9/11 itself I was at work and had gone into a small room which had no phone or internet connection so that I could concentrate on writing a report.

2 hours later I came out into a science-fiction world. There was a text message on my mobile "plane crashed into world trade centre, WWIII". People were clustered around PC screens and looking at CNN & BBC websites.

Later on one of my colleagues made a comment that I wasn't doing much work. I said "how can I work, there's 50,000 people in those buildings". She was annoyed because she'd just moved house and hadn't unpacked her big TV yet.

[RandomKoolzip]

153. Yes. I was living in Nashville, which is near the Oak Ridge nuclear

facility. The local news was reporting that there were "rogue" airplanes over Kentucky and North Carolina that the FAA could not identify.

I was scared shitless, frankly.

[gkhouston]

154. I wasn't personally afraid but I did feel stunned/shocked by

what had happened. I was working in a DC suburb about 5 miles from the Pentagon. My husband was working in a Federal building (with my daughter in daycare on the first floor) so they went home after the Pentagon was hit. I was in a Federal office located in a private building so we remained open and I missed getting stuck in the mother of all traffic jams. Making long-distance phone calls that day was almost as impossible, so I mostly sent email to relatives and friends reassuring them that we were okay and that no, our particular workplaces were not easily identifiable targets.

[lastliberalintexas]

155. Not afraid exactly- but very aware

I'm in SE Texas, an area you're quite familiar with if I remember correctly. We're in the middle of the petrochemical, refining and natural gas industries, and we're very aware that our area is usually on the short list of targets for all kinds of nutcases. There are way too many individual targets to name in this area, much less the body blow that a general shutdown would deal to the refining industry. So for a time, I was concerned and aware, even if not frightened.

However, once I realized that either bin Laden had likely perpetrated the attacks (with or without the acquiesence of this administration- who really knows?), I knew we were safe. No way was an oil man going to attack SE Texas or SW Louisiana, whether that oil man was a terrorist leader or president of the US.

[Princess Turandot]

156. I was working at a hospital less than 2 miles from the WTC..

we did not have time to be afraid. I think people were stunned more than anything else. We could see the buildings very well from our location, and a lot of people saw them collapse. I asked a few people afterwards and the concensus seemed to be that no one was thinking about themselves because there was so much to do, even though there were relatively few admissions.Generally people got out with limited injuries or did not escape.But we got 9,000 phone calls the first afternoon from people looking for missing families and friends.Tons of people also showed up searching, and tons showed up to volunteer or to give blood. Plus, one of our EMTs was killed when he ran into Tower 2 just seconds before it collapsed which created a whole set of other issues, in terms of helping his family and co-workers, one of whom became a real risk to himself because of survivor's guilt. We primarily took care of the firefighters & police injured while working on the rescue/recovery.

I will say that the first time that I passed by the Empire State Building, I felt somewhat uneasy until I was a few blocks away. That was a few weeks later.

I think you can only say in retrospect that most people had nothing to fear that day. I think on at least the day itself, no one could predict what might happen next or know how extensive their attack plan was. It could have included more than planes.

[Shoeempress]

157. I was in Boston, and no. Not afraid, freaked, shocked,

horrified, but not afraid. Little did I know I would end up fearing my own government.

[sharonking21]

158. I am sorry but I think

a lot of people here have unconsciously rewritten their own history to make their answers "socially acceptable" according to group norms which now say that we shouldn't have been scared.

If you were getting this news in real time, were in a city, and weren't scared during the first hour or so, you are a few cards shy of a full deck and do not have reasonable survival instincts.

Further, just because the Bush regime has made such hay out of it with all their terror alerts etc. does not necessarily mean we are going to henceforth get off Scot free. Terrorists do exist. They don't give a shit who is in office or what domestic political games they are playing with what happened.

It is comforting to think otherwise, I know. But you shouldn't take the Bush extremism and duplicity and turn it on its head. Are you specifically going to get killed? Almost certainly NOT. Is another "event" going to happen somewhere in the US? Almost certainly SO. We just have to be ready to take it without going bananas over it--either beforehand in trying to protect ourselves from everything imaginable or afterwards, in trying to get revenge.