Listeners’ 9/11 Reflections
The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 had a deep personal impact on most if not all Americans. My brother was living in Manhattan at the time, and the events obviously had a huge impact on him. I worked at the main trauma center (St. Vincent’s) on the 12th, but my experience was one of frustration since there were so few survivors to help. But spending a lot of time with the EMTs, firefighters and cops who responded in the first hours of the tragedy — all of them losing more than a few friends in the incident — changed my life forever. But seeing Ground Zero up close reinforced the repulsion I felt toward war. I knew we would soon be doing to civilians in other countries what had just been done to us, and it made me even sicker than I already was.
So many people had extraordinary or mundane experiences with 9/11 yet had profound reactions or underwent irreversible changes in perspective or awareness. We want to hear where PBMers were on 9/11, how it affected you, and how you think the so-called “war on terror” has gone since that fateful day.
I was on my way to work and I stopped for gas and coffee and heard the news on the radio that was playing at the gas station. I was under the impression from the limited news they gave at the time that it was a private plane accident but was curious to hear more. My car at the time had no antenna so I could not listen to the news on my commute.
When I finally got to work I noticed that many of my normally boisterous coworkers were quietly watching the news on their PC’s. I walked up to a friends desk and as I did the second tower fell on the live stream he was watching. Needless to say not much work was accomplished that day.
I personally was worried about a friend of mine who had a job interview in one of the towers and my cousin who was at work on one for the upper floors in tower 2. I didn’t find out until a day later that both of them were ok. My friend had left by the time it had all gone down and my cousin left after the 1st tower got hit despite the fact that they were being told to stay put.
At the time I was a member of the National Guard and I knew what was coming, as a matter of fact I did not wait for the phone call I called my unit and we were activated that day and put on standby for 48 hours. I ended up standing a post two weeks after Sept. 11 on the corner of Rector and Greenwich where the trucks that where bringing rubble out of the site were being washed down before transporting the stuff away.
Having been that close to the destruction was reminiscent of destruction I had seen in my active duty days in the Marines overseas but those where not at home and they were places where we showed up to help.
I can say that I relate to the feeling you had BigBro. I have had it more than just during 9/11 but 9/11 was different, more powerful, because it happened in my home and effected my family.
Steve, jasper Reply:
September 13th, 2008 at 1:03 am
I’m going to open up a bit, something I’m remiss to do as it usually opens one up to mockery.
I have plenty of my own personal grief from life. I’ve lost loved one’s suddenly from accident
and disease. I just feel like this whole 9/11 tradgedy has been turned into a side show for the government
to preach propaganda and serve their own self interests for promoting war, hate and fear.
Even McCain and Obama showing up seemed like campaigning to me.
I guess I’ve become very calloused and cynical in my old age.
Erik from New York Reply:
September 15th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Those who would mock others for being open and honest are very simply simple and immature people. Openness and honesty are things we are really missing these days and I think we need more of it to fix many of the issues we are facing. I think your opinions are very valid as they pertain to 9/11 being exploited politically at this point. I also feel that the loss and damage it did was somewhat unique to us as Americans because of the first time mass casualties it caused.
I was teaching 5th grade students that morning. As I walked them to the gym for P.E. another adult told me to go to the office and check out what happened. I had no clue until I got there and then I was in a state of shock. I called my husband who told me he had heard from Pete and that he was safe. It was hard to pull myself together to get the students and go back to class. Many parents arrived at school during the next few hours to take their children home. I had a Muslim student in my class. To my knowledge noone harrassed him after the catastrophe, but his mom called to ask me if anyone had. I told her I would protect him with my life and I meant that. Fortunately, that was not necessary.
Erik from New York Reply:
September 11th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
One of the things that was great about the days after 9/11 was exactly as Pete described today, people were much more brotherly in New York. The thing that was horrible was that mothers had to call their children’s teachers in order to make sure they were ok. I heard so much racism and hate directed towards Arabs, Muslims, and basically anyone that might look middle eastern that it was sickening.
I’m a militant Atheist, but I come from an Islamic family. Sometime in July of 2001 my sister decided to start wearing the hijab, which is basically like a habit without the wings.
She was in her 3rd year at Parsons in Lower Manhattan, and that morning she was in class. When the planes hit, I remember thinking “I hope this was an accident”.
After the 2nd plane hit and it was apparent it was terrorism, I redoubled my efforts to get in touch with her. It took me 6 hours to finally get through. As you can imagine, it was a horrible day.
My wife and then GF went down to the blood bank to do SOMETHING, as I imagine most people were feeling. On the way there, we passed an armory by our house, and I saw a soldier pull up in a humvee, jump out and run up to the entrance.
I was burtsing with pride at that sight, and I said something like “go man go” or something equally tacky and douchey, but he smiled and gave me a thumbs up.
In the following weeks, I knew of a few poeple that were taken from their homes in the middle of the night, including my former pedeatrician, a man who was a pillar of his community, a huge donor to the PBA, and a man who, despite his wealth and success, still opened his office to needy people for free once a week. Even he was a suspect. We didn’t see him for a week. Eventually, they released him, but many of us collectively hired a lawyer to release him immediately.
9/11 brought out the best in us, to be sure, but it also revealed an ugly side that as Americans we must remain eternally vigilant to make sure it doesn’t take hold again.
Big Brother Reply:
September 13th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Thanks so much for talking about this, Abe. I do not have the same memories of the immediate post-9/11 period that my brother has. I recall all the stories of bigotry and prejudice. I think the patriotism that came together at that time had a very ugly side. I mean, it isn’t much to be proud of that everyone got collectively outraged at such a horrific event. Big deal. That was natural. But it is shameful that we directed our response into violence and simple-mindedness. Handing all power to a madman was something this country should feel disgraced about. I’m sick of people beaming with pride over how the US responded to these attacks, even in the early days.
And I’ll tell you another thing: I never heard any paramedics or nurses or doctors or firefighters on 9/12 at St. Vincent’s or Ground Zero clamoring for war. It was the people who were alienated from that carnage that led the charge.