Eleven years ago this morning, I was getting ready for work when the first airliner hit the twin towers. Like most Americans, I felt confused and wondered just what was going on. The second airline hit just as I was walking out the door. I realized then that it was a terrorist attack. When I arrived at work, my job for that day was to talk to executives in fortune 500 companies in New York City to arrange research visits by a team from a major manufacturer of operating systems. The account exec had not yet arrived, so I talked to his assistant and told her that I did not consider it appropriate to be calling New York companies, many of which were headquartered in the WTC, under those circumstances. She ordered me to proceed, saying that terrorists cannot stop doing business, so I followed my orders. As I called. most of my contact phones were out of order. The few that I did reach were irate about me contacting them at that time. One man answered the phone and told me that he was in one of the towers above the fire line. He could not reach his wife, so he have me her number and asked me to call and tell her he loved her. I did. I don’t know which of us was crying harder. That was it. I could not keep making calls, so I went back to the Account Exec’s office and told him so. He seemed shocked that I had been calling and asked why. I told him I was following orders, he asked what idiot had told me to do that. Needless to say, his assistant is a Republican. The company cancelled all projects for the day. Most of us gathered in the lunch room. Because everyone knew I was an activist, they asked me what I thought would happen. I told them that I expected the Bush Regime would use it as an excuse to do two things: crack down on civil liberties in the US and attack Iraq. I wish I had been wrong.
In years past I have always avoided issues of culpability, but this year I cannot do so in good conscience. That is because Republicans keep presenting themselves as the party that has kept America safe and Democrats as the party that puts America at risk. On August 6, 2001, President Bush was given a top secret Daily Brief that Osama bin Laden intended to attack the US using explosives and hijacked Airliners. The Bush Regime ignored the warning. That is not the way to keep us safe. Bush and the Republican party did not do so, nor were they able to bring Osama to justice. It took a Democratic administration to do that. I have no desire to politicize the day, but will do so as long as Republicans keep lying about it. That explains the controversial “cartoon” I included in the Open Thread immediately preceding this article.
Let me close by honoring the fire firefighters and police who gave their lives and their health to save as many as they could and ask your thoughts and prayers for them and their families. They were the heroes of that day.
12 Responses to “Reflections Eleven Years Later”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
It seems like a lifetime ago this and the OKC bombing. I was at work, a temp assignment, as a photographer's assistant.. It was a frightening time. We didn't know if the attacks were over or not. There were about 30 people watching in the dayroom when the towers went down. Most horrible day ever.
Yes—I can add nothing-
Let me close by honoring the fire firefighters and police who gave their lives and their health to save as many as they could and ask your thoughts and prayers for them and their familie
I had a good friend who worked in the WTC (not sure which tower). When I learned of the terrorists' attacks (which occurred during BUSH'S "watch") I immediately tried calling another mutual friend in Manhattan (I had my hearing back then). But like everyone else, had no luck in getting through.
Fortunately I sent an email and got the good news that she was on an assignment in the Midtown area.
Three thousand fellow citizens were not so lucky that sad, sad day.
I was watching the Today show when it was interrupted to say a small plane had hit one of the towers, while they were covering that, the second plane hit. Then heard about the plane at the Pentagon, and the one in Pennsylvania, I was terrified that our whole country was under attack. Normally I would have been at work and probably wouldn't have known anything until my lunch hour. This is a memory that still makes me cry. I hope we never experience anything like this again. Our country has been changed forever by the acts passed since this horrible event. We are all now under a cloud of suspicion and are losing our civil rights on a daily basis because people are so afraid of terrorists they will accede to any government dictum.
I was supposed to go into the office that day – my office was in the Sears Tower (I refuse to call it the Big Willy); one of my gf's knew that I worked there and she called me to let me know what happened to the North Tower. I was busy trying to find the remote, and telling her this was not a funny joke. I turned on the tv to see the second plane hit. I was running late that day (thank god) and knew that when the 2nd plane hit we were being hit by terrorists. Thank god she called because I was just ready to leave.
Shortly after that I was notified that the Tower was closed "indefinety". I sat in front of the tv for the next day and thought of pulling the kids out of day care (they were already there), packing up and going to Canada for a week or so until the authorities figured things out. Instead I didn't panic like that and stayed at home glued to the tv. The hardest part for me was seeing all those pics of lost friends and relatives that you knew were dead. I cried for 3 days after this and called my clients in tall buildings and told them to get out. Those were the worst days that I can remember because both my aunt and uncle worked near there. I got a hold of my uncle but he couldn't reach his wife. I told him she'll make it out and better to have one dead parent than two. By the third day, I went back to work – it was very surreal, as I am from NY and all my family is out there.
My SIL had to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (she's from CA and I even doubted that she would know where the BB was) but she walked to Brooklyn and then caught a train home. It was scary enough for me so she must have been petrified.
We all have so many questions about 9/11. Here are just a few that bother me.
1. Why did Bush remain sitting in that Florida classroom for 20 more minutes after hearing about the WTC going down in an attack?
2. Where did Bush go for the next 4 hours? If the USA is under attack, don't we need our leader? Where the hell was he? He simply disappeared until some of the smoke cleared.
3. Why were the Saudi Royal family here visiting the Bush's? We know now they funded 9/11. Why were they the only ones allowed to fly out of American air space the very next day? American citizens couldn't fly. But they could?
4. We have weak excuses for humanity like Paul Ryan trying to stop the first responders from getting the health care they so badly need. We have witnessed the total villification of 9/11 survivors and the families of the deceased by the right wing. We have seen the right attempt to trivialize the human suffering caused by 9/11. Why?
I doubt if we will ever know the answers to these questions because they would reveal something larger, more sinister. But ask yourself (I do) what we got out of our response to 9/11. We got an NSA that spies only on Americans via their cell phones. We lost rights and freedoms. And Bush still walks free. It's not right.
I remember that I was at work when someone brought news of the tragedy — New York, Washington, Pennsylvania. We dragged the TV out into the main work area so that we could hear updates. To say the least, everyone was stunned. How could anyone conceive such a diabolical plot? As the day wore on, we were numb.
The people working in the buildings were Americans, Canadians, Brits, Aussies and more. There were Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics, Buddhists and others I'm sure.
And there was sorrow and anger! Great anger that refocused itself in retribution as the weeks, months and years went on. And then there was Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush and Cheney responded with a war in pursuit of WMD in Iraq, and a war to get Osama bin Laden (as well as other objectives) in Afghanistan that still rages on, eleven years later, even though bin Laden has been killed.
We mourn these innocent victims of the WTC, the Pentagon, and the 4 planes that carried their innocent passengers unknowingly to their deaths.
To me, the heroes of 11 September 2001 are the first responders — the firefighters, police, medical personnel, and others who entered the buildings trying to get people out. The people who witnessed death and destruction, and through sheer force of will and courage, continued to get people out are owed a debt of gratitude. Unfortunately, some of them also perished as the buildings collapsed. And the brave people of the fourth plane that fought the hijackers and crashed the plane in a Pennsylvania field, with no survivors.
A wonderful legacy and testament to their courage and selflessness would be the healing of all people. A coming together instead of a separation in despair. Let a healing love be their ultimate gift to you.
There were all sorts of heroes on 9/11.
To me, the greatest act of heroism that day, were the civilian passangers on an airplane who heard of the attacks by hijacked airplanes, and decided to sacrifice their own lives, knowing their airplane was part of a major attack on America and their plane was headed for Washington DC to destroy – White House, the Capital, whatever? Who knows how many lives their act of heroism saved.
My Husband and I were going to work that morning and our cable was out and had no way of knowing what was going on. I got to work that day and someone asked me if I thought we would be busy and like a dunce I sure you know how people are. When I was told what happen I was shocked and we did not have more that 2 people come in the store that day. From that day on I have been watching MSNBC ever since.
The first responders are finally getting healthcare – how many died before they could?
cheney was war games in his undisclosed location – with planes crashing into the 3 wtc''s. There were many other memos describing the event from the CIA, but the august 6th one is the most glaring. It's treason for Bush and Cheney to have ignored that memo and all the other ones too. But Cheney turned it around by saying that "we'll be hit again" if Bush is not elected again. stupid sheeple.
I remember how scared we were waiting to hear from my nephew while watching it on TV. He worked a mere 3 blocks away . We finally heard from him in the afternoon after he made his way on foot across the Brooklyn Bridge.
I see it was a time of profound memories for us all.