Just watching the documentaries on Sky about the anniversary of the attacks on the USA. 7 years on its still unreal to see those planes smashing into the World Trade Centre. I know that there are loads of expats on here..any stories about September the 11th...everyone knows where they were when it happened. Where were you? Was in NYC 3 years after it happened and the locals were still very reticent about talking about it.
BTW anyone with conspiracy theories can start another thread...I'm just asking about personal experiences.
I was in my house in the Holylands in Belfast getting ready to start final year at uni. My friends had come back from the US the wk before and I was eternally grateful.
I'm watching the documentary on C4 about the faker - jeez it's slightly mental.
Feck forgot about that documentary. Must watch it on Ch4 +1.
I was on night shift, and woke about lunchtime or just after it. Flicked on the TV as I lay in the bed to check the text as per normal.
Seen the footage, and sat for five minutes thinking what a great f**king film this is, before it hit me like a bolt.
Phoned the old fella at work, and just remembering not being able to explain how mad it all looked!
I was at home when the news came on amd interrupted whatever show was on. It was surreal watching it as it happened and then seeing the twin towers falling.
Watched the show last night too about the survivors in the Marriott hotel which was below the towers. It was a miracle those people got out alive.
I was sitting in work and someone said that there was a major "accident" and that a jet had hit one of the twin towers. We all went to the board room (only room with a telly) to see what was going on...in the next hour we watched the 2nd plane hitting the other tower and then the stuff about the Pentagon and Shanksville. The really scary stuff was watching the towers coming down knowing that there was so many people trapped above the point of impact.
playing golf when i heard about it but didn't think it was that serious (thought some nut in a small plane), went into the clubhouse afterwards and the attendant was crying. couldn't believe the pictures on telly. was in NY about 6 weeks later and visited ground zero - the smell was still awful and i remember feeling an overpowering sense of the evil that had visited there
I was at work at the hospital I work at and going through the emergency room on the way to the lunch room and saw it happen all on TV. I was like what the feck is going on???? Is this actually happening.
I was unemployment at the time and watching the early afternoon edition of Neighbours. Switched over to Sky News afterwards to catch the latest news and was shocked to see what I saw.
I was off work sick and was out he back clearing water and the wife told me there was a plane crash, and the rest is history
I was in getting the carry out from Curley's off-license.
Honestly.
Was in Sorrento, had been out all day ,heard nothing about it. That night at Dinner in the Hotel, a large group of American tourists were gathered around a table holding hands and singing American patriotic songs, me thinking what the hell is going on here. But my abiding memory is being at Mass the next evening in Sorrento, and all the locals coming up to shake my hand, mistakingly presuming i was American.
I was in boston at the time, last day there, supposed to go to NY the next morning.
Was walking down the road where a restaurant had pushed a tv against the window - the first plane had hit and a crowd had gathered round the window. The second plane hit when we where watching, up to that point people thought it was an accident.
Didnt got to NY until the 16th in the end, and flew back on the 17th.
That faker show on now is unreal!
was in boston myself..going by logan airport on a boat in the morning wondering why there were no planes taking off
I was working as a waiter that day, as one of the girls had called in sick after our summer staff party. I remember being in the kitchen of McElroys in omagh and heard the first reports on the radio. I went downstairs with a few orders, and stood by the bar counter watching TV footage of the first tower on fire. I couldnt believe what we were watching, and at first thought it was an awful mistake.
Then from nowhere the second plane flew in to the second tower live on TV, and well I wouldnt have any words to describe what I was thinking then.
Was at the very height of my bumming days in Belfast. Remember well watching friends on tv and a message going along the bottom of the screen saying there was a major terrorist incident in New York. Switched over and sat watching it dazed for hours with the rest of the house.
Had a few friends on Manhattan Island that day but thankfully not near the towers.
One of the boys in the house had been been to NY a few weeks earlier and stood at the top of one of the towers on a trip to the Trade Centre.
He was white watching it.
The Falling Man documentary is on Discovery now....horrific stuff
At work in belfast when a girl i know emailled me to say a plane had hit the first tower. Like magic i assumed it was some nut in a light aircraft and had taken out maybe two or three offices max.
Suddenly the office was like one of those movie scenes when all the cops are at a big dinner when a bomb goes off. Mobiles started ringing, people started calling home and everyone was running to the internet. Which was going into meltdown! I think everyone felt a bit scared and knew that the world had changed that day.
Rois did you live in Rugby Ave by any chance?
Was in school in st colmans, never even got word of anything til I got home at about five o clocl, i rmember being slightly annoyed that neighbours was cancelled. Went and did my homework and played computer, didnt realise til the next day how serious it was!
Had just arrived back from Canada maybe 2 days beforehand and was watching Neighbours like zig when the news came through. Gobsmacked! Ended up watching Sky News for the whole day then. Strangest day ever!!
I woke up to an excited phonecall from a friend and was watching it live in Florida where I was too!It was riveting stuff to see the second plane hitting the tower and to hear of all the planes being hijacked! I worked that night in the bar and it was scary to hear all the jingoistic chanting and shouting at the TV!! It was uncomfortable to be non-American at that time there! As I watch the 'Falling Man" documentary now on Discovery I am reminded of how the World stood shoulder to shoulder with the US only for Bush to take his eye off the ball and go after Saddam Hussein instead just a few months afterwards!! At that time I was asking a neighbour what Bush was doing going into Iraq but he said that he trusted Bush! I believe I answered something along the lines of .."Well I guarantee you one thing ..Bin Laden is not in Iraq" He didn't get it all!! Another one swept along with the hype for war!
Was in south Tipp when I heard Joe Duffy announce that a plane had hit the twin towers. Once I found out what was going on, I high-tailed it home to Donegal, as most of my family, including my parents, were in NYC that week and some worked down around there. Finally got through to them when I was half-way home to find they were safe, but some relatives were missing. All were safe in the end, bar one. My family members in NYC knew a few more who died.
It isn't worth the remembering, in the grand scheme of things. And do we remember only because it was the first truly graphical loss of life on a grand, though not mass, scale, on an almost real-time basis? They had it coming, and a whole lot more of it (and I have many, many, US relatives). The really scary bit is, that this Sarah Palin yoke looks like she's drawing votes, and she counts Ireland as one of the overseas countries she has visited, even though her plane only stopped in Shannon to refuel after a whistlestop tour of the troops in the Middle-East, which accounted for her other three countries! Wow! Since then (and long before), the US have been responsible for many thousands of times those deaths, yet we don't see the pictures, nor will we.
I remember where I was, but I wish I didn't.
At work in North Dublin
Central Station Belfast after a job interview, which i subsequently didnt get!
Unfortunately the innocent who suffer! Enjoy watching the documentaries as there are so so many stories to be told from the people who were there.
My cousin was standing on top of one of the Twin Towers on the morning of September 10th, I still shudder at the thoughts of it. Had friends and family who live in NYC including 2 who are cops. Thankfully they didnt arrive too early on the scene.
I was in college in Warrenstown, Drumree
At a funeral in Rafah refugee camp for a 14 year old boy who bled to death after being shot in the stomach by Isreali settlers.
Quote from: Donagh on September 12, 2008, 12:01:56 AM
At a funeral in Rafah refugee camp for a 14 year old boy who bled to death after being shot in the stomach by Isreali settlers.
Funded, Armed and Encouraged by you know who! The irony!
I was driving across the border to get diesel and heard it on 2fm. Gareth O`Callaghan seemed pretty moved by it. Called in to a friends house a few minutes before the second plane hit. I remember my friend thinking it wasn't real, that it was a movie or documentary.
A lot of innocent people died that day, but many more have died at the hands of America since then. We don't "remember" the innocent Iraqis or Afghans or any other nationality who have died needlessly in retaliation for September 11 2001. One day the truth will out.
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 11, 2008, 11:21:33 PM
It isn't worth the remembering, in the grand scheme of things. And do we remember only because it was the first truly graphical loss of life on a grand, though not mass, scale, on an almost real-time basis? They had it coming, and a whole lot more of it (and I have many, many, US relatives). The really scary bit is, that this Sarah Palin yoke looks like she's drawing votes, and she counts Ireland as one of the overseas countries she has visited, even though her plane only stopped in Shannon to refuel after a whistlestop tour of the troops in the Middle-East, which accounted for her other three countries! Wow! Since then (and long before), the US have been responsible for many thousands of times those deaths, yet we don't see the pictures, nor will we.
I remember where I was, but I wish I didn't.
Maith thu Fear....I dont profess to be an expert on US foreign policy but 3,000 innocent people die and as far as you're concerned they had it coming....I hope you were drunk when you posted that shite above.
I dont think Fear ón Srath Bán meant the people that died had it coming, rather America itself.
It is my opinion that thousand upon thoudands of lives have been needlessly lost since then - as a result of America's reaction to these very unfortunate events.
Quote from: 5 Sams on September 12, 2008, 12:17:42 AM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 11, 2008, 11:21:33 PM
It isn't worth the remembering, in the grand scheme of things. And do we remember only because it was the first truly graphical loss of life on a grand, though not mass, scale, on an almost real-time basis? They had it coming, and a whole lot more of it (and I have many, many, US relatives). The really scary bit is, that this Sarah Palin yoke looks like she's drawing votes, and she counts Ireland as one of the overseas countries she has visited, even though her plane only stopped in Shannon to refuel after a whistlestop tour of the troops in the Middle-East, which accounted for her other three countries! Wow! Since then (and long before), the US have been responsible for many thousands of times those deaths, yet we don't see the pictures, nor will we.
I remember where I was, but I wish I didn't.
Maith thu Fear....I dont profess to be an expert on US foreign policy but 3,000 innocent people die and as far as you're concerned they had it coming....I hope you were drunk when you posted that shite above.
"I dont profess to be an expert on US foreign policy"...
Then you really should think twice before starting obsequious threads.
Quote from: Down Gael on September 12, 2008, 12:21:24 AM
I dont think Fear ón Srath Bán meant the people that died had it coming, rather America itself.
Thank you
Down Gael, exactly.
QuoteThey had it coming, and a whole lot more of it
Maybe you should clarify what you meant to say then. Maith an fear
Quote from: 5 Sams on September 12, 2008, 12:43:00 AM
Maybe you should clarify what you meant to say then. Maith an fear
Are you pissed?
Down Gael distilled it.
Quotethink twice before starting obsequious threads
I came on here and asked people where they were when 9/11 happened and asked them to give us their personal experiences.
What is obsequious about that? Maybe you have a different definition for that word....are you Tony Fearon in disguise??
And what is so special about 9/11?
on a lighter note.............. a thread that will be up in the future....
WHERE WERE U WHEN TYRONE STOPPED KERRY'S THREE IN A ROW IN THE NOUGHTIES!!!!!!
hopefully!!!!!
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 12:58:54 AM
And what is so special about 9/11?
Terrorists flying commercial planes into iconic buildings murdering thousands is an everyday occurence in Strabane, is it? ;)
Like it or not, it was probably the defining moment in western history since the fall of the Soviet Union. Many people were horrified and traumatized, others celebrated, but people all over the planet had some kind of reaction to what was an incredibly shocking event that was broadcast live all over the world. The tsunami may have been huge news and much, much more destructive, but in terms of wider history and influence, it probably means little, sad to say, except that nations will hopefully be better prepared in future to deal with such catastrophes. What other event grabbed the attention of the world in such a fashion, at least in the lifetimes of the members of this board?
Good one J70, you have me in stitches here.
Fancy a serious tilt at that particular question? I.e., Why should that loss of unfortunate life so outweigh the loss of much more significant life elsewhere before and since.
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:11:13 AM
What other event grabbed the attention of the world in such a fashion, at least in the lifetimes of the members of this board?
Collapse of the Berlin Wall was a fairly huge and symbolic thing - but I take your point re the scale of the thing
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:11:13 AM
Like it or not, it was probably the defining moment in western history since the fall of the Soviet Union. Many people were horrified and traumatized, others celebrated, but people all over the planet had some kind of reaction to what was an incredibly shocking event that was broadcast live all over the world.
Do you know why that might have been the case? It shouldn't have been.
The US was up to all sorts of nasty overseas adventures before 9/11, I'm surprised just that it took so long for something to rebound. And they still are, with more reason.
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:11:13 AM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 12:58:54 AM
And what is so special about 9/11?
Terrorists flying commercial planes into iconic buildings murdering thousands is an everyday occurence in Strabane, is it? ;)
Like it or not, it was probably the defining moment in western history since the fall of the Soviet Union. Many people were horrified and traumatized, others celebrated, but people all over the planet had some kind of reaction to what was an incredibly shocking event that was broadcast live all over the world. The tsunami may have been huge news and much, much more destructive, but in terms of wider history and influence, it probably means little, sad to say, except that nations will hopefully be better prepared in future to deal with such catastrophes. What other event grabbed the attention of the world in such a fashion, at least in the lifetimes of the members of this board?
and some places in the world who don't have the "privilege" of being in the western world or have the facilities and never will to "deal with such catastrophes" suffer every single day..... no tradegy can out do another but some are brushed aside!
(The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's minority Tutsis and the moderates of its Hutu majority. Over the course of approximately 100 days, from April 6 through to mid July, at least 500,000 people were killed. Most estimates are of a death toll between 800,000 and 1,000,000)
And that's what's known as a massacre!
Quote from: leenie on September 12, 2008, 01:30:40 AM
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:11:13 AM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 12:58:54 AM
And what is so special about 9/11?
Terrorists flying commercial planes into iconic buildings murdering thousands is an everyday occurence in Strabane, is it? ;)
Like it or not, it was probably the defining moment in western history since the fall of the Soviet Union. Many people were horrified and traumatized, others celebrated, but people all over the planet had some kind of reaction to what was an incredibly shocking event that was broadcast live all over the world. The tsunami may have been huge news and much, much more destructive, but in terms of wider history and influence, it probably means little, sad to say, except that nations will hopefully be better prepared in future to deal with such catastrophes. What other event grabbed the attention of the world in such a fashion, at least in the lifetimes of the members of this board?
and some places in the world who don't have the "privilege" of being in the western world or have the facilities and never will to "deal with such catastrophes" suffer every single day..... no tradegy can out do another but some are brushed aside!
(The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's minority Tutsis and the moderates of its Hutu majority. Over the course of approximately 100 days, from April 6 through to mid July, at least 500,000 people were killed. Most estimates are of a death toll between 800,000 and 1,000,000)
Yet the simple fact is that the average person doesn't really think very much about genocide in Rwanda or Darfur or wherever. 9/11 was a shocking event where a handful of terrorists scored a huge hit against the mighty United States in one of the most famous cities on the planet, live on international television. The likes of Rwanda/Darfur were/are vague, distant internecine slaughters happening in some forgotten corner of the planet that most people don't care about. 9/11 was a strike against a country that many people do care about, whether it is the hated Great Satan or the land people across the world see as their desired destination in which to make a life and whose culture fills the airwaves everywhere. I'm not saying its the way it should be, but it is the way it is.
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 01:16:47 AM
Good one J70, you have me in stitches here.
Fancy a serious tilt at that particular question? I.e., Why should that loss of unfortunate life so outweigh the loss of much more significant life elsewhere before and since.
You asked what was so special about 9/11 i.e. why we remember where we were when it happened. At least that is the meaning I took given the context of the thread. And I have answered the question under that interpretation i.e. it is fairly obvious, hence the stupid comment.
As to your question as stated above, the bleeding obvious answer is that there is no reason that the 9/11 deaths should outweigh those other deaths other than the context i.e. again, where and how they happened and the influence of that nation and her media all over the world. All such deaths are tragic, but they do not all have the same newsworthiness and relevance in different parts of the world. Sad, but true.
Quote from: stephenite on September 12, 2008, 01:20:34 AM
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:11:13 AM
What other event grabbed the attention of the world in such a fashion, at least in the lifetimes of the members of this board?
Collapse of the Berlin Wall was a fairly huge and symbolic thing - but I take your point re the scale of the thing
I did say "since the fall of the Soviet Union". Is the collapse of the Berlin Wall not implied?
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 01:21:15 AM
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:11:13 AM
Like it or not, it was probably the defining moment in western history since the fall of the Soviet Union. Many people were horrified and traumatized, others celebrated, but people all over the planet had some kind of reaction to what was an incredibly shocking event that was broadcast live all over the world.
Do you know why that might have been the case? It shouldn't have been.
What, that it was "the defining moment in western history since the fall of the Soviet Union" or that "people all over the planet had some kind of reaction"?
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:53:52 AM
Quote from: stephenite on September 12, 2008, 01:20:34 AM
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:11:13 AM
What other event grabbed the attention of the world in such a fashion, at least in the lifetimes of the members of this board?
Collapse of the Berlin Wall was a fairly huge and symbolic thing - but I take your point re the scale of the thing
I did say "since the fall of the Soviet Union". Is the collapse of the Berlin Wall not implied?
At a stretch I suppose - to me the memories of normal people talking sledgehammers to the wall were hugely symbolic and one of the defining moments of my generation. I don't really equate the two in my own mind but yes, they are inextricably linked.
Different people will have different things that leave indelible images, and 9/11 would certainly be in that category for me, moreso that the Rwanda massacre, perhaps I should put that down to the media coverage that I consumed at the time. People might understandably resent that given the large disparity in fatalaties, indeed I probably resent myself for it.
Quote from: stephenite on September 12, 2008, 02:54:32 AM
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:53:52 AM
Quote from: stephenite on September 12, 2008, 01:20:34 AM
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:11:13 AM
What other event grabbed the attention of the world in such a fashion, at least in the lifetimes of the members of this board?
Collapse of the Berlin Wall was a fairly huge and symbolic thing - but I take your point re the scale of the thing
I did say "since the fall of the Soviet Union". Is the collapse of the Berlin Wall not implied?
At a stretch I suppose - to me the memories of normal people talking sledgehammers to the wall were hugely symbolic and one of the defining moments of my generation. I don't really equate the two in my own mind but yes, they are inextricably linked.
Different people will have different things that leave indelible images, and 9/11 would certainly be in that category for me, moreso that the Rwanda massacre, perhaps I should put that down to the media coverage that I consumed at the time. People might understandably resent that given the large disparity in fatalaties, indeed I probably resent myself for it.
The Berlin wall and the collapse of the Iron Curtain is all part of the end of the Soviet Union for me. Maybe its living in the states and hearing Reagan say "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall" every five minutes, but it was all part of one big domino effect to me (i.e. the end of the Soviet Union, not the role of Reagan, before someone takes off down that particular road!).
As to the our different reactions to various genocides and terrorist acts and so on, like any people anywhere, we are touched more by what is familiar and more present in our everyday lives. I'm sure the Bali bombings were a much bigger thing for someone like yourself who lives in Oz than perhaps others on this board. I would be surprised if anyone (or at least more than a couple) on the board was even indirectly affected by what happened in Rwanda or Darfur, beyond being appalled for a little while at such atrocities happening somewhere they otherwise had little knowledge of. That doesn't mean that people think that some deaths or massacres are necessarily more tragic than others, but there is no denying that some are more noteworthy than others.
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 12:31:31 AM
Quote from: Down Gael on September 12, 2008, 12:21:24 AM
I dont think Fear ón Srath Bán meant the people that died had it coming, rather America itself.
Thank you Down Gael, exactly.
America
is the people
Quote from: Puckoon on September 12, 2008, 03:35:38 AM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 12:31:31 AM
Quote from: Down Gael on September 12, 2008, 12:21:24 AM
I dont think Fear ón Srath Bán meant the people that died had it coming, rather America itself.
Thank you Down Gael, exactly.
America is the people
Don`t you mean America
are the people?
And therein lies the problem. Americans think the world revolves around them. They are very inward looking, yet consider themselves to be a self appointed world police. September 11 should have been a wake up call, not an excuse for more bloodshed. While lapdogs like Blair and Ahern offered support and condolence, many of their people secretly rejoiced. They got a taste of their own medicine on September 11 and their people didn`t like it. Now they know how the vicitims of American bombs and bullets feel, from Hiroshima to Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan.
Time and again we are drip fed images of fallen man and heroic firefighters, while Iraqis, Afghans and countless other races suffer beyond the media spotlight.
Was so depressed last night that I rang the Samaritans. Got through to a call centre in Pakistan.
Told them I was suicidal, they got all excited and asked if I could fly a plane......
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:51:10 AM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 01:16:47 AM
Good one J70, you have me in stitches here.
Fancy a serious tilt at that particular question? I.e., Why should that loss of unfortunate life so outweigh the loss of much more significant life elsewhere before and since.
You asked what was so special about 9/11 i.e. why we remember where we were when it happened. At least that is the meaning I took given the context of the thread. And I have answered the question under that interpretation i.e. it is fairly obvious, hence the stupid comment.
As to your question as stated above, the bleeding obvious answer is that there is no reason that the 9/11 deaths should outweigh those other deaths other than the context i.e. again, where and how they happened and the influence of that nation and her media all over the world. All such deaths are tragic, but they do not all have the same newsworthiness and relevance in different parts of the world. Sad, but true.
I agree that it sould not out weigh any one thing, what about the un-armed innocent people that were killed on Bloody Sunday or the people at croke park that were shot down in the stadium at a Gaelic football match?? But it is a trajic thing and there are other trajic things happening in other countries. A lot of this story is one sided coming from the Irish people and I am not sure what to say if I am mad from reading this on here but I respect your opinion.
Quote from: Sideshow Bob on September 12, 2008, 04:04:01 AM
Quote from: Puckoon on September 12, 2008, 03:35:38 AM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 12:31:31 AM
Quote from: Down Gael on September 12, 2008, 12:21:24 AM
I dont think Fear ón Srath Bán meant the people that died had it coming, rather America itself.
Thank you Down Gael, exactly.
America is the people
Don`t you mean Americaare the people?
And therein lies the problem. Americans think the world revolves around them. They are very inward looking, yet consider themselves to be a self appointed world police. September 11 should have been a wake up call, not an excuse for more bloodshed. While lapdogs like Blair and Ahern offered support and condolence, many of their people secretly rejoiced. They got a taste of their own medicine on September 11 and their people didn`t like it. Now they know how the vicitims of American bombs and bullets feel, from Hiroshima to Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan.
Time and again we are drip fed images of fallen man and heroic firefighters, while Iraqis, Afghans and countless other races suffer beyond the media spotlight.
Was so depressed last night that I rang the Samaritans. Got through to a call centre in Pakistan.
Told them I was suicidal, they got all excited and asked if I could fly a plane......
You might want to have it correct before you dispense grammatical advice. Ill save you further embarrassment and let you correct highlighted part yourself.
No matter what America has done, these people (and many others, from countries the world over) did not deserve to die like that.
If your father is a complete c**t - does that make shooting you fair game?
Ive yet to meet an American who thinks the world resolves around them any more than any other race, and Ive met many.
Quote from: KCGaelicFootball on September 12, 2008, 04:44:54 AM
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:51:10 AM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 01:16:47 AM
Good one J70, you have me in stitches here.
Fancy a serious tilt at that particular question? I.e., Why should that loss of unfortunate life so outweigh the loss of much more significant life elsewhere before and since.
You asked what was so special about 9/11 i.e. why we remember where we were when it happened. At least that is the meaning I took given the context of the thread. And I have answered the question under that interpretation i.e. it is fairly obvious, hence the stupid comment.
As to your question as stated above, the bleeding obvious answer is that there is no reason that the 9/11 deaths should outweigh those other deaths other than the context i.e. again, where and how they happened and the influence of that nation and her media all over the world. All such deaths are tragic, but they do not all have the same newsworthiness and relevance in different parts of the world. Sad, but true.
I agree that it sould not out weigh any one thing, what about the un-armed innocent people that were killed on Bloody Sunday or the people at croke park that were shot down in the stadium at a Gaelic football match?? But it is a trajic thing and there are other trajic things happening in other countries. A lot of this story is one sided coming from the Irish people and I am not sure what to say if I am mad from reading this on here but I respect your opinion.
If you disagree with something I say or it pisses you off, say why. Its a discussion board! Your opinion is as valid as everyone else's here, provided you back it up. Not sure exactly what you're saying here though!
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 05:11:30 AM
Quote from: KCGaelicFootball on September 12, 2008, 04:44:54 AM
Quote from: J70 on September 12, 2008, 01:51:10 AM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 01:16:47 AM
Good one J70, you have me in stitches here.
Fancy a serious tilt at that particular question? I.e., Why should that loss of unfortunate life so outweigh the loss of much more significant life elsewhere before and since.
You asked what was so special about 9/11 i.e. why we remember where we were when it happened. At least that is the meaning I took given the context of the thread. And I have answered the question under that interpretation i.e. it is fairly obvious, hence the stupid comment.
As to your question as stated above, the bleeding obvious answer is that there is no reason that the 9/11 deaths should outweigh those other deaths other than the context i.e. again, where and how they happened and the influence of that nation and her media all over the world. All such deaths are tragic, but they do not all have the same newsworthiness and relevance in different parts of the world. Sad, but true.
I agree that it sould not out weigh any one thing, what about the un-armed innocent people that were killed on Bloody Sunday or the people at croke park that were shot down in the stadium at a Gaelic football match?? But it is a trajic thing and there are other trajic things happening in other countries. A lot of this story is one sided coming from the Irish people and I am not sure what to say if I am mad from reading this on here but I respect your opinion.
If you disagree with something I say or it pisses you off, say why. Its a discussion board! Your opinion is as valid as everyone else's here, provided you back it up. Not sure exactly what you're saying here though!
I am not sure what I want to say I am a little pissed off about what people said in here . I can see their point and that is it.
I dont blame you KC, if people came on here spouting that innocent catholics "got a taste of their own medicine and didnt like it" with the loyalist retaliations for an IRA atrocity like kingsmill - there would be f**king uproar from the same posters who are quite content to dumb down the humanitarian atrocity that was 9/11 just to have an off the beat view point.
Plenty of american acts have been totally and utterly wrong - that does not make 9/11 a non runner in the tragedy/world-changing/atrocity stakes.
Quote from: Sideshow Bob on September 12, 2008, 04:04:01 AM
Quote from: Puckoon on September 12, 2008, 03:35:38 AM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on September 12, 2008, 12:31:31 AM
Quote from: Down Gael on September 12, 2008, 12:21:24 AM
I dont think Fear ón Srath Bán meant the people that died had it coming, rather America itself.
Thank you Down Gael, exactly.
America is the people
Don`t you mean Americaare the people?
And therein lies the problem. Americans think the world revolves around them. They are very inward looking, yet consider themselves to be a self appointed world police. September 11 should have been a wake up call, not an excuse for more bloodshed. While lapdogs like Blair and Ahern offered support and condolence, many of their people secretly rejoiced. They got a taste of their own medicine on September 11 and their people didn`t like it. Now they know how the vicitims of American bombs and bullets feel, from Hiroshima to Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan.
Time and again we are drip fed images of fallen man and heroic firefighters, while Iraqis, Afghans and countless other races suffer beyond the media spotlight.
Was so depressed last night that I rang the Samaritans. Got through to a call centre in Pakistan.
Told them I was suicidal, they got all excited and asked if I could fly a plane......
What would have been the correct response to 9/11?
(Consider it a given, from my point of view at least, that they should never have went into Iraq).
In our office in London planning for a trip to Middle East on the 12th Sept. Needless to say that particular trip didn't go ahead. Spent the afternoon watching the news and that night was out with a couple of people who were on the phone to colleagues in the towers when the planes hit. Unbelievable still after 7 years. Remember being at the site last summer and even trying to visualise it was frightening.
Just like there is no justification for American War crimes this action was was mass murder and nothing can justify it.
Remember folks the first casualty of war is truth.
I was in NY on the J1 when it happened.
I was working on 91st in Manhattan that day.
I went down for the breakfast around 9:45 from the site; I had heard nothing about the attack before I reached the restaurant.
The guy in behind the counter was always going on with bullshit stories the whole summer while I was eating there so I didn't believe him at first.
I only took him seriously when he brought out the TV and put it on.
I went out side and say the smoke down the Avenue.
I will never forget this big hefty American woman stood up and said "God bless America this is war"
I then tried to call home but the phones where all engaged.
After that I went back up to the site but nobody was in the mood for work, so we all headed home around 2pm and watched it on TV.
Who's thinking about the countless thousands of people far away from TV land who were obliterated as a results of americas war on terror?
No so easy to visualise their terror, but they had terrible endings to their lives as well
All a bit too sanctamonious for me dwelling on 9/11.
I was lying in bed (i.e. lying on a sleeping bag on the floor) on Katonah Ave in Woodlawn, Bronx. Was in NY on a J1 for the summer. Turned on the radio (had no telly) and heard them talking about a plane crash, but it took me a few mins to cop on it was the WTC. So I raced down to Behan's pub (first place I could think of with a telly!) and watched the towers collapse from there. Everyone was dumbstruck - barely a word spoken.
One of my friends had been working right beside the towers for some job and I didn't know if they were still working there or not so I was a bit worried myself!
I was meant to be working that day in Manhattan but they closed off all access to the island so I just stayed in the pub watching it all on the telly.
Was out on the street trying to ring home to tell them I was ok when a fighter jet screamed overhead - didn't know what was happening, I was sure there was another plane about to hit.
My parents were at a funeral in Connemara so I couldn't get through to them. Sept 11th was to be my last day of work and I had told them the first thing I was going to do was go up to the top of the WTC - my poor mother was in an awful state when she saw it on the news :D
Anyway, when they reopened the airports I was on one of the first Aer Lingus flights home - Dad was telling me to "get the fck out of there, you don't know what's going to happen".
Oh, and the friend wasn't working near there anymore so he was fine too!
I was in Turkey! - TVs sprouted in every shop...
I was tackling the brother's wife.
was on a plane from rio to london,when i boared the plane in brazil it had not happened but when i landed at gatwick all hell was breaking lose
I was in the business lounge at Heathrow, waiting on a flight to Manchester. I had another drink...
I was in the Beaumont hospital, one of my mates had a bad accident and he was in a coma for 4 days. He was out from the 10th sept onwards. When he came around he was pumped full of drugs for a few days, he had some job getting his head around what was happening in the world!
Someone mentioned Gareth O'Callaghan, one of my mates was in New York when it happened and he was ringing his radio show with updates. I flew into the city about3-4 weeks after the incident and the place was surreal, there was loads of pics up of missing people, building that hadn't been cleaned and the stench was crazy.
I was on my honeymoon in Portugal and it was a bit surreal because at the same time a brush fire was threatening to engulf a big city (cant remember witch) and I kept seeing people gathering around TV's I was just thinking that City must be fooked, wasn't too long before we realised.
Anyone see the show last night about Tania Head who worked on the 78th floor as an investment banker when the plane hit while her husband was killed in the other tower? She duly went on to become president of the surviors association, headed the support network, the media TV shows about her surviving on the 78th floor despite the aviation fuel fireball, met by the president, Mayor Guiliani etc. ....
6 years later the NY TImes discoverd that not only was she not in the towers nor had she a husband died in the other tower, but she wasnt even american and was from Spain! She flew to the US 2 weeks after 9/11 and made the whole thing up!
Was working at the Galway races, think it was in between races & news filtered through. Rang home for more details as I have relations in NYC but didnt realise the seriousness of it till I got back to the hotel.
Was heading to LA a few weeks later to meet up with friends & the country was still in a bit of a panic.
I was work in Limerick, just back from 4 years in Arizona that April. One of our last internal trips in the States was a whiz around Boston and NYC, the previous Thanksgiving. One of the things we did was have lunch in the 'Restaurant at the top of the world' up on the top floor of one of those towers. I'll never forget how small the lady in the bay looked from up there.
Less than a year later it was a pile of rubble and a cloud of dust, and a few thousand people were dead inside.
Scary shit.
I was in Spain on hols, was due to fly home the next day, and we weren't sure how that was going to happen, it looked like all flights wre going to be grounded. It felt like the world was ending somehow.
Quote from: Over the Bar on September 12, 2008, 10:11:30 AM
Anyone see the show last night about Tania Head who worked on the 78th floor as an investment banker when the plane hit while her husband was killed in the other tower? She duly went on to become president of the surviors association, headed the support network, the media TV shows about her surviving on the 78th floor despite the aviation fuel fireball, met by the president, Mayor Guiliani etc. ....
6 years later the NY TImes discoverd that not only was she not in the towers nor had she a husband died in the other tower, but she wasnt even american and was from Spain! She flew to the US 2 weeks after 9/11 and made the whole thing up!
seen that alright,cant understand how it took them so long to catch on,surely the relatives of the man she claimed to be he husband/fiance would have caught on alot earlier and also the company which worked on the 78th floor would have known she didnt work for them.she was one screwed up girl but as one of the survivors said she did alot of good and made no financial gain from her hoax,pose she was just a attention seeker even though a bit extreme
was on the way into Newry to buy stuff for my placement year in Munich, and was listening to the news on the radio when the first report came through. the girl i was with at the time started to cry and took out her phone to make a phone call. discovered her cousin worked in the WTC and she was trying to make sure he was ok. luckily he was only on the 5th floor and was able to make it out ok. stood outside Dixons in the Buttercrane and saw the second plane crash into the other tower, and then watched the collapse.
I think it's one of those things you always remember where you were!
I was cleaning out my student house in Belfast with my mate and his mum before moving in as freshers. We had no radio or tv all day in house and we didnt hear anything until we got into the car to drive home at around 5.30pm! My mates uncle was in the NewYorkFireDepartment and had been killed about 4 weeks previous to this while attending a fire while working. Always remember his mum saying at least he died then as he would have been at the WTC and they may never have had a body.
I was only home from NY about a month at the time....Was working at the time and couldn't really hear much about it until i got home....Tried to phone the mates back in NY and copuldn't get through....Very worried all day!! Thankfully everyone was ok.
Can I also just add that although 9/11 is no worse than say the Rwandan Genocide or the daily bombs in Baghdad or the deaths in Georgia last month, it still holds such a significance 7 years on for us as it happened in the western world. The so called developed world...we hear daily on the news perhaps that there has been a bomb in Baghdad 65 people dead, we watch for a minute think to ourselves god that's terrible then we switch it over to the football or eastenders! If it was a bomb in London, New York, LA we sit up and take note and listen to the news about the implications because like it or not it does affect us as the UK and Ireland's governments are strongly linked with America, and we all have so many family who have been or are living there.
For me one of the most defining moments in modern world history would be Michael Burkes report from Ethiopia about the famine, and the subsequent world reaction, never before had the Western world come together for good like it did then.
Those images of starving children and the helpless looks on the peoples faces will last with me forever, I wasn't much more then a child myself.
i was sick and at home, i remember a family friend ringing to say to put on the tv, and worried because my aunts both lived in NYC. sat watching it and ringing america constantly, but the phiones were jammed. my aunt rang, she was on the roof in queens watching the towers in flames, the tv pics were about ten seconds later than real events cus she started screaming the towers are falling before they came down on tv.
My uncle works for the NYPD and was in manhatten that day and worked at ground zero for about two weeks after. other uncle was supposed to be working on construction site in manhatten that day but got called off last minute. so scary to think what could have been
QuoteCan I also just add that although 9/11 is no worse than say the Rwandan Genocide or the daily bombs in Baghdad or the deaths in Georgia last month, it still holds such a significance 7 years on for us as it happened in the western world. The so called developed world...we hear daily on the news perhaps that there has been a bomb in Baghdad 65 people dead, we watch for a minute think to ourselves god that's terrible then we switch it over to the football or eastenders! If it was a bomb in London, New York, LA we sit up and take note and listen to the news about the implications because like it or not it does affect us as the UK and Ireland's governments are strongly linked with America, and we all have so many family who have been or are living there.
You are right. The Titanic sunk nearly 100 yrs ago with 1,400 lives lost and everyone knows about it. A ferry called the Estonia sank in the Baltic 10 yrs ago with similar tragic losses and most ppl have never heard of it.... weird!
Another reason why 9/11 seems to have stayed with us is that many many people knew someone who was in New York at the time.
For this reason a lot of people were frantic with worry until they found out about their friends/family
I still to this day find it hard to believe that no-one connected with the construction of the building, either the architects or government structural engineers, could not have foreseen the possibility of the 2 towers collapsing and got a message thru to the NYFD to evacuate as quickly as possible.
The damage that a fully laden & fuelled DC-10 would do to the structure is incalculable and to be 100% sure that it the towers would not fall as a consequence is criminally negligent. 1000's of lives were lost unnecessarily.