Where were you during 911

[arsenette]

Was just thinking of this today and realized that a lot of the new people on SMF probably were either not born or really young. Still though I wanted to hear about your reactions to that day and how it was relayed to you. We had a thread on our experiences a few years ago - it can be found here.

[LusitaniaAngel313]

Well I was 6 when the attacks happened. 1st grade in my elementary school. Each classroom had a TV to broadcast normal school events but when I went to homeroom my whole class (and everyone else apparently) had their TV's on one of the news channels. I didn't even know they could do that but anyways I saw the first tower smoldering and as soon as the second tower was nailed I nearly fainted. I finally DID faint when the first (second to get hit) tower collapsed. I was in the nurse's office and I really hoped it was just a nightmare until the nurse confirmed the attacks... and the fact the North tower also ended up collapsing... It's sad coincidence because my history teacher yesterday was talking about those towers the day before...

[Deleted]

I was only 2 and a bit when it happened and it happened at about 2pm and when I saw it I had no clue what the hell was going on because of how young I was back then, watching it again 14 years later makes me heartbroken.

[Eclipse]

8 at the time (Grade 3). The way we had our class set up was that every day we would meet up in the morning in a circle and talk about news/what everyone was doing in their lives. Every week we had a student who was essentially like class president for that week. This morning when we came in, there was a TV in the room on one of those wheelie carts. As 90s kid in elementary school, this was a pretty big deal because videos were awesome. 

I remember my teacher Mrs. Reimer talking about what happened and showed us a video she had taped, but to honest, all I really remember was her saying that she was glad no-one was class president this week (there was some sort of school holiday or other that made it a short week).

Being a Canadian living pretty far North of the US border, I can honestly tell you that I had never even heard of the Twin Towers up to that point. I'd heard of the Empire State Building, but as a Canadian the Twin Towers are separated from my mind set and never really had any significance up here prior to 9/11. I was also young enough that I didn't really understand what was going on. I had though that it was just a really weird coincidence that 2 different planes had crashed for whatever reason in the same location. Concepts like 'Terrorism' just weren't something that an 8 year old Canadian could really process. I think I was probably in at least Grade 7 before I really grasped what had gone on. 

Because of this disconnect, me and my friends had never really understood the relationship between 9/11 and the Iraq War either. When I was older (Grade 5), we were told in class that the US had invaded Iraq, and without the understanding of 9/11, we had actually thought the US was becoming colonialist and was initiating what might become a World War. As a result, this actually painted the US in a pretty negative light.

Being young and far removed from the situation, I guess I have an interesting perspective on what happened. Obviously being 22, I understand what happened and what the repercussions where (whether I agree or not). I don't want to sound rude to anyone living in the United States who suffered from this tragedy, but to be quite honest, it didn't effect people living in other parts of the world in the same extent/way. I feel horrible for the losses and devastation, but it just doesn't hit home as much since I don't have any ties to the United States. Obviously this is my opinion and doesn't represent the whole world. 

With how society is becoming more connected and social using the internet, I think if this happened today, there would be a much bigger outcry emotionally worldwide, rather than just within the US, just because in 2001 the world wasn't as connected on big events and social issues. 

I apologize in advance if anything I've said offended anyone, as that was not my intent. I was simply sharing my experiences as I felt them given the context and age I was during the events. 

[arsenette]

No offense taken and seriously that is what you felt and still feel today. I had a lot of conversations with lots of foreigners during that time and subsequent years and have always been interested in how they viewed it. Everything from "it's about time you feel what we feel" to "omg I can't believe it reached over there" to "I knew it was something that might show up in a history text book of a date I won't remember much". Others I got a lot of condolences with the "I don't know anyone but that's terrible that it happened at all" or they went into detail on how each foreign country covered the event both politically and historically; each with their own spin.

You are right with 2001 being a whole different world even with regards to the internet and social media with smart phones. The closest I got to that in this generation was 311 in Japan with the Earthquake/Tsunami. That was scary watching that real time. I can't imagine what 911 would look like with today's social media.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. Don't feel compelled to change your experience if it somehow it didn't affect you or if it was even negative. I just wanted to hear the stories as I always find it cathartic today. ♥

[Eclipse]

Sept 11, 2015 12:46:48 GMT -5 arsenette said:

The closest I got to that in this generation was 311 in Japan with the Earthquake/Tsunami. That was scary watching that real time. I can't imagine what 911 would look like with today's social media.

If you don't mind, I would like to share a story about the Earthquake/Tsunami in Japan, since the way I feel about that could be compared to many 9/11 stories.

So, in my Grade 12 year (I was 18)  I ended up taking Japanese 20. As an optional part of the course, we were offered a trip to Japan over Canadian spring break (which I must note is a different time than American Spring Break), living with host families. Several friends of mine were in the class, so it looked like it was going to be a great trip. Our host families all lived in Mito, and we would bus/train around to other parts on day trips.

The Earthquake hit only a day or two before our flight. It was close enough that we were packed and basically doing the final preparation and killing time until the flight. I remember going to school, and everyone was saying 'oh it isn't *that* bad, you'll still be fine', and as the day went on and more information came in, we were in denial in a lot of ways. The airport we were flying into (Sendai) was 21ft underwater, there was that whole debacle with the Fukushima Daiichi Power plants. The hardest news came when we found out that Mito (where I mentioned our host families were staying) was one of the hardest hit places in Japan. The school we were attending got permanently closed due to severe damage, and the host families (whom we had some email contact with) we never heard from again. Our teacher reassured us that they were all fine, but he may have just been saying that since at 18, we're still not used to coping with things like death. By the end of the school day, we had a class meeting where it was announced that the school board had cancelled our trip. Some of my friends were very upset and burst into tears, and others were angry. One friend of mine even went so far as to blame me personally for the earthquakes, even though there was literally no way I could have caused them. I ended up having dreams/nightmares about what happened for a few months after the fact, and I felt like I had missed an opportunity. 

Following the disaster with Fukushima, a very powerful moment for me was when the Japanese government asked for volunteers to stay behind at the risk of death/permanent illness. They had 50 employees at the plants stay behind and accept death in order to prevent a much bigger disaster, and for that I am grateful. In a lot of ways, I see this as akin to the brave souls who helped rescue victims from the trade center collapse.

I was able to get some resolution when I went to Japan for a vacation/Sasuke 29. I ended up visiting in on some of the places I was supposed to go and the people we were supposed to meet with. It took me over 2 years to come to peace with things, and for that I am fortunate. I know for a lot of 9/11 victims/friends/families, even 14 years is not enough to resolve things.

While as a Canadian I may not understand how 9/11 was, but I can understand the feelings you're going through after being in a similar situation. I hope today isn't too hard on you all emotionally.

[Deleted]

Heh, I was only 5 at the time and I think I was home that day because I had a fever. Hard to remember (14 years is a long time).

[RiderLeangle]

To be honest, I think I was asleep that morning, I think I woke up some time between when the pentagon got hit and when 93 went down into that field. Don't really remember too much besides mom seeing it on the news and telling me what happened. So pretty much what Kapitan said, hard to remember because 14 years is a long time ago

[peytonblitz]

Since I'm a relatively younger member here (14 and a half) I didn't experience 9/11 as I was just six months old. However, I know it must have been tragic and devastating for those who were older and able to understand what was happening. My mom has told me though that she was taking my sister to school (with me in the backseat), and it came up on the radio and she was scared and didn't want to take my sister to school.

[SasukeDoctor]

I honestly don't remember, because I was only a year old, but seeing it later on in life makes me tear up because of the story. 14 years is a long time indeed, but they will never be forgotten. The buildings are gone, but the memories never vanish.

[Philip]

I was in my second week of Kindergarten. I have a bunch of memories from Kindergarten but I don't remember this specific day. Apparently after class and I went home it was on my TV, I asked my mom, "is it far far away?". She said yes and me being a 5 year old I didn't give two shits after that lol. I mean it's unfortunate what happened but I've never been an emotional person so I've never really felt sad about it. Even if I was 19 in 2001 and understood it better I still don't think I would be too upset, concerned of course, but not in tears or anything; like I said I've always been sort of stoic about those things if it makes sense. Just being honest here.