iamashamed: (Default)
While everyone's lost, the battle is won... ([personal profile] iamashamed) wrote2010-09-11 02:03 pm

Writer's Block: The day the earth stood still

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It's a day of reflection, mostly. I think about the victims of the attack, the families of the people who died in the attack, the survivors of the attack, and all the soldiers, from around the world, not just America, who have been fighting, and sometimes died, ever since the attack, to prevent this kind of thing from ever happening again. I think about where I was when it happened, and what impact it has had on America, and the rest of the world.

I don't remember much from 9/11, or even before 9/11, because I was only a 10/11 year old girl when the attack happened. 9/11 was the first big news event I remember hearing about, but I was so young, that I didn't really understand what it was about. I grew up in a post-9/11 world, so I only remember the day through child-eyes. It was only years later that I actually began to think about it, and understand what happened on that day.

This is what I remember from that day:

It was around afternoon here, because of the time differences between Denmark and America, and I was playing with a friend. After my friend went home, I went into the living room, and saw my parents watching the news, where the images of the twin towers burning caught my eyes. I thought it looked like a movie, so I asked what it was. My mother told me that some really bad people had attacked some famous buildings in America, and killed a lot of people. I also remember seeing the buildings crumple, and being a little bit afraid, but the rest of the day is a blur. Next day in school, we talked about the attacks, and held 5 minutes silence for all the victims. I remember asking, angry and disgusted, "But if these people wanted to kill themselves, why did they have to take so many innocent people with them?!" because I was too young, and too innocent,  to understand the horrible fact, that goal wasn't to commit suicide, but to cause pain and hurt to others. It was only years later that I found out that this was the case. I also remember days after the attack, seeing pictures of people falling from the towers in the magazines, and being shocked. It still haunts me.

[identity profile] iamashamed.livejournal.com 2010-09-11 12:27 pm (UTC)(link)
wow, holy crap. That's scary. I can't even imagine that.

[identity profile] queer-theory.livejournal.com 2010-09-11 12:30 pm (UTC)(link)
At the time, it wasn't exactly scary. It was mostly... I don't know. I felt numb. I think that's how a lot of people felt.

I didn't really feel anything beyond that numbness until years later, when my high school science teacher's son died in Iraq.

[identity profile] iamashamed.livejournal.com 2010-09-11 12:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, that's a natural reaction I think. Oh my God, I'm sorry.

[identity profile] queer-theory.livejournal.com 2010-09-11 12:37 pm (UTC)(link)
My experience was nothing compared to what many other people went through. I think I had what was probably a typical reaction and experience for a lot of Americans who didn't live in New York or personally know anyone involved.

I read the accounts of what happened from people like Neil DeGrasse Tyson and John Hodgman, and just can't imagine what that must have been like.

[identity profile] iamashamed.livejournal.com 2010-09-11 12:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I've read a lot of accounts as well, and I can't even process it.