10 Year anniversary of the Twin Tower Attack

[Matthew Arnold]

As everyone is aware this sunday it is the 10 year anniversary of the World Trade Centre attacks and collapse. Just out of interest what is everyone doing to remember the people who lost their lives? I shall be going down to the local fire station for their service that they hold every year.

[Sam Thompson]

A minutes silence, that is all

[tommer9]

I am sorry, and i am sure many will despise me for this, but i will be trying to ignore the issue altogether.

[Sam Thompson]

I am sorry, and i am sure many will despise me for this, but i will be trying to ignore the issue altogether.

 

I understand that. Why is there officially two minutes silence for 9/11. But only a minute for 11:00am 11/11, I think that is wrong.

[tommer9]

My thing is more about how innocent anybody who worked for the WTO actually was.

(and yes i understand that there were many in there who were visiting, porters, police etc etc before anybody points that out, and although I think the act was sick and wrong, I also feel that the WTO is not exactly white as the driven snow when it comes to responsibility for thousands of innocent deaths...in fact many more than died on 11.9.2001)

[easy-lift guy]

My best friend lost his brother in law. He worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. He was a broker for the firm. Very little was found of his remains. He left a wife and Two kids. Tommer9 help me understand how you are able to judge the type of people working in the WTC on that day nearly 10 years ago?. I will honor their deaths and say a Rosary for the families who have suffered so much yet continue to carry on since it is what their departed members would want.

easy-lift guy

[DrewB]

Ill probably watch Team America World Police Movie, Team America Movie - Official Site........

[Taupotreeman]

another here I'm afraid that will just carry on as per usual. It's not that I don't feel any sympathy etc but I am a completely unemotional person due to various things that went on in my childhood. I generally tend to be hard nosed and tuck everything away. I do, however, intend to visit the site when I'm hopefully in NY next year and I'll probably drop a flower off at the site.

[atree]

Same as Above.

 

I did enjoy my time at the Top of the world trade center looking through the glass floor over the edge.

 

Also remember being off school 10years ago

[Big J]

I was having an interesting discussion with a friend regarding this yesterday.

 

He was of the opinion that it was unimportant compared to the thousands of people who have lost their lives since then in Iraq/Afghanistan. I would argue that perhaps in the scheme of things it's not as serious as those wars, but that each personal tragedy is just that. The deaths of the near 3000 people on that day directly affected millions of people in a way that America has never seen before. Don't forget that with the exception of Pearl Harbour in 1941, America has only fought overseas wars, with no direct impact on home soil since the American Civil war.

 

In 2001, I was harsher in terms of holding the occupants of the twin towers at least partly responsible for their fate. However, older, (hopefully) wiser and less extreme in these matters, I feel nothing but sorrow and empathy for those that lost their loved ones.

 

There are a series of videos of individuals affected by 9/11 on the BBC news website. I'd recommend watching them - they are really quite moving. The worst affected and most selfless of all were the firefighters who rushed into the building when everyone else was rushing to escape. In that series of videos, there is one about a photographer appointed by the Fire Department to document the search for remains that followed in the weeks and months after the attacks. He said that he was confronted on one occasion by a firefighter who said:

 

"I don't care if you are authorised to be here, I don't want you here. I lost 60 friends on 9/11"

 

I can't imagine the loss that he suffered, let alone having to spend months searching for my friends.

 

In response to the original question, I'll most likely raise a glass on Sunday with a moment's silence.