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customerserviceguy

(25,406 posts)

64. You didn't provide any middle options

Sun Aug 3, 2014, 10:27 PM

Aug 2014

Yes, being as it was the first large enemy attack on the United States (not counting territories) since the War of 1812, yeah, I wondered how this could happen, and if indeed it would happen again. I felt somewhat confident because of living in WA state at the time that it probably wouldn't hit me, but someone called in a bomb threat to the office building I worked in, and that brought it all home.

Did I think that the Patriot Act was the right response? No, certainly not. But getting AQ was important, if only to send a signal to anyone willing to try this sort of thing again. I'm certainly glad that the people in charge of our safety, like the FBI, the CIA, the branches of the military, and the various levels of police forces managed to put aside their petty rivalries and get cooperating with each other, and if fear was part of that, it was a good thing for them to feel it.

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Were you swept up in "fear! fear! fear!" because of September 11, 2001? [View all] Solly Mack Aug 2014 OP

For about 24 hours... eom Purveyor Aug 2014 #1

No thelordofhell Aug 2014 #2

I was all for going into Afghanistan to nab those responsible, and that's about it derby378 Aug 2014 #3

Interesting You Say That ProfessorGAC Aug 2014 #120

Was anyone responsible nabbed in Afghanistan? merrily Aug 2014 #151

Self delete. Wrong spot. merrily Aug 2014 #152

Nope, and I watched the second plane hit the tower on a live feed Erich Bloodaxe BSN Aug 2014 #4

I was for all of September 12, because I worked downtown in a major metropolitan area within Brickbat Aug 2014 #5

Fear of what the bush regime would do liberal N proud Aug 2014 #6

Yep. What Bush would do was the real worry. Solly Mack Aug 2014 #7

The only fear I had too. SammyWinstonJack Aug 2014 #18

Eggzaklee! Scuba Aug 2014 #22

Yep. I quickly went from short term shock to overwhelming dread of what they would do. Gidney N Cloyd Aug 2014 #25

I knew it would 2naSalit Aug 2014 #29

Yep, it was a rational reaction for anyone paying attention. nt tridim Aug 2014 #66

Me too enigmatic Aug 2014 #86

Exactly. dog_lovin_dem Aug 2014 #90

This is the basis of my "yes" vote. Systematic Chaos Aug 2014 #91

+1 nt ohnoyoudidnt Aug 2014 #158

I was working for an airline at the time The Velveteen Ocelot Aug 2014 #8

No, but then I am on the left coast NV Whino Aug 2014 #9

I don't know what you mean by "fear! fear! fear!" el_bryanto Aug 2014 #10

Seems like it's mocking people who had a massive bomb attack in the middle of their city BainsBane Aug 2014 #72

IT does feel that way to me a bit, as well. el_bryanto Aug 2014 #84

I didn't ask how anyone felt that day, however. Solly Mack Aug 2014 #98

If you mean me - I'm a she.... and if you do mean me, hardly. Solly Mack Aug 2014 #97

If I didn't know you better Solly, I might have taken it the wrong way too. bettyellen Aug 2014 #109

OK. Thanks, bettyellen! Solly Mack Aug 2014 #115

We watched them rebuild there from my office, and I do not know anyone who'd work at WTC... bettyellen Aug 2014 #117

I also think the country will be hit again eventually. Solly Mack Aug 2014 #123

Yep, we live with knowing it'll probably happen again here. I just shake my head when people bitch bettyellen Aug 2014 #127

I read your OP as you wrote it BainsBane Aug 2014 #131

You couldn't be more wrong if you tried....oh,wait. You did try. Solly Mack Aug 2014 #142

I lost two coworkers that day. MohRokTah Aug 2014 #145

I'm very sorry for your losses BainsBane Aug 2014 #146

Thanks, I agree with you about this OP. MohRokTah Aug 2014 #147

Of course they aren't BainsBane Aug 2014 #148

I was afraid. MohRokTah Aug 2014 #149

Yes, I agree with you GCP Aug 2014 #164

It doesn't sound like that to me. It sounds like the reaction of nearly half of NYers including sabrina 1 Aug 2014 #161

I think posts like this War Horse Aug 2014 #132

NO...I thought that it was Fear/Shock and Awe...from the beginning... KoKo Aug 2014 #11

+ 1 I'm with ya here. canoeist52 Aug 2014 #41

From the day it happened I feared that Bush would do exactly what he did lunatica Aug 2014 #12

i was, and shrub turned nearly all my fears into reality. unblock Aug 2014 #13

I looked at it this way... A HERETIC I AM Aug 2014 #14

No Liberal_Dog Aug 2014 #15

I still have my house Go Vols Aug 2014 #16

Looking for "Hell no." nt roody Aug 2014 #17

Hell, yes. pnwmom Aug 2014 #112

I should have added that I live roody Aug 2014 #114

I live at a distance but I had a child in college in the area, pnwmom Aug 2014 #121

what scared me the most perhaps, was the way ordinary people wanted war G_j Aug 2014 #19

Yes! jen63 Aug 2014 #49

They did not understand, could not comprehend Enthusiast Aug 2014 #138

For about 6 months. I live in Manhattan and was 21 yrs old. JaneyVee Aug 2014 #20

I can understand the fear with you...but, anecdote... KoKo Aug 2014 #30

No, BUT LWolf Aug 2014 #21

Hardly. A 'mere' 3000 people killed. Compared to what went on in Europe at the time... randome Aug 2014 #23

Looking back, I and another guy on my block were the only ones not freaking out ... BlueJazz Aug 2014 #24

'Swept up?' No. elleng Aug 2014 #26

I agree, elleng. phylny Aug 2014 #150

Yes, phylny, different for others. :-( elleng Aug 2014 #163

Sadly, I admit that I was Aerows Aug 2014 #27

As I recall they tried to pin the anthrax on Saddam as well. truebluegreen Aug 2014 #67

That sickened me Aerows Aug 2014 #80

I had just flown across the country the day before... countryjake Aug 2014 #28

Horrified, angry, saddened, confused about some things Nevernose Aug 2014 #31

I think it would have been perfectly rational to wonder what else was in store. BlueCheese Aug 2014 #32

I was incensed. George W. was given an opportunity few Presidents ever have, the chance. . . Journeyman Aug 2014 #33

I lived in NYC at the time, lost people in the buildings, watched the whole thing Squinch Aug 2014 #34

No, I was swept up in Blue_In_AK Aug 2014 #35

You and me both. :) Solly Mack Aug 2014 #36

+1 leftstreet Aug 2014 #40

as was i shanti Aug 2014 #63

Me too Blue. The other word that describes my feelings at the time is livetohike Aug 2014 #128

Probably wasn't as scary on the tee vee Boom Sound 416 Aug 2014 #37

Nope. But I do remember that day w bush didn't show his face. What a leader! BillZBubb Aug 2014 #38

No. I knew Cheney and Bush were going to pull this kind of shit, Zorra Aug 2014 #39

I expected that sort of thing from the day W was appointed by the SCOTUS. Bluenorthwest Aug 2014 #42

NO rock Aug 2014 #43

Mostly I was afraid of what the government and public responses would be bhikkhu Aug 2014 #44

I didn't live in New York ... I had recently moved from the DC metro area etherealtruth Aug 2014 #45

I felt horrible grief. Total sadness. NCarolinawoman Aug 2014 #46

No, at the time I worked in one of the tallest buildings in the world in Chicago... WhaTHellsgoingonhere Aug 2014 #47

I was. My brother worked in Tower 2. SummerSnow Aug 2014 #48

... YvonneCa Aug 2014 #52

Thanks for the reality check. nt pnwmom Aug 2014 #110

I was working in Midtown Manhattan that day, so yes. closeupready Aug 2014 #50

No. And by early afternoon that day SheilaT Aug 2014 #51

Fear? No� I was frustrated and confused and angry in varying proportions... MrMickeysMom Aug 2014 #53

No, I was really pissed though. PeteSelman Aug 2014 #54

I was working in downtown DC that day. MiniMe Aug 2014 #55

No ..... sendero Aug 2014 #56

I was worried about my honey, who was escorting foreigners back from NY ChairmanAgnostic Aug 2014 #57

no, i put dying from a terror attack in the same category as being struck by lightening... dionysus Aug 2014 #58

not even for a minute... 2banon Aug 2014 #59

If everyone who claimed to be was actually a 10%-er, Bush's disapproval wouldn't have been 10% Hippo_Tron Aug 2014 #60

fear that a coup was taking place mwrguy Aug 2014 #61

I was horrified at the loss of life, but Lydia Leftcoast Aug 2014 #62

You didn't provide any middle options customerserviceguy Aug 2014 #64

Something that really made an impression on me that day truebluegreen Aug 2014 #65

No I wasn't.at around the age of 8 or so I realized the SF Bay Area was nuclear first strike zone. mulsh Aug 2014 #68

I just remember Bush fleeing across the country for hours after ProudToBeBlueInRhody Aug 2014 #69

Not getting caught up in the Ebola virus fear-mongering, either. GoCubsGo Aug 2014 #70

First thing I said was" that fuckin bush " First words without thinking. easychoice Aug 2014 #71

No, no, and hell no. Hell Hath No Fury Aug 2014 #73

For me it was shock at first. Control-Z Aug 2014 #74

No, more stunned and angry at the perpetrators of it steve2470 Aug 2014 #75

I was shocked, thinking about the loss of life on 9/11 BainsBane Aug 2014 #76

You're so noble. sibelian Aug 2014 #100

No, far better to mock those who feel fear when their lives are in danger BainsBane Aug 2014 #130

Obnoxious BeyondGeography Aug 2014 #157

No, but I did have one fear and I wasn't even very politically involved at the time, it was sabrina 1 Aug 2014 #77

I live in NYC and was searching for my friends who died in the towers. I was scared but I never hrmjustin Aug 2014 #78

FEAR...it lasted less than 2 months - I started researching... alittlelark Aug 2014 #79

Yes, but I have long since gotten over 9/11 bluestateguy Aug 2014 #81

Were you afraid when Israeli bombs hit Gaza? BainsBane Aug 2014 #82

I felt no fear, but others sure did and reacted absolutely LibDemAlways Aug 2014 #83

I sympathize with those that were in fear. But they should have known that fear rhett o rick Aug 2014 #85

I'm not sure what swept up means. defacto7 Aug 2014 #87

I was pretty fearful of what this country's response would be. stranger81 Aug 2014 #88

I wasn't fearful but I was deeply saddened and enraged RFKHumphreyObama Aug 2014 #89

I like your response BainsBane Aug 2014 #92

Well said Egnever Aug 2014 #95

Certainly not, Jeff Rosenzweig Aug 2014 #93

The weapon grade anthrax attack was a brillant Ichingcarpenter Aug 2014 #94

Like most of us, I sat with my mouth hanging wide open in front of the television all day. Warren DeMontague Aug 2014 #96

Imagine that BainsBane Aug 2014 #135

186 to 11 as of this post... sibelian Aug 2014 #99

Their only real 9/11 fear was getting found out n/t whatchamacallit Aug 2014 #101

Nope. I was pissed off. Still am. riqster Aug 2014 #102

I had been paying attention, so no... ms liberty Aug 2014 #103

I knew instantly that the attacks would be used to support the Cheney agenda. Orsino Aug 2014 #104

I remember the hate and anger coming from people far from NY/ DC - and they scared me more than any bettyellen Aug 2014 #105

Then and now ...I only fear other drivers. L0oniX Aug 2014 #106

I was only 13/14 at the time sakabatou Aug 2014 #107

Damn right. Unlike many, I'll be honest. When it first happened, no one knew or could know pnwmom Aug 2014 #108

I was, for a couple weeks. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Arkana Aug 2014 #111

Thing is we are not and we're not as vulnerable as most of the world, but we are not impregnable TheKentuckian Aug 2014 #116

No, because the drumbeat of fear was just the excuse to impose the police state. alarimer Aug 2014 #113

Shocked for a few days hifiguy Aug 2014 #118

No, We Overreacted Badly As A Nation ProfessorGAC Aug 2014 #119

Nor was I for the 2004 election. RiffRandell Aug 2014 #122

No! No! No! KamaAina Aug 2014 #124

didn't even know the planes hit the trade centers onethatcares Aug 2014 #125

I was afraid until all the planes landed gwheezie Aug 2014 #126

i was horrified..... dawnie51 Aug 2014 #129

I got a lot of flack gaspee Aug 2014 #133

No fear at all. Just disgust Populist_Prole Aug 2014 #134

It was amazing how many people became "pod people" after that... villager Aug 2014 #136

I immediately suspected the Bush Administration had a hand in the attacks. Enthusiast Aug 2014 #137

No, it was more about wondering how it happened, rather than wondering who pulled it off. Major Hogwash Aug 2014 #139

I did not have time. I heard about it from a few people in my apartment building as I walked out to jwirr Aug 2014 #140

No. I'm a liberal by nature, so fairly cool minded and not easily fear driven, Hortensis Aug 2014 #141

I went to DC zipplewrath Aug 2014 #143

I was, all the way up to the point where it was clear the Antrax terrorism was domestic. eom MohRokTah Aug 2014 #144

For a while - I was in NYC LiberalElite Aug 2014 #153

The way people here went nuts made me uneasy. merrily Aug 2014 #154

Why are you asking this now? nt LiberalElite Aug 2014 #155

This message was self-deleted by its author lovemydog Aug 2014 #156

NO Skittles Aug 2014 #159

I was scared for a few days. clyrc Aug 2014 #160

I was JustAnotherGen Aug 2014 #162