Where were you on 9/11, 2001?

[PorkChop]

I was in school, Year 5 to be exact. I would have been 10 years old. I didn't know anything had happened until I got home and saw the planes crash into the buildings on BBC News. It's one of those moments where everyone remembers where they were.

Particularly interested to hear from our American posters on the board.

[War Daddy]

Where was I when the world stopped turning? I was in 5th grade. I remember just sitting there, looking at the teachers wondering what the hell is going on. I remember them bringing the tv in and playing the news. I remember watching the planes crash into the towers. I remember the eerie silence of the entire school in one gymnasium. I remember staring, with a cold stare into that tv, not believing what I saw. I didnt want to believe it. That single event changed an entire nation, my entire 5th grade year, and the rest of my life. Never forget.

[Viazon]

I would have been 15. I was doing work experience for school. I was in a little office with a few people and one guy got off the phone with his girlfriend who told him about it and then he told us. For some reason, at first I didn't think it sounded as bad as it was. It wasn't until I got home and saw it all over the news that I realised how bad it actually was.

[Romo]

I was 10 and just finishing school not fully realising what was happening.

[Twister]

I was 10 and also at school, I had very little comprehension of what was happening and how serious it was at first.

[PorkChop]

I was 10 and also at school, I had very little comprehension of what was happening and how serious it was at first.

Same here. I gathered that some serious shit had gone down as it was all over the news and every adult I knew were stunned, and also a bit scared. I didn't realise that the event would basically change the world as we knew it. 9/11 bought in a new era worldwide.

[The Legend]

I was a senior in high school. I walked into the cafeteria for my 4th period lunch at about 9:40 or 9:45 am which was just about exactly when the third plane hit the Pentagon. The TV's were already on in the cafeteria watching what was happening with the Twin Towers. My the time my lunch was over, the first tower had just crashed and the fourth plane had just gone down in Pennsylvania.

Needless to say the rest of the day was spent watching the news and trying to talk about what was happening without anyone, teacher or student, really understanding and having no way to understand what this truly meant and how it would change our lives forever.

[Daz]

I was at school, Year 7, blissfully ignorant of what the World Trade Centre was. Looking back, I assume I must have seen the buildings or heard about it at some point before 9/11, but I didn't hear about the attack until the bus ride home and the Sixth Formers were talking. I remember looking to my friend Ed like "WTF are they talking about?"

I saw the video of the Towers going down when I got home. I didn't see the planes flying into them for about 5 years. I never sought it out and somehow I just avoided it, not by design, when they'd show footage of it. When I finally did see it, it was completely surreal. Obviously I understood the gravity of it a little better than I did when I was 11, and the knew what happened as a result of it, which added a bit more weight to the whole thing (for me personally anyway).

[Westcoastvibes]

I was in my first year out of school and got woken up by someone after the first tower got hit.

[VaderBomb]

History class, grade 8. Saw the second plane hit and everyone was on about "World War 3".

[Everlong]

History class, grade 8. Saw the second plane hit and everyone was on about "World War 3".

Yeah, exactly the same for me except it was health class in 8th grade. We were watching an interview on TV with some reporter after the first plane hit, and saw the second hit live on tv. People in the classroom were screaming, I remember kids being pulled out of school for the day. It was the most surreal day of school I can ever remember. Everybody was wondering who would attack us, what had happened. The confusion was insane--it's easy to think now looking back how obvious it was that it was a Taliban attack, but for most of us, we had no idea what was happening until later that day when Bush spoke on television.

[Kein]

I was 14 years old, grade 9. It was my late start day in school (we had block schedule, so instead of doing every class every day, we did half our classes for twice as long every other day, usually 8 class slots total but everyone always had 6 classes, so all students had either a gap in the schedule, a late start, or early release) and I just walked into my sisters room to tell her I was heading out. She told me a plane crashed into one of the towers. I shrugged and said "seeya, I'm going to class" and got on a bus ride to school.

When I arrived in school things seemed fairly normal in the halls but when I got to my class the TV was on and people were all talking about what was going on. I didn't think it was that big of a deal, it definitely sucked knowing so many people had died on that plane, and the people in the office it hit. Then the news got a lil frantic saying another plane was approaching, it hit, and I remember everyone made a slight scream/oooh noise, kinda like the sound you hear when everyone see's someone get hurt badly. That was a bit different, seeing an actual plane, second one at that, hit the building. Everyone knew something was up, this wasn't a freak accident like the first. People were more curious, and shocked, than just bewildered by what was originally a possible unexplained anomaly. The building collapsed and that's when people really started going from shocked and worried to just a bit more out of control. Everyone was on their cell, trying to get a hold of family, people were borderline crying knowing some family were very likely involved in the incident. School was let out early, I went home on the bus, and everyone kept talking. I don't remember exactly when but news also surfaced the pentagon was hit.

I got home and got on my computer and chatted with a friend or two, one of them told me "watch out for them palestines" and another said "fuck pasletinians" and that "99% of the evidence pointed towards them." I thought the train of thought was ridiculous, there was no real evidence anywhere, yes, they were cheering, and that's messed up, but it doesn't mean it was their fault. It bothered me people were jumping to conclusions so fast, and suddenly a couple of my friends "love this country, I love America" and such. These thoughts never surfaced before, and suddenly they loved the country they always complained about and said it was a jacked up place with laws that made no sense. I guess my genuine feeling on my friends reaction to this event, was disappointment. I am not a patriotic person personally, but I give respect where it is due. I felt like there was just, so much bandwagon mentality flooding the minds, and people just weren't thinking for themselves. Weren't thinking logically, weren't thinking rationally, some I felt just.. I dunno. It was irritating to hear.

Overall, the day to me was fairly normal aside from getting out of school early. I didn't go training, because my family was concerned about my aunt and uncle who lived/worked close to the vicinity of the incident and we couldn't get a hold of them. Some things I remember clearly, some details I can't remember. I felt like (and in some ways still do) the situation as a whole, is a big deal, but also not. It is a big deal, but I think a lot of it, is a big deal for the wrong reasons. It changed our world, it changed the US, in my opinion more negatively than positive. It made us band together, and it made us fight ourselves. People loved New York, people supported each other emotionally. People in school got comments on their skin, airport security got stupid. Everyone had an opinion, and in the end a lot of it meant nothing. I was just disappointed.

[CMPUNKFAN]

I was in 6th grade and was never told what happen at school. I remember coming home from the bus and everyone on the bus was saying different things about what was going on. The first time I saw it was when I came home and my mom was watching the TV.

[KaiserGlider]

I was in 3rd grade, turned the TV on before I went to school and all I saw was a bunch of fog in New York. Later I found out about the towers collapsing and the planes.

[Everlong]

uddenly a couple of my friends "love this country, I love America" and such. These thoughts never surfaced before, and suddenly they loved the country they always complained about and said it was a jacked up place with laws that made no sense. I guess my genuine feeling on my friends reaction to this event, was disappointment. I am not a patriotic person personally, but I give respect where it is due. I felt like there was just, so much bandwagon mentality flooding the minds, and people just weren't thinking for themselves. Weren't thinking logically, weren't thinking rationally, some I felt just.. I dunno. It was irritating to hear.

This continues to bother me to this day. The amount of mindless patriotism, and the whole "SUPPORT THE TROOPS" fad has always bothered me. And yet, you can't say anything about it without pissing people off, it seems.

In my opinion, ever since 9/11 people may have become more proud of their rights and their liberties than ever before (whether fashionable or genuine), but they've also become more afraid to exercise them and to actually be seen as an individual. Like sure, I can appreciate the things that our military does for us, but the "support the troops" movement is a marketing ploy more than anything else. Why do so many sports teams/leagues/WWE/companies etc. all need to put so much effort into the "Support the Troops" campaign? Because it sells, and here's why: it guilts people into getting involved and showing support. It's more emotional manipulation than genuine feeling.

It's sort of related to every time there's a tragedy, you hear the exact same line repeated from EVERYBODY: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims." It's almost as if every news outlet, talking head or person on Facebook feels like they're obligated to say it, so they repeat this same line over and over again. At this point, that sentence has become completely devoid of worth because it's been said way too much. That's the same way I feel about all the patriotic slogans that have been thrown around since 9/11.

I'm just kind of rambling here I guess. I'm not particularly nationalistic. I am glad that I'm an American, but I don't think we're necessarily the greatest place in the world or anything like that. When I see "SUPPORT THE TROOPS" or "GOD BLESS THE USA" or other kinds of cliched patriotic phrases parroted on Facebook statuses or bumper stickers or signs or flags, it makes me cringe more than it makes me proud.

The American patriotism that we see today is not that of our founding fathers. It's a fashion statement. And it annoys me.

[Str8Shooter]

I don't know what any of you guys think, but I'm pretty sure Tim hates America.

[AkydefGoldberg]

I was in school, Year 10. Didn't hear anything during the day - this was the pre-smartphone days so I came home, as I usually did, put on the TV in my room - probably to watch some show, anyone remember Bernard's Watch? - and I remember BBC1, ITV, Channel 4 even BBC2 IIRC, just wall-to-wall coverage of the attacks. By this time I think, the towers had come down so it was repeats of what had occured during the day.

I'd say the world is probably more dangerous than it was then. Sadly, America's actions since (invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq) have made the world a more instable place and the issues facing the Western world don't seem to be abating. I only wish that rather than war-mongering rhetoric, there was a more, calm, cold-headed approach to finding who committed these attacks and treat them as murderers. Maybe more lives in Afghanistan and Iraq might have been saved.

[PorkChop]

I don't know what any of you guys think, but I'm pretty sure Tim hates America.

The theory that Tim is a redcoat grows stronger by the day...

I also hate the 'SUPPORT OUR TROOPS' stuff too. I've voiced that opinion to my friends, who aren't particularly patriotic, and still got torn apart for it. I can't stand it, especially when it's shoved in your face by the media.

[Viazon]

One thing that bothers me is the ignorance in so many people when it comes to Muslims. Since 9/11, some people assume that all Muslims are terrorists. And it seems like a lot of racism towards them is excepted.

[SKS]

I was across the Hudson River at school and had a view of the World Trade Center from the windows. I pretty much erased from my mind what I saw to the point that I don't even remember if I actually saw it. I'm probably the only person that doesn't want to remember that day. I get that we should honor those that were lost but I try not to think about it because it was so frightening for me.