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Old 09-09-2007, 11:30 PM   #1  
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Default Was Your Life Changed 9/11/01?

Today at church we had our yearly 9/11/01 Rememberance and BBQ. We have firemen and miltary come and speak, we honor them. We talk about how our lives have never been the same since that horrible day. We talk about where we were when we heard the news. We talk about all the good things that have come out of that tradgedy.

Before that day I felt safe being an American. I don't think I will ever truly feel safe again.

I wish my children could feel what I felt.

When I grew up we didnt worry about terrorists.

We didn't worry about being shot at school.

Because of that horrible day, we have lost young men from our church and city. I thank them for giving me the freedom I have. Because of the loss of one young man, I watched grow up, I cry a little when we have this day of rememberance. Because of that day, I celebrate with a couple of young men, with beers and steaks when we get togther now, now that they are home safe.

Through all of the pain I saw how loving my Lord and Savior is. Through Him I know that I will have complete freedom one day.

I wish we didn't have to remember that day ~ I thank God that we do ~ WE MUST!

Did that day change your life?
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Old 09-09-2007, 11:46 PM   #2  
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I didn't know how much impact it would come to have on my life. I still don't know what the proper response to terrorism is, or if still being in Iraq is part of it, but my brother was in Iraq, and he came home with bunches of medals and severe post traumatic stress syndrome. Because of it, he will never be able to do his job, again. He was a military investigator, and hoped to be in law enforcement when he came home. That dream was crushed when he had to enter hospital treatment for the PTSD. The military tried to get him back to work as a civilian PTSD counselor, but it only made the PTSD worse, and he had to go back into the hospital.

He is so strong mentally and physically (I am biased as a sister, but I do have my master's in psychology so I do have some idea what I'm talking about), I can't imagine how bad it must have been for him to be haunted by it so much, that he's afraid he might hurt himself or someone else. (He was so jumpy when he got home, he had to sleep in a seperate part of the house from his wife and kids). To make matters worse, he cannot work, but is fighting for disability benefits. He's frustrated, but tells me "even men who were wounded" are having to fight for disability benefits too. And it dawns on me that he doesn't realize that he was wounded in Iraq, the wounds are just not physical.
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Old 09-09-2007, 11:50 PM   #3  
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Of course.

I was 19 years old. The party was over. I officially felt like a citizen of the world.

Thanks for reminding me to go to the store, Gary I bake cookies and make chili for the firefighters next door.
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Old 09-09-2007, 11:52 PM   #4  
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I went to the first funeral since my son died for a soldier that died because of that day. I hugged his parents and supported his family, much in the same manner as I was hugged and supported.

I will be saying goodbye to another soldier next week. He is going to basic training and then to AIT. I pray that he is not deployed, that he is not maimed or killed for my freedom. He is my husband.

Last edited by Kati; 09-11-2007 at 12:50 AM.
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Old 09-09-2007, 11:54 PM   #5  
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all i can say is my DH is now being depolyed the 18th of this month and i dont even want to think of him in this iraq'y war but now it's in my face so yeah it's effected me deeply
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Old 09-10-2007, 12:04 AM   #6  
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707 I love your tag it is wonderful! Also since we are going to be "deprived" starting on the same day, maybe we can help each other out!

EDIT...My husband just pointed out how terribly naughty this posts comes across. teehee I meant, of course, tha since we are both loosing our soldiers the same day we can support each other while they are gone. :P

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Old 09-10-2007, 06:42 AM   #7  
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Before that day I used to feel safe being Muslim. I didn't feel the need to defend any action I did. I hate when people look to me to try and explain what those men did... I don't know why they did it, but they didn't learn it from the religion - they were warped.

I flew over to New York a couple of years later to pay my respects to those who died - it was a sorrowful sorrowful moment in my life. It was scary that something so huge and magnificent was brought down in a matter of hours. That day changed my life, and after the 7/7 bombings in London - Muslims were suddenly the "outcast" pscyhologically. It was strange because every moment of my time speaking to a stranger would be exhausted expressing how much true Muslims are opposed to any form of terrorism... even any form of killing - then one day I said "why do I have to express that?" I wasn't in that plane... I didn't do that disgusting act that left a gaping whole in the heart of the world? I'm innocent - I've done nothing wrong. My psychology has changed, I became inward after september 11th because although I wasn't there and nothing to do with it - I was blamed when people looked at me, and the media does a good job painting people like me the enemy, whether intentionally or unintentionally, as a result in England Muslims have become paranoid, they're always feeling "Somebody is out to get them"... most rational people know its not true, but the media doesn't help quell those fears - they just pour petrol on the fire.
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Old 09-10-2007, 07:19 AM   #8  
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Originally Posted by seranab View Post
Before that day I used to feel safe being Muslim. I didn't feel the need to defend any action I did. I hate when people look to me to try and explain what those men did... I don't know why they did it, but they didn't learn it from the religion - they were warped.

I flew over to New York a couple of years later to pay my respects to those who died - it was a sorrowful sorrowful moment in my life. It was scary that something so huge and magnificent was brought down in a matter of hours. That day changed my life, and after the 7/7 bombings in London - Muslims were suddenly the "outcast" pscyhologically. It was strange because every moment of my time speaking to a stranger would be exhausted expressing how much true Muslims are opposed to any form of terrorism... even any form of killing - then one day I said "why do I have to express that?" I wasn't in that plane... I didn't do that disgusting act that left a gaping whole in the heart of the world? I'm innocent - I've done nothing wrong. My psychology has changed, I became inward after september 11th because although I wasn't there and nothing to do with it - I was blamed when people looked at me, and the media does a good job painting people like me the enemy, whether intentionally or unintentionally, as a result in England Muslims have become paranoid, they're always feeling "Somebody is out to get them"... most rational people know its not true, but the media doesn't help quell those fears - they just pour petrol on the fire.
My grandparents were German and had last names like Sauerbeir, Gutacker, Weitz and Klafehn. They had to be VERY careful during WWII to not be too 'proud' or outspoken of their German heritage...but being German wasn't something that was as easily distiguishable like being Japanese was with such distinguishable facial features back then or being Muslim is today with the headdress, etc. My German ancestors moved here in the 1850's and had about as much to do with Hitler as you had to do with the terrorists on 9/11. My grandparents said they just had to kind of keep their German-ness to themselves, deal with it, and realize that people aren't acting personally, they're just really, really freaked out and suspicious of everyone because you just never know...

Now, here's a story to make you feel you're not alone. I'm a hairdresser and I used to have a wonderful customer with the last name of Nakanishi. She was so nice and so sweet and I did her hair for years. Well, I moved to a different salon and she followed me and in that salon was a stylist that had a customer that lost her husband in WWII, I believe, to a Japanese kamakazi dude. Well, here we were in 1995 and this customer starts spouting anti Japanese rhetoric to my sweet, little customer that I loved dearly! I was so mad! She actually told my customer that she didn't have a right to be in the salon! But, Ida just brushed it off and said, "I get that sometimes, but I understand that some people here had really bad things happen to them by the Japanese and I try not to take it personally." Um...not to mention what we did to Japan to end the war!

So, to sum it up, some people are ignorant, but a lot of people's lives were destroyed by a handful of extremists that were, unfortunately for the gazillions of peace-loving Muslims in the world, worked under the cover of Islamic/Muslim platforms. They ruined it for the Muslim world, just like ****s ruined it for a time for Germans and the kamakazi dudes ruined it for a time for the Japanese. This, too, shall pass...hopefully sooner than later. Rational people know that just because you're Muslim doesn't mean you're a terrorist...try not to blame them...blame the extremist terrorists that are ruining it for the peace-loving Muslim community.

As for the original question: I was watching Bob the Builder with my son when the planes hit. My blood went cold and I thought...here we go...WWIII!! It hasn't changed my life or anything. I believe the TRUE terrorists of this country are child molesters and pedophiles. THEY are the ones that have changed the country and made it an unsafe place to grow up.

JMHO
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Old 09-10-2007, 09:45 AM   #9  
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Yes...my mom works in the Pentagon and I didn't know where she was for 2 hours. When you see pictures of her office and where the plane landed you just know it was not her time. When she finally returned to the Pentagon she had panic attacks. There are some people that never returned because they just couldn't. My brother is in the Army (both of my parents are retired from the Army). He's been to Haiti, Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan, and now at the end of the year he will be going to Iraq. My bf birthday is 9/11. At the time I was working at a state psychiatric hospital and it made it difficult to keep my emotions in check and help them too. While I didn't know where my mom was keeping busy and working helped. I currently work for Arlington County Govt and their police and firefighters were the first responders.
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Old 09-10-2007, 10:29 AM   #10  
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Ez Money,

I believe in some way it had and still does have an impact on all of us. People are afraid of what will happen next. Its made people (USA) in general more close and strong...at least I hope. Sugar C.
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Old 09-10-2007, 11:47 AM   #11  
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seranab, I am sorry for how hard it has been for you and for other peace-loving Muslims. Human nature seems to be to want to find easy targets to blame.

A friend of ours lost her nephew--he was the airline co-pilot of the plane that was crashed into the Pentagon.

I don't think anyone remained untouched by this horrific event.

The disaster showed how basically unsafe this world is. We think we are all protected, going about our daily lives, but it's an illusion. We can die at any time because of the actions of a few people--intended or not. We have no control over what will happen. For this reason, we need to be prepared to die at any time, and not blithely pretend that everything will just go on the way it's been, with all our little plans and worries driving our every move.

I also remember President Kennedy's assassination, and that of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

President Kennedy's assassination in particular, because it came first and was so terrible, was the point at which all of us at that time lost our innocence and realized the party was over.

I have tremendous respect for our men and women who have chosen the military path--and also for those responders who walked unprotected into the World Trade Center disaster area. I hope that our government will show them all the respect they deserve for their service.

Jay

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Old 09-10-2007, 12:08 PM   #12  
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Tough question, EZ!

Firstly - Seranab - let me add my sadness to that expressed by other posters on how you've been treated since the attack. I have to say that until VERY recently I truly didn't know anything about Islam. All I knew was what I heard on the news (which isn't very accurate, for sure!). I also knew that I didn't ever want my faith to be judged solely on what was seen on television...so I decided to start educating myself and I've been reading about Islam since. Can I say that it has been VERY informative, refreshing, and enlightening. I'm a Christian and I have developed a newfound love, respect, and compassion for followers (NOT perverters) of Islam.

Now, as to EZ's question. My life has changed, of course, but has it REALLY? I have the same, minor, inconveniences that everyone has which has resulted (albeit directly or indirectly) from the attack and the conflict that has followed. My gas prices are exorbitant, air travel is inconvenient, I have to listen to hateful rhetoric being spewed on news programs, etc... BUT, I'm not, personally, living any differently than I was 6 years ago. That is to my detriment, I think. I keep saying "I want to" do more...I want to make my life count....I want to follow Mother Teresa's example of love and peace...I want to make a difference to those people who are being overlooked daily....but I'm not doing it. These are all things I wanted to do 10 years ago, 6 years ago, 3 years ago, and still today. I am an activist in words, not deeds, and I so want to change that about me.

Thanks, EZ, for making me think about where I am today and using 9/11 as a gauge.
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Old 09-10-2007, 01:42 PM   #13  
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EZ, like you, its the day that marks the end of feeling truly safe going about my daily business.

On a personal level, its also the day I really decided I needed to start working on building a relationship with my sister again. She was working at the time about 6 blocks from the Pentagon - talking to her later, she said she felt the ground shake when the plane hit. We couldn't get in touch with her for a few hours. Finally she got through on one line, and told me that she and the other girls from her college were there and safe, and gave me all of their mother's names and phone numbers since they could only get the line out one time. I spent the next hour calling the families of those 6 other girls, saying that their daughters were all together with school representatives and all safe. Doing that made me realize that there was actual potential that my sister might not have been safe. We grew up very close in age (she is 15 months older than me) and fought like cats and dogs, but on that day, I decided we needed to reconnect however we could. And now it has happened - a few years of building up our relationship, and we are closer than we have ever been.

I also learned, again fueling my cynical side, that even a huge, bond-building, patriotism-inspiring event such as what happened on that date doesn't stop people from being divided by hate, or being selfish, and that some people have no qualms using such major tragedies as justification for their own bad behaviors or to spread their own fears and prejudices.

A couple examples - on 9/11, I went to meet a friend at a coffee shop to discuss the events, with a portable radio. As I was leaving, a woman backed her car into mine, causing visible damage and some severe scratching and breaking a headlight, and was 100% at fault. We both got out of the car, and she said something like "I'm sorry, I'm so distracted because of the WTC and pentagon" - I agreed with her, said I understood being distracted, and we talked for a few minutes about how tragic it was. Then I asked her to write down her insurance information and she went into a 10 minute tirade about how petty it was of me to ask for her insurance information because there were "more important things going on". I still don't understand that logic.

Then there are the more obvious examples - like Jerry Falwell (may he rest in peace) who blamed 9/11 on everyone BUT the terrorists who actually caused it, including the ACLU, gay people, etc. And Seranab, this applies also to everyone who allowed 9/11 to justify and intensify their own fears of people who are different from them. These are the people who extend their beliefs about a small group of extremists to an entire religion, because it is convenient and they don't care to actually do the research about the religion itself.

I not only lost faith in my safety and the safety of my country, but also in the inherent goodness of people and the ability of people to look beyond their prejudices and unite as members of the human race. It was a huge loss that changed my perception of the world permanently.
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Old 09-10-2007, 05:04 PM   #14  
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I not only lost faith in my safety and the safety of my country, but also in the inherent goodness of people and the ability of people to look beyond their prejudices and unite as members of the human race. It was a huge loss that changed my perception of the world permanently.
Shorty after 9/11 I was at work and a couple of regular customers came in and were harassed by another customer. The regulars were Sihks and wore sari's and turbans and long beards... and were caucasion... the customer behind them started berating them for causing 9/11 and demanding to know how we could let them shop in our store, etc.

I'm not going to get into my political views because this isn't the appropriate place for it, I'll just say that many incidents like this one, and things I have seen on the news, oveheard ignorant people say, etc have made me embarassed to think that other countries identify ALL Americans by the few bad examples that get air time. I am shamed by their actions and words. This was not something I even gave thought to before 9/11.

I work on a day to day basis with military families and hear their stories of being deployed for the 3rd or 4th time, of coming home too depressed or injured or mentally unstable to work at all, struggling to get the medical and mental health services that they deserve, earned, and are repeatedly denied... this also shames me as an American.

Most of all in the culture of fear that has developed since 9/11 I feel that by my saying any of this out loud to anybody that I would be considered unpatriotic and unAmerican and that makes me sad...

My heart goes out to all who have been directly affected by 9/11 and the war that has followed...
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Old 09-10-2007, 09:50 PM   #15  
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I was just mentioning to my husband that this is the "pearl harbor" of our generation (we are both 25 yrs old). It's something that you remember exactly where you were when you heard about it and exactly what you did that day. I honestly think I remember more details about 9/11 than I do about my own wedding day!

Yes, it's affected me. I look at the world differently. From a religious perspective, I see it as another thing that's indicative of the world slowly spiraling downward. From a family perspective, I have a cousin in Iraq, and have college friends who are over there right now. I live in a big military town and it's hard not to feel the effects of it when it's extremely likely that someone in a graduate class or someone at your work has a loved one overseas.

It's something that ranks up there when the Columbine shootings occurred (I'm from Littleton), I remember being in high school (which was located near one of the hospitals) and hearing a lot of sirens, thinking there must have been a bad car accident. It was horrific. Just as horrific as seeing people throw themselves out of the burning WTC buildings. That is an image I will never forget.

I mentioned to my husband that it seems like people are already forgetting, and it makes me sad. I hope I never forget.
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