I think Jon Stewart said it best on 9/20: "They said to get back to work, and there were no positions for a man curled in the fetal position, under his desk crying, so I came here."
I was ten when the attacks happened, and my overwhelming memory is of people going "oh shit -- how's America coping with that? ...Should we send them a card?".
I don't know anyone who was affected to the point of crying under desks (obv, I don't live in America), but more memories of people observing through a wince -- like people slowing down on a road to get a better look at a car crash. America was this place where everything seemed to go right and terrorist attacks seemed bound to our past (with the IRA bombings and Lockerbie), not anything that America should be worried about. Because it's America. And nothing bad happens in America.
I've written about it a lot but as someone living 10km outside of DC, it was terrifying. A lot of my friends parents worked at the pentagon. I watched the local fire trucks head to DC out a window.
I think I see what you're saying, though - It's kinda like when Magic Johnson got HIV and Linda Ellerbee taught us all about condoms on Nick News. I knew, on some level, that he was sick and would die. But HOLY CRAP WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO THAT BANANA!
There's a British mentality of "that's not cricket" which America doesn't have, and this swarming sweep of patriotism that suddenly occurred with you guys is probably something which I'll never fully understand. I mean, I love my country, but when someone attacks it my response has always been "oh dear me, that's not on! Play fair now, young scallywags" *monocle + cup of tea* and expect the RAF to do something about it.
America was all "how dare they do this to America -- it's America!" and I don't understand that at all. I'm not giving anyone the right to kill anyone, but I take for granted that people will at least try. It might be because we tend to be so damn close to everyone we piss off, while you usually have a huge boarder of language or just sheer ocean.
IDK, it really is an America centric event, despite what LJ has said with that title. The rest of the world took advice and gave empathy, but we're always going to view this as "America's day".
I mostly remember being on the top of a double decker bus at the time, coming home from college, and one of my friends (who had a pocket radio) telling us what had happened. It was a somewhat surreal moment.
As to 7/7 - mostly, I remember the icon I'm using right now.
I was in France for 7/7 and all I remember was everyone going "AW MAN WE'RE MISSING BOMBS AND TERROR AND SHIT D: THEY BETTER NOT HAVE THE APOCALYPSE WHILE WE'RE STUCK HERE, I'M FUCKING TELLING YOU."
9/11 was told very gently to me by my parents and my overwhelming response was "Will this effect the television? No? Then I'm good."
I completely agree. Something else that annoys me is that America decided to have people drive on the opposite side of the road as a form of resistance. Like that of a child who has been told not to do something by his mother yet does it none the less for the reaction. I blame America for why most of South America and the rest of North America drives on the right. I mean, there are much greater things to be annoyed by regarding America, but the driving thing and also refusing to use the metric system are just so childish and petty and even though we've tried a few times to switch over to the metric system (out of embarrassment, lol) it still irks me. Our founding fathers wrote an awesome constitution (not if only we'd actually follow it), but they were kind of whiny children all the same. ;) Don't get me wrong, I love my country (for the most part), but I'm so pissed at it right now for the whole burning the Qur'an business that I want to strangle things. I mean, what are we, Nazis? God. Okay, shutting up.
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I don't know anyone who was affected to the point of crying under desks (obv, I don't live in America), but more memories of people observing through a wince -- like people slowing down on a road to get a better look at a car crash. America was this place where everything seemed to go right and terrorist attacks seemed bound to our past (with the IRA bombings and Lockerbie), not anything that America should be worried about. Because it's America. And nothing bad happens in America.
At least, to my 10 year old mind of Nickelodeon.
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I've written about it a lot but as someone living 10km outside of DC, it was terrifying. A lot of my friends parents worked at the pentagon. I watched the local fire trucks head to DC out a window.
I think I see what you're saying, though - It's kinda like when Magic Johnson got HIV and Linda Ellerbee taught us all about condoms on Nick News. I knew, on some level, that he was sick and would die. But HOLY CRAP WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO THAT BANANA!
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America was all "how dare they do this to America -- it's America!" and I don't understand that at all. I'm not giving anyone the right to kill anyone, but I take for granted that people will at least try. It might be because we tend to be so damn close to everyone we piss off, while you usually have a huge boarder of language or just sheer ocean.
IDK, it really is an America centric event, despite what LJ has said with that title. The rest of the world took advice and gave empathy, but we're always going to view this as "America's day".
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As to 7/7 - mostly, I remember the icon I'm using right now.
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9/11 was told very gently to me by my parents and my overwhelming response was "Will this effect the television? No? Then I'm good."
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