The way you felt on 9-11 vs. the way you feel now.

[Philosoraptor]

We've had five years to reflect, stew, ferment, investigate and observe the events leading up to and after nine eleven, and I wonder how you feel today squares with how you felt when you saw the second jet hit the second tower.

I still feel the shock and horror of that morning, and I knew all hell would break loose, but I never foresaw the total zombiefication of our nation.

I never dreamed in my worst nightmares that this is how it would be, five years later.

Nine eleven changed many things, but not everything.

As the moment arrives Monday morning, the five year anniversary, what will you be thinking in the mandatory moment of silence to the victims of the attack?

[whistle]

1. On the morning of 9-11 shock and horror about what had happened

....then distrust and doubt toward the official response and version of the events and now absolute disgust toward the Bush administration and the republican majority in congress for misleading the country into an endless war in the middle east and taking advantage of the 9-11 tragedy to push their fascistic agenda together with special corporate and private interests.

[nancyr]

2. Revulsion

I am repelled at the way the Bush cabal has used this totally as a ploy to accomplish their crimes and to maintain control over us. The country I thought I lived in is no longer here. Instead it's all nothing but sleezy politics at it's worst. I feel empathy for those families who suffered, but our government has never considered them....this is all politics as usual. Great timing! And every year it's such a handy tool to pump out more propaganda! It turns my stomach.

[lse7581011]

13. Absolute Ditto! n/t

[wtmusic]

3. 180°, paradigm shift for me

The last five years have been among the lowest for the USA.

It seems a bit hypocritical to me to donate a moment of silence to the victims of the attack, when my tax dollars are responsible for killing nearly as many people on a weekly basis in Iraq.

There's not enough silence to go around.

[longship]

4. My first thoughts on 9/11 are the same as they are now.

I thought, oh dear, those poor people. But then I knew who would benefit from this. I was devastated by 9/11 because I knew what the next few years of ChimpCo would bring. I was right. Chimp would lead this country from one debacle to another. What ChimpCo has done to this country since 9/11 makes 9/11 seem insignificant.

[blue cat]

5. I will be sad for those that we lost

and what our country has become.

[misanthrope]

6. My first reaction...

...was one of disbelief, then dread.

I knew in the first moments that the administration would do what they have. They've yet to disappoint.

[never_get_over_it]

7. I was on vacation at the Outer Banks of NC

and had logged on to work because I had to make airline reservations to go to Boston the following Sunday - had I not logged on and got an instant message from one of my team mates I have no idea when I might have learned about the attack I was at the beach by myself and don't watch TV - it would have been much later in the day. When I heard that the freak in chief was flying all over the country like the scared chicken shit that he is I was disgusted and all I could think of was the scene from Air Force 1 when Harrison Ford said GET OFF OF MY PLANE and wondered where the hell is the leadership - he should have gotten his pathetic ass back to DC immediately

I was on vacation in NC but lived right outside DC in Northern VA and have many friends that could have been impacted so besides being disgusted by the freak flying all over the country I was also busy trying to contact as many folks as I could who might have been in danger to make sure they were ok.

The next day a friend of mine came to join me at the beach and it was on Thursday that we learned that one of our co-workers - a woman who had been my room mate for three weeks during my training at the company was on the plane that hit the Pentagon A few days later I learned another co-worker's daughter was on the plane that hit the second tower.

Lots of times you will hear people comment on how we all came together as a nation to support this freak after 9/11 - well I for one NEVER supported him - he was before 9/11 - during 9/11 and now the worst pResident this nation has ever known, a pathetic criminal and coward

It has just gotten worse and worse since 9/11 - I remember when I first started to wonder if "they" had any part in this - I could barely let that thought go in my own head let alone say it out loud - now five years later not only do I say it out loud but many other people think the same - I don't know if they LIHOP or MIHOP but I know "they" are responsible because they DID NOTHING to try to stop it which is why this ABC crockumentary is SO DISTURBING.

I'm rambling but on Monday morning I will be hoping that some how we get this country back from these mad men and women - I worry almost non stop of what will become of this country if they are not stopped.

[Solly Mack]

8. I didn't stand with Bush then and I don't stand with him now

I didn't embrace the notion that America will come together because of the events that day - I saw an America about to be ripped a part by an opportunistic piece of shit.

I admit to selfishly being more worried and far more alarmed by what Bush would do than what was going on that day.

I cried for the dead...but my tears were for the living as well.

On Monday? I'll still be standing a part from Bush and I'll still be worried about what he will do next..

[Armstead]

9. Same as most people -- but in retrospect I was an idiot

I had the same mix of reactions as most peope did, for weeks afterward.

But in retrospect, I also made the same idiotic mistake that most Americans did.

I fucking trusted and hoped for the best from Bush anbd the GOP. I also thought that the news media might actually recognize their responsibilities after that.

Boy was that stupid. I never realized how cyniucally Bush and the GOP would use that tragedy and danger to manipulate the nation. And what a dark, dank course they wanted to take us on....And how the media would quickly fall into lapdog mode and become exploitative for commercial purposes.

Fortunately, once the shock and sadnessd and anxiety and the anger at Osama wore off, I started to see things more clearly again. Unfortunatelty, too many Americans remained in that immediate post 9-11 state for too long afterwards.

[Philosoraptor]

12. no one likes being hoaxed

[stevietheman]

10. Some thoughts...

1) My senses that day was that the buildings fell via controlled implosion. And there is widely known evidence that WTC7 was ordered to be brought down. I still cannot envisage any other rationale for the buildings tumbling down the way they did. And there's no information I've ever been able to locate that convinces me of the official explanation.

2) Katrina had an effect of clarifying for me how 9/11 transpired. I really do think Bush and his regime are a criminally negligent/exploitive bunch who only pay attention to how they can profit the most from any scheme they can dream up or from any catastrophe that happens because they're not watching that intently. Pre-9/11, they were fixated on missile defense and tearing up the ABM Treaty. Post-9/11, they were able to "get serious" about terrorism (in reality, beat the fear drums incessantly) and ultimately launch an elective war because it was easy to muddy the thinking of the American people. Either way, they intended to get rich beyond the dreams of avarice off the military-industrial complex. Bush "got lucky" (politically) off of 9/11 because of his ineptness and/or incuriousness to examine details in front of his face before 9/11. And his initial reactions to both 9/11 and Katrina seem to ring a distinctively similar tone (or should I say, tone-deafness). Katrina is indeed the "9/11 echo".

3) I've realized how overwhelming fear and sorrow can interfere with one's logical thinking and the public's overall ability to assess issues rationally. The Bush Regime took advantage of this, and that was probably the highest immoral act by a U.S. administration since Andrew Jackson mass-relocated native Americans in violation of a Supreme Court decision.

ON EDIT:

4) The beginnings of my grave suspicions surrounding the events of 9/11 began with the Bush Regime resistance to the forming of an independent 9/11 commission. I mean, major red flags really went up for me around that time. I was thinking "How could they possibly be obstructing the American people from finding the truth when 3,000 of our fellow citizens were murdered in front of our eyes?". I was downright horrified, and remain essentially so to this day. I also fear that the commission wasn't as independent as advertised and didn't have sufficient access to 9/11-related materials to appropriately assess that terrible day and events leading up to it.

[mitchum]

11. I knew it was their Reichstag fire then...

just as it is today.
I will not be participating in the anniversary grief wallow

[Philosoraptor]

14. ........

........

[Raine]

15. I felt scared and sick

that day now 5 years later all I feel is rage.

[NMMNG]

16. On 9/11/01 I felt shock and fear

Now I feel disgust and anger--not at the "terrorists", but at the corrupt administration that has done nothing to actually honor the victims, but everything to exploit the victims' memories in order to further personal agendas.