93 20 7169 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I'm a member of the FDNY. I was at the firehouse that morning, I was the ECC (engine co. chauffeur) for Eng.166 on Staten Island. We were doing commitee work when we heard on the radio that a plane hit the WTC. We dropped what we were doing and went into the kitchen to watch the news. We were talking on how to attack the fire and what gear we would need if we were called when all of a sudden you saw the second plane hit. We scrambled out of the kitchen and started to re-check all our tools and gear and putting extra tools on the rig. We were in the middle of doing this when we were turned out for the staging area at the S.I. Ferry. We were barely out of qtrs. when we were re-directed to form up on the Brooklyn side of the Battery Tunnel. We just about got to the Verrazano Bridge when traffic stopped. They had to clear the traffic off the highway so we could get to the bridge. While they were doing this, all the off duty guys that were trying to get to their firehouses in Bklyn, Man, or Qns started to ditch their cars on the shoulder and were jumping up in the hosebeds of our rigs, there were about 8 - 9 other fire companies with us. They finally cleared a lane and we screamed over the bridge. I remember looking to my left and seeing the two towers, heavy black smoke pushing from both of them, and my Lt. just saying to me that this was going to be the worst day this job has ever seen. I told him we'll get the fires out (the FDNY, not just us) but yeah, that it was going to be a real shit day. We got to the tunnel and it was like driving into a blizzard. When we pulled up, a Chief informed us that the first tower had collapsed. We were looking up to see if we could see anything but it was just ash, soot, sheets of paper falling from the sky. So thick, that if you held your hand out it would fill up in a few seconds. They turned us around and told us to form up on the Brooklyn Bridge. We got to the bridge and they started sending us over 1 company at a time. When the company in front of you got to mid-span the next company started out. The reason for this was we were told another plane was inbound and if they hit the bridge they did'nt want a bottleneck of us on it. We were just past mid-span when the second tower collapsed. I look back at it now and that half hour we were stuck in traffic probably saved a few lives. We definately would have been there if we were'nt delayed. We got to the staging area at West and Vesey streets, the Chief told us to dig out the satellite unit (it carries high volume hose) and to start stretching the line up Vesey street to the water. A fireboat was moored there and we had to hook up the line to it so it could start pumping water into the site. All the water mains were broken and fires were burning everywhere. All the buildings, all our rigs, the cars parked in the street, the paper on the ground, it looked like hell. After this was done we tried to find a way into the wreckage, we were hearing Maydays on our radios that there were some of our guys trapped in a stairway, but we had no idea where it was. We stretched lines into the rubble to try and put some of the pockets of fire out so we could start looking for people. We eventually got word they wanted everybody out because 7 WTC was going to collapse. We backed out and waited. I guess around 5:30 it finally came down. After, we just dug. I don't know how long. We got back to the Firehouse around 1:00 AM. We walked in and we had a company from Roselle NJ in qtrs. We thanked them for coming. We took showers, had something to eat, and watched the news. Went back up the next morning and dug all day. It was a rough few months, you were at 1 of 3 places, the firehouse, the WTC, or at a funeral or memorial. It was real rough on the family. My son was only three months old and my daughter just started nursery school, my wife works. It was hectic, but my wife held us all together. I was a wreck. I knew 63 of the guys, my first firehouse (I transferred to S.I. in 99) lost 7 guys, one of them had 10 kids. I don't know how she's doing it, alot stronger than I am. We lost too many good people that day, and I'm proud and humbled to say I knew, worked with, and learned from some of the best people who ever walked the planet. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story989.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.197.32 Annotation Annotations to this item. Firefighters Rescue/clean-up workers/volunteer Ground zero- at or about NY:3 FEATURE Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had left home to bring my daughter to school that morning and on the way could not understand why I could not get the music on the radio. And in my worst nightmare could not comprehend the horor that was about to unfold. I brought my daughter to school not knowing if I should leave her there, but under the well kept care of her teacher I went home to tell my husband, who was sick that day, to turn on the television in horor of the events that were unfolding. We both sat there in disbelief of the horrific sights that we were experiencing that warm September morning. It was as so many have discribed a sureal event that I was not sure how would effect my life at the time. As all Americans can attest, until it hits home it is not something that you can truly feel. But as we all have seen it is not in the personal effect that we have felt but in the national effect that we feel such great sorrow. And being on the East coast I too have people that I knew, as so many here knew, that were there that horrific day. I personally knew, 3 people that have touched my life and although they were not people that I was in contact daily they were people that have a place in my memory and heart as I realize that they have sacraficed the greatest thing of all their life. Michael Canty, his family were friends from church and I can remember him running around church causing a lot of commotion on Sunday. James Patrick, was a brother of a classmate all through elementary to high school. Although I did not know him directly I knew his brother and family and every one knew "The Patrick's", one block down and over, on Parkwood Boulevard. The last person that I knew was a bit more personable, I worked with him for almost 3 years and he dated my sister. That was Arial Jacobs, he was a man that I did not really see too much in, although my sister did. He was someone that I really did not think would be some one to look up to and little did I know that he went and became the Executive Vice President of a company in the WORLD TRADE CENTER!!! Who would have know that little Ari Jacobs would be such an influential person for people to follow as an example. All of these men leave family and love ones behind and I pray for them and hope that through the years that they will come to know how much their loved ones touched others and that they will not be forgotten!!! I have never contacted their families or told then how sorry I am for their loss but through Gods eyes I am sure that they know how special their sons,husbands and brothers were. And today, September 11th 2002, I went and got the paper after I had the greatest privalige of seeing my grand parents this cool and somber Septmeber morning. What a somber "morning" it is, I look at the "Times Union", Albany, NY's paper, and the special insert that they have on the "victim's" of Sepember 11th. I can recall where I was and what I did and felt that terrible day 1 year ago. This is a day that we should never forget and after all of the talk, that time will tell what history will account of this day in September, I know that no matter what, I will always tell my daughter what happened and hope that she will pass this mournful day of rememberance on to her children too. This is not something that we will forget and I know that for the rest of my life as short as it may be on this earth that I will never forget, GOD WILLING, my life will be long enough to tell others what happened that warm September morning! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5489.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.67.147.75 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I am an addiction medicine specialist who lives and works in New York City. The morning of the attacks, I had just gotten a coffee with my partner Gregory at the Starbuck's Coffee shop on the upper east side. We crossed 3rd avenue and I boarded a bus go further uptown. He patted me on the back and said good-bye. I got to work at about 9AM. I remember trying to use my cell phone a bit after 9AM and all I could get was "all circuits are busy now, could you place you call later." Frustrated, I went out into the outdoor courtyard of my office and the building maintanance man said one of the World Trade Towers was hit by a plane. I went back to the office and turned on my radio. I began hearing sirens. I cried as I listened to the radio. I got a call from Gregory who told me what was happening on TV. I heard on the radio that the second tower was struck.' I decided to stay far uptown for an hour and then closed the office and began the walk back from 91st street to my house in the 60's. I could see billows of smoke far downtown as I walked south on Lexington ave. My cell phone still would not work. People were in shock. Busses were filled to the brim with people. The further south I walked, I finally saw people walking north that had come from the World Trade Center Site. Bits and pieces of the story slowly unfolded. When I got home, I was so happy to see Gregory. We have several friends who lived near the trade center. We housed them and Ruben (a pug dog) who lived with Julie, one of our women friends. To my shock, I first saw the sight of the buidings on TV for the first time. I cried more. Life will never be the same. I am more patriotic, more cautious and I feel more connection with other people since then. Now at the 1st anniversary of this horrible day, I remember the strength of Americans coming together to help at that dire time of need in our history and in my life. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2124.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 162.83.225.226 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was at home with my five year old son, who happened to be sick. We were lying in my bed watching Good Morning America, we actually watched the second plane hit the tower. My son's first words after this happened were "does this mean that Daddy will have to go". You see, my husband is in the National Guard, and Cody knew that something bad had happened and that Daddy might have to go to protect us. I immediatley called my husband who was at work to tell him what had happened, and to also let our son talk to his dad. We kept in constant contact throughout the whole day. We have had to go through alot this past year, wondering when my husband would get called up to active duty and preparing our son for this. Fortunately, he has not had to go yet, other then to the local airport. We are still very aware that the longer this goes on, the better chance he will have of getting deployed. It will be a hardship on us, but we all realize (even our son) that this Country is what we believe in and we will do whatever it takes to help protect her. I hope that everyone takes the time to support the military and also their families - or just say THANK YOU!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3702.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.111.227.162 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: This tradgedy has instilled fear in me, fear for our current freedom and fear for the freedom of future generations too come. I often ask myself what is this world coming too?. My husband and I are deeply sadden from this terror attack, even thought we were not blood related too any of the victims we still feel that in away they were family, we as americans need too start seeing eachother as one big family, when something like this happens our entire world is effected some way or another. My husband and I and our children often visit New York, too us it is our second home. Tracey Hilliard Ohio Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3317.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 65.24.126.169 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: It was a regular work day when I co-worker came in and said that she heard on her way to work that a plane had just hit the Twin Towers. She then came back by to say that another plane had hit the other tower. With this bit of news, I went into the patient activity room where the television was on. I stood there in disbelief and awe of the destruction that occurred and hoped that no one that I knew was on these planes which had left from Logan Airport. The rest of the day was filled with trips to the television room to hear the latest updates,which included the strike on the Pentagon and the heroes of the flight which crashed in Pennsylvania. To this day I still cannot believe the destruction that this caused and the way everyone's life was changed on that fateful day. I made a trip to New York in June after they had completed the recovery efforts, and was amazed at how much destruction had occurred. The memorial around the site is so amazing that words cannot express it. Today my heart still feels sorrow for all those who were intimately effected by this horrific tragedy. I now have a true appreciation of what it is to be an American and how much we need to treasure each freedom that we possess. God Bless America!!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2469.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 170.223.226.223 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: September 11th I had to bring my sister-in-law to a doctor's appointment by 9am. I woke up late. I gave my husband and baby daughter a kiss goodbye and headed out the door. It wasn't until I was in my car that I heard the news on the radio: an airplane had hit the world trade center. I was astonished and confused. A plane? how could that happen? On the way to my brother's house, I had heard the second tower had been hit. My next reaction was fear. Both my brother and sister work in Manhatten. My brother worked in part of the world trade complex. Once I reached his house I was told his shift had just been switched to overnights and he was ok, just stuck in the city. I then called my mother to make sure my sister had been heard from as well. It was a scary moment, and something I will remember always... much in the same way my parents remember Pres. Kennedy being shot. I grew up fairly close to Manhatten, first in the bronx and then not 2 hours out of the city. I have made many trips to my favorite island and could never imagine the skyline without the towers. I spent the better part of today, the one year anniversary, crying for all those who have died and the families who suffer from the loss. It makes me hug and kiss my family a little harder today, as I feel blessed to have them. God Bless America Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4975.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: As with all other significant dates in american history,September 11th,2001 will be added to the list of dates in which people ask,"where were you when?".I was on duty at Fire Station 13 that morning. The daily routine was in full swing. We prepared and ate breakfast, and were starting our annual "spring cleaning". Everyone was working on a particular project, when everyone started yelling to get in the livingroom. On CNN we were witnessing live 1 WTC burn after an explosion of some type. As with late breaking news, reliable information is usually hard to come by. Seconds after walking into the room, a large commercial aircraft appeared on the right of the screen and impacted the 2 WTC. Everyone was stunned. At first we all thought it was video footage from the plane hitting the first tower, when in fact it was the second plane of the attack. A short while later we witnessed the collapse of both towers. After 2 WTC collapsed we all knew that we had lost brother firefighters in the collapse,both from those still inside the towers attempting rescue and fire suppression, as well as all those in staging areas on the ground. One of my crewmates, who happens to play the bagpipes in the honor guard,had his pipes there at the station, and went out into the apparatus room and played Amazing Grace for our fallen brothers. The rest of the shift was a blur of daily routine and phone calls from our families. I have a daughter who was four at the time. When I called my ex-wife to talk to my daughter,Danica, she wanted to know if I was safe now. I told her that I was,but she didn't understand where NYC is in relation to Ft.Wayne,Indiana. That evening the news reports kept flashing 1-800 numbers for family assistance and for volunteers to call in to provide assistance. I copied dwon all of them, and the next morning when I was relieved of duty, I went home to start calling the numbers. I felt that I had to do something. I was new to the fire service in 1995, and was at the fire station the day of the Oklahoma City bombing. I had such a feeling of helplessness that day. I was supposed to have to knowledge and expertise to handle that sort of thing, but I didn't and it hurt. On September 11, I knew that it was my turn. Suprisingly, my younger brother who has no aspirations of emergency service, told me he was going to go with me and volunteer with the Red Cross doing whatever they'd let him do. My family nd my girlfriend at first didn't understand why we were going. The entire country was still reeling and holding its breath hoping that the worst was over, yet fearing that it wasn't. Reports were coming in of search and rescue parties becoming lost or trapped in the rubble, of bodies and body parts in the streets, and of intensly burning fires that were out of control and unreachable. While the entire country came together to do whatever it could, we believed this was what we could contribute. On the 13th of September,my 26th birthday, we left for NYC. Twelve hours later we arrived and made our way to the Jakob Javitz convention center. My brother found a Red Cross station set up there and we said our goodbyes to each other. I had spoken to an FDNY battalion chief and he told me where to report for a ride to the disaster site. As for the work those days, I don't believe that I'll ever really recover from what I saw,heard,smelled and felt. But as with all other great tragedies of this magnitude and previous generations and thier hurdles, I can try to push it to the back of my mind. Most days are pretty good. Others are really tough to deal with. I don't think my family really understands how this still affects me. And on those hard days I get mad at myself for feeling this way,because I didn't lose a family member or brother firefighter that I worked beside everyday. I know that losing that would be so much harder than what I am going through and then I'm furious that I am this weak. My brother and I worked for three days on adrenaline and pure emotion.On the fourth day,so many volunteers were pouring into the city,we knew we were needed no longer. A guy that my brother had been working with,named Glenn, told us that we were in no condition to drive home. He and his girlfriend, Julie, and her room mate, Holly, NYC natives let us shower,eat and sleep at thier small NYC apartment. Ironically,the apartment house sits two blocks north of FDNY Rescue 1's quarters. On our way there,we passed Rescue 1's quarters and the entire front sidewalk was covered with pictures,flowers and candles as well as people standing vigil outside. After a good hot shower,good food and a lot of support from our new-found friends, we headed for home. A few days later, I returned to work at the firehouse,and all of my co-workers that had supported me from home in doing what we did, were distant and cold towards me. They were all talking about how bad it must be to have to work there and what it must smell like there.Yet, no one asked what my firsthand knowledge of it was. The silent treatment continued for a few days,when I finally put in for a transfer to a different shift and station assignment. Eight months later, I lost my job as a firefighter. Several charges were brought against me by the chief of the department, including disobeying a direct order not to travel to NYC to assist in rescue efforts. He claims that I also violated a federal order from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, not to travel to NYC. Despite proving in a hearing that both orders were dispatched the day my brother and I were returning home from NYC, I lost my position as a proffesional firefighter. All in all, I will recover from this in every aspect of the situation, personally and professionally as the rest of the country has recovered and found itself. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story863.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-07-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.103.173 Annotation Annotations to this item. Firefighters Ground zero- at or about Rescue/clean-up workers/volunteers DOMESTIC Feature Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Timothy Upton Global 1 Project The Act Of The Terrorists on September 11th On September 11, 2001, I was at school in third period gym class. Everybody was talking about an airplane hitting the World Trade Center. I though the kids were joking. Up until then, I was going through the day like the airplane hitting the towers was a joke. Until I went to my Global class and saw a replay of a airplane going in to the World Trade Center. The people in towers in New York City were scared because the buildings were burning and they had no way out. They were jumping out the windows. Even some people jumped from the top of the building trying to get out of there. I feel bad for the people who were killed or injured in this terrorist attack. Some of the best firemen died helping people get out. On the plane there were even little childen that got killed when their plane was hijacked. I think what the terrorists did was wrong. It killed thousands of innocent people and we lost the World Trade Center. This act of terrorism is very bad because it changed the lives of many families, damaged our economy and destroyed a national landmark. People were very scared. Every one called their family members to say, "I love you! Are you okay?" Many people sat and waited for some one to call. They never got a call. Now America will have to be more protective. People will have to be searched at airports and at the borders. The weird thing is that we were studying Terrorism in Global Studies class when this happened the next day. Well, I hope terrorism ends soon because there is no reason for this to be going on. We did not do any thing to these terrorist people. If they do act again, we will just bomb their entire place and destroy them to preserve our freedom forever. I think that the terrorists will act again because they hate us. I hope not, because we will lose more innocent lives. The thing I don't get is why would you kill yourself to kill some one else? If I was told to do that I would say no because I think it was wrong to Family members will be gone hurt another nation's people when we did not do anything to them. Now when you go to the airport, will be searched thoroughly. They will search your bags, and whatever you have with you. I will never forget September 11th. I will not look at planes in the same way again. They will remind of bombs and deaths. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story760.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 168.169.8.132 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting at work that morning listening to the raido as I always do when the announcement came that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. My first thought was that it was a small aircraft, perhaps that of someone in flight school learning how to fly. That thought was quickly discarded as details came from the radio and customers coming into work. I just sat there at work all morning listening to the story as it unfolded, hearing different things from different people as they came in. The hardest part was that we had no t.v. so I wasn't able to witness what was going on. I had only my imagination to wonder as to what was really going on in NYC and Washington. I vividly recall people coming in and and the first thing they would ask holding back mixed emotions was, "Have you heard what's happening?". I was able to answer yes, but I could not feel what they were feeling because I could not see what it was everyone was upset about. Finally my mother called and said that the first tower had collapsed and I then realized how terrible it was. I then had a vividly clear mental image of why everyone was so upset. This was not a small incident, this was not something that would be over in a day or so. The events that I was hearing would be turn out to be something that would change our lives forever. Finally about noon the newspaper delivery guy showed up with a special edidtion. For the first time since 9:47 that morning when I heard the news I was able to look at what the bastards had done to our country. I just picked up the paper looking at the front page and I went back to my office and sat there...tears rolling down my face. How could anyone commit such an act with such malice. All those innocent lives, lost. I felt, and still feel the deepest remorse for those on the flights that hit the towers. I can't even begin to imagine how they felt knowing what was happening and yet being so helpless to stop it. To see the NYC skyline out the window I don't even want to think what they must have went through in those last moments. I can only hope that God watched them all and took them into his arms as he cast the hijackers into Hell to burn. On this day, the anniversary, after a year to reflect, the scars are still deep for us all. May God help us heal with time, but...may we never forget!! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story4816.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 12.222.171.45 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I had heard about the attack at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001 at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment. I was settling in to meditate at the Chapel at the Center in San Jose, CA that early morning when Reverand Dave Sunday made the announcement to those few of us that attended that morning's prayer session. And so, I was stricken with a sense of grief, yet, disbelief of the report that a plane had hit one of the towers at the World Trade Center (before hearing that another attacked the other tower). I had recently returned from a trip to see my mother who lives in the Bronx the previous month, and had taken photographs of the Twin Towers while there. Someone brought a television to work to watch what was occuring, and I was in such a sense of shock and concern at work. This was the City of which I was born. I found out later from a friend back in the Bronx, that someone I had grown up with was one of the Firefighters that was among the missing that week. And had vaguely remembered the fellow. Another friend whom I remembered well (Phil McCardle) was also one of the only fire-fighters that made it back alive from the hellish nightmare that occured the day that the Towers collapsed. I don't know how or to what capacity he was involved in rescue efforts at the scene, but I just knew that if anyone would or could survive such an ordeal it would be Phil McCardle. There was a feeling of saddness, and yet a sense of pride of the heroes of September 11, 2001. For these were the people of a free nation, and it was some of the values I had grew up with in a Great City of our nation. I will never forget this event that occured for it has made such an impact on me. I pay tribute just as many Americans do on this anniversary of the aftermath of 911. God Bless America. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story5977.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-12 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.179.250.189 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was sitting in my 2nd hr history class when I first heard something terible had happened in New York. We turned on the tv to CNN and listened as the commentators tried to make sense of what had happened. At first, no one really knew what had happened, we had only rumers of hijackings, terrorists, or maybe a bomb in the world trade ccenter. As the pieces started to fall together, wwwe cold only sit, stunned, for our worst predictions could never come close to the real thing. I will never forget the unbelievability of watching people jump out of the 100th story and watching on live television as the towers collapsed, taking thousands of people down with them. When it became apparent that the terrorists were using America's own planes as weapons against us, I became worried for my own family. I knew my mom was at home, but I had know idea where my dad was. In his job, he travels every weeek, and often I don't know if he's taking a day trip somewhere. I was quickly reassured after I called my mom and she told me he was in Detroit, not any where on the east coast. However, the realization that other families might not have the same reassurance hit me hard. As the day continued and more facts came to light, my strongest thought was that my memory of this day would never fade, and I could not imagine the consequences f September 11th yet to come. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story2422.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 198.109.168.234 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: The day the world stood still I was on the phone with a friend from school that I had just got back in touch with after 15 years. The sad part is back in school we had when to the world trade center and the empire state building and the statue of liberty and we talked about that after we saw that.We were both devistated.We could not believe what we were seeing because we saw the plane when it hit the second tower and it was crazy.I feel so lost for the families that lost love ones and friends and all that day.I feel for our country because we all lost children brothers and sisters that day and it is so sad .For me and my family it will always be remembered as the day the world stood still hugging. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story7154.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 64.12.96.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: My husband called me from his cell phone at work after the first plane hit. He listens to Howard Stern on the way to work, and I asked him to make sure it was not a joke. He was still on the phone and told me 'Another plane just hit the second tower'. A number of people crowded around my desk as my voice became nervous and I remember saying 'no no no it can't be true'. My supervisor said that he knew someone who worked on the 100TH floor of the towers. I unthinkingly replied 'maybe not anymore'. Sadly, it turned out my words were true. I then sent an email to my 3 sisters that said "say your prayers... for all of us". They replied. 1. This is so incredible I almost want to turn OFF my radio. 2. WELL I'M NOT GOING WITH OUT A FIGHT !!! SIGN ME UP I'LL KICK BUTT !!!! 3. SCARY SHIT I still have the original emails. I watched the tv at work and had to go with my mother for an MRI at New Britain General Hospital for an MRI. I was able to let my husband know I was going for the appointment, but could not reach him on the cell phone for the rest of the day. Laurie Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1079.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-19 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 199.222.4.138 Annotation Annotations to this item. Internet DOMESTIC Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: well I was at work at a GoodYear tire center in a subburb of Philly, our boss came out into the shop and told us that a plane had hit the world trade center, we went into the lounge and watched the tv ( we were expecting a small cesna personal plane to have maybe struck the building and bounced off of it.. we were not prepared for what we saw!! we saw the second plane hit, and i started to cry..... we got sent home early ... my cousin worked at tower1, we could not find him or contact him ( he was not there when it hapened, he was trapped in midtown).... I still remember the scary slience in the skys for days after..... I was at the WTC back when i was about 12-13 (i'm 30 now) I remember the incredible size of the buildings... i remember the beautiful lobby, and carpet.. we waited in line to ride the elevators to the observation deck.. i remember my ears poping, and feeling the speed of the decent in my stomach when we were going back down.. I also remember the cold air and high wind of the observation deck!! it was scary, you couldn't get near the edge, there was a large fence then about 20-30 feet, then the edge of the building. but you didn't need to be on the edge, it was the modt amazing feeling, like being on top of the world for a 12 year old!! I will forever miss those buildings, and mourn for the brave people that lost their lives on that Tuesday.... Adam Brady Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story11421.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-05-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 69.142.98.101 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: In the morning of Friday September 7th 2001, I was in "Palisade Hospital" NJ wich is located next to Hudson River dividing the state of NY and NJ,that morning my twin boys was born, Saturday and Sunday we was still recovering in the hospital, on Monday September 10th I went home with one of the twin, the other one was still in the hospital at least for one more day(the doctor told me that), but the next day when I badly woke up my neighbor called and asked me if I was looking the news in the TV, immediatly I called the hospital to see if I could go to feed my baby,they told me that the Road was closed and the only people allowed to pass was those victims coming from NY by the ferry and doctors with their ID, I was crazy thinking something went to happen in the hospital and everything I could imaging was I went to lose my twins the same as was happen in NY, finally for me, the nightmare ended next day when the road was open and I had both babies in my hands, but for some people that was when their nightmare just started, even the years pass and only the victims remember this, I'll never forget when my twins was born and Mom NY lost her twins.In the memory of the victims, God bless you and your family. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story20512.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2006-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 146.149.18.7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I am an academic, and I write about US images of the Middle East. Three days after September 11, I wrote an email and sent it to about 25 friends and family, responding, as much as I could, to my personal experiences of the previous three days, and offering some analysis of the political context of U.S.-Middle East relations. I was as horrified and angry as everyone else I knew, and I am not a pacifist, but I also knew that I could not support the kind of war that was already, even then, so clearly on the horizon. What happened next, I never expected. Many, many people forwarded that email, posted it on listservs, etc. And within a few days, I had begun to receive responses from all over the world: a man who had been in the WTC; a Muslim woman in the Philippines; an ex-Marine who was afraid his sons were about to go to war; one of three men in South Africa, who read the letter out loud during their daily commute -- he wrote me to say how glad they all were that Americans were thinking about the horrific attack in ways that went beyond the initial shock and outrage. Within a month, I had received more than 100 reponses from people all over the world, almost none of them people I knew. A few were hate mail: one retired military officer told me I was a traitor; one guy sent me the entire lyrics to a patriotic Ted Nugent song. But mostly, in those first few days and weeks after the attacks, people were simply happy and grateful to find that there were others who were thinking as they were --that there was a way to express outrage and sadness that didn't lead directly to jingoism. Receiving those responses was one of the most powerful political experiences of my life. It let me know that, despite what the Bush administration would tell us over the next few months, that there _were_ people, many of us, who were trying to imagine alternatives that might bring more peace and more security, not less -- not only to Americans, but to people in the Middle East and Asia and elsewhere. The text of the email is below. It is fairly long. Melani McAlister September 14, 2001 Friday Dear Friends and Colleagues, I'm writing to offer some thoughts and reactions to what has happened this week. Several of you have asked me what I think, given that I write about U.S.-Middle East relations and the media. I *want* my work to have some relevance here, and I believe it does. But in all honesty, I'm not sure yet how to make sense of the atrocities that have happened or the various dangers still to come. Yesterday, I gave a brief presentation for some folks in the American Studies department, and we had a discussion afterward that was very valuable, but in the end I felt unsatisfied with what I had to say. I think I may not make much of a pundit, since still, 3 days after the news began to unfold, I feel capable of doing little more than attending, again and again, to the tragedy and loss ? the stories of final cell phone calls and the images family members carrying pictures of their loved ones. Sometimes I feel as if I can't do much more than stand silent in the face of such pain. We've seen such images before, of course, and they are usually not Americans. As many of us have said to each other, grimly, now Americans have come to know what it is like to live in a war zone, the kind of place where bombs drop on your neighborhood or (here in DC especially) the military roam the streets. And we know that the United States has too often been a part of the causes of that pain, from backing military dictators in Latin America (who could see all those photos of loved ones in New York and not remember the mothers carrying pictures of the Disappeared in Argentina and elsewhere?), to bombing raids on cities, from Baghdad to Belgrade, in which thousands of civilians died. Some people are calling the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon "blowback" ? an entirely predictable consequence of years of U.S. muscle-flexing and arrogance. My partner Carl Conetta and I have talked a great deal about this. Despite what seemed to be the (short-term) experience of the Gulf War, we must now come to realize what we should have known all along, that no nation can expect to consistently intervene militarily all over the world ? to literally dominate the post-cold-war political and economic landscape ? and not have some profound costs associated with those actions. This does NOT mean that the United States deserved what we got. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were horrific, extraordinary crimes against humanity. That they were unconscionable goes without saying, but those of us who are going to find ourselves in the minority over the next weeks and months must make sure to say it very clearly. There are many reasons why people commit terrorist acts; sometimes those reasons are based in situations of profound injustice and deep, justified anger. But morally and politically we must stand firm on this simple notion: it is never acceptable to respond to even the most profound grievances by killing whoever is in reach. This is true in reference to the terrorists who struck last Tuesday, and it will be true when the United States works to craft a response to those murders. That response will not be long in coming. In the first few days of shock and horror, most of us seemed to be able to do little more than sit mutely in front of our television, watching the nightmarish images of destruction. That was certainly the case for me. But now, as we seem to have so quickly moved from the solidarity of our grief to the politicization of our anger, the government, with the support of the vast majority of Americans, is forging a narrative about what has happened, and what should be our response. As the drum-beating and jingoism is building so rapidly around us, we need to ask some hard questions about the war that seems surely about to come. Many people in the United States want to get some better understanding of why this happened: what kind of people could take so many innocent lives? Is it something about Islam or the Arab world that encourages hatred? And why do they seem to hate the United States in particular? Most of my friends and colleagues are quite sure that the story is a hell of a lot more complicated than President Bush's assertion that the terrorists acted because they were determined to destroy "freedom." But from our leaders and in the media, there remains a kind of willful ignorance about the larger context that led to this disaster. As was the case in the Iran hostage crisis in 1979-80, or in the Gulf War in 1990-91, or in the years since, our news media seem incapable of providing any kind of serious analysis of the dynamics of U.S. power and Middle East politics. Yet it is vital to understand, much more deeply than we do, the political and social situation that has made the United States not only feared but hated in so much of the world, especially the Middle East. For at least 40 years, the U.S. government has actively opposed many popular struggles for social justice and national self-determination, in the Middle East and elsewhere, in the name of U.S. "national interests." In the Middle East, those interests have been defined as protecting low-cost access to oil, supporting Israel, keeping Arab allies in place as a base for military and political action (which then could be used to help protect access to oil, as in the Gulf War), and, until the 1990s, keeping the Soviets out. U.S. foreign policy has supported those "interests," sometimes diplomatically (as in the repeated attempts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace, generally on Israeli terms), sometimes politically (the arming of the Shah of Iran in the 1970s), sometimes militarily (the U.S. has intervened militarily in the Middle East dozens of times since WWII, including the stationing of Marines in Lebanon in the early 1980s after the Israeli invasion; backing the Islamic militants in Afghanistan, supporting both sides in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, and of course, the Persian Gulf war of 1990-91). In the face of this history, our president's insistence that the terrorists attacked "freedom" infuriates me, not only because I know that freedom is often the last thing the U.S. represents abroad, but because I know this language is the rhetorical justification for what will likely be another war against a Middle Eastern nation ? one that will be deadly, disastrous, and wrong. Writing in the National Review this week (Sept. 13), conservative columnist Ann Coulter called for the United States to just start bombing, and not to worry too much about who the actual terrorists are. "Those responsible include anyone anywhere in the world who smiled in response" to the attacks, she wrote. "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war." Coulter is a terrifying human being, but she is not alone. And she is right about the nature of war, which is precisely what must stop us from supporting it. Wars are military battles between nations over political goals. Civilians die in wars, and most of us can accept that as necessary if we believe that the goals are imperatives and that war, and war alone, will meet those imperatives. But just because a given group of criminals want a war, it doesn't mean that we should give them one. When Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma and killed 165 people, he made clear that he intended it as a declaration of war against the U.S. government. The U.S. government, however, responded by treating his action as what it was: a horrifying, vicious crime carried out, not by a government, but by a fanatic. Right-wingers like McVeigh can declare war on the U.S. government, but the terrible level of their violence does not give them the status of a nation state, and we don't go bombing Texas for giving succor to them and their kind. The extraordinary magnitude of what happened in New York and DC doesn't change that calculation. To the best of my understanding (and to the degree that anyone in the public really knows), the perpetrators of this crime were exactly that: criminals. They should be found and captured, using all the tools at our disposal, including the force of law, the pressure of diplomacy, and covert activity if necessary. And then they should be tried, legally, for conspiracy and hijacking?and for 5,000 counts of murder. If we follow the general call for war, we will do the wrong thing, morally and politically. We will also sow the seeds of many disasters to come. The reality is that the United States already helped to make Osama bin Laden into the force he is today, by backing him and other militant Islamic fighters in the Afghan war. U.S. policy then was to strengthen anyone who would oppose the Soviets ? and indeed we did that. But if CIA training and military backing were not enough, then maybe the U.S. government should do them another favor and go ahead and take former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger's advice and just bomb Kabul flat. When that happens, as Bruce Shapiro put it in Salon.com (Sept. 12), "You might as well hand out box-cutters and directions to Kennedy Airport to every kid in Afghanistan unto the third generation." It is a matter of the most basic political realism that we as Americans must begin to understand, finally, that our nation cannot act with impunity. There are of course times when we should be willing to risk "blowback" for the sake of a principle; the principle of war as revenge fantasy is not one of them. I hope it's clear that none of this is intended as even back-handed support for the world-view of Osama bin Laden and his kind. I know where they came from: Islamic fundamentalism gained strength from the political failures of secular Arab governments in the 1960s and 70s, and from the sense among many people that "Americanization" was destroying their traditions and identity. I believe that the United States has some responsibility to bear for helping to create the climate of anger and fear that is so much a part of the Middle East today, and that has fueled the radicalization of certain people who believe they have little to lose. But I am also convinced that Islamic fundamentalism is dangerous and wrong. I think the same is true of Christian fundamentalism. When Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson go on television as they did this week to sagely agree that the ACLU and gays and lesbians and feminists are all responsible for bringing God's wrath down upon the United States, they are the best argument for secularism I know of. Yet just as my Christian friends are clear that Falwell's hatred is far removed from their own faith, we also need to know that there is nothing in "Islam" that creates a special inclination toward suicide, violence, or hatred. Despair and alienation breed all of those things: from Jonestown to South Central LA to Beit Jala. It's true that faith is a powerful motivator for extraordinary actions, of all types, but beware, beware of pundits claiming to explain the nature of Islam as the reason for violent actions. Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with adherents whose beliefs and practices are no less varied and no less rich than those of other religions. Christianity is deeply meaningful to many people, but it means something very different to French Catholic socialists than to conservative American Protestants, and something else again to black evangelicals or Coptic Christians in Egypt. Like all religions, Islam is profoundly real as experience, and utterly elusive as explanation. I also don't want to imply that I think the right foreign policies will lead to a world without violence. Even if the United States were to develop a far more judicious and just foreign policy than we have, it would not stop all the causes of terrorism. While it is obviously true that without attention to causes, there will never be solutions ? who can believe that there will ultimately be any end to the violence in Northern Ireland or in Israel/Palestine until the underlying political problems are resolved in ways that most people on both sides can accept as fair? ? it is also true that there are a certain number of people who will be opposed to even the best of policies, simply because human beings are unlikely to agree on what is "best." Even if we were somehow able to forge the kind of world I believe in ? democratic, anti-imperialist, multicultural, economically just, and as queer as can be ? I don't doubt that what is my liberation project would be, for some people, a nightmare. And it might just make a few of them angry enough to kill. I do know this, however: a world in which there is real progress in forging economic justice within and between countries, where the United States and its allies bomb less and talk more, and where the national rights of others are taken seriously, even when they are inconvenient, will be a world in which there is less terrorism. But that is not why I support those things. I support them because I believe they are right. Because I want a world that is more just and safer for all people, not just for Americans. And because I also realize that, despite my criticisms, I *am* an American, and I want to feel about my country politically and globally what I feel about it at the individual and human level: that we are remarkably capable of doing the right thing. This is longer than I intended, but of course it is only a beginning. There are several good resources on the net that I urge you to keep following: www.commondreams.org is an excellent compendium of liberal/left alternative news articles; www.salon.com represents a more mainstream set of opinions, but has some excellent pieces; the home page for Middle East Report (www.merip.org) has good background information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One group that is organizing a response is Move On, and their action campaign on this issue can be accessed at: http://www.moveon.org/justice. My book _Epic Encounters_ came out this week, and to the degree it speaks to a long history of fear, anger, and misunderstanding, I think it speaks to this. But there is nothing right now that feels adequate to me; I trust that we will forge our truths, and our political space, in the days and weeks ahead. Melani Melani McAlister Assistant Professor of American Studies George Washington Univ. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story321.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 66.44.18.222 Annotation Annotations to this item. Afganistan/Mideast Civil Liberties/Discrimination Foreign Policy Internet Military Osama Bin Laden Patriotism Peace Politics and politicians Protest Religion Terrorism U.S. retribution DC:2 Feature Notes Notes about this item. Move to emails Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: Like many of us, the telephone rang to awaken me to the day that would change America forever. A friend called ordering me to "turn on the television" to see what was happening in New York. Naturally I did. Like many others, the images of that first plane hitting the World Trade Center seemed too unbelievable to be genuine. I started looking for the "hoax" - perhaps another Orsen Wells "War of the Worlds" broadcast which would soon be interrupted with the message that this event was fictional and that no harm has come to anyone. Then the 2nd jet crashed into the 2nd tower - live and before not only my eyes but millions of others. This was no media event - this was actually and unbelievably happening! Reports of a plane hitting the Pentagon in Washington were interlaced with events which were unfolding in New York. Talk about other planes in other parts of the country were beginning to filter in as well. The American Airlines jet in western Pennsylvania pierced into our reality. Who could possibly be coordinating events of this magnitude and devestation? What kind of sick mind kills innocent people by the thousands? These and other answers would be slow to come to most Americans - but come they would. America was never to be the same. The world was never to be the same.....and yet - our resolve has been strengthened and our determination to direct our own destinies has never been lessened by these horrendous events. America is strong and we were about to show the world just how strong we are and will always be. David Mare Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story3739.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was in Mililani, Hawaii and heard of the attacks when I woke up in the morning. Because of the time difference, everything happened early in the morning. Everyone went to school as normal since Hawaii wasn't in any danger. For part of the classes, we were allowed to watch the news so we could see what was happening. School was pretty normal since we were so far removed, but we didn't concentrate on anything other than the attacks. I wasn't scared of anything happening in Hawaii, but I was kind of stunned. Seeing the planes crash and everybody running away was disconcerting. Nothing like that had ever happened before. As soon as it was known who was to blame, I was immediately angry at the Muslim terrorists for killing so many innocent people The only personal connection I had to the attacks was that a family friend was in Washington DC and was supposed to meet with the general who was killed at the Pentagon. The friend's household goods arrived from Hawaii to his new house, so he had to cancel the meeting. If he hadn't canceled, he could have died. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story10832.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-09-10 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 151.188.16.21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was a Senior in high school on 9/11/01. I remember the day so vividly, almost to the point that it is all like a bad dream. However I know it is not. I arrived at school and prepare for my first class of the day, which happened to be advanced history (my high school worked on a block 8 system so my first class changed everyday). I sat down in my desk to discover that today we would be watching a movie about Queen Elizabeth of England. Sometime after the movie began, our principal walked in our room and pulled our teacher out into the hallway. People instantly started talking, because the only time the actual principal, not the assistant principals, came to see you was when either you were in serious trouble or a family member was dead. My small advanced history class had no idea had wrong we were. Our teacher returned to the room and sat back at her desk as if nothing had happened. When the movie had ended, she turn back on the lights and began to speak. She began with talking about what we would do during our next history class, since the bell was about to ring to send us on our next class of the day. Her voice was shaking slightly though. Just before the bell rang, she said, "Mrs Murphy came up here to let me know that just a little while ago, a plane crashed into one of the towers of the world trade center, and they thing that it was a commercial jet. No one really knows what is going on right now, just that the tower is on fire, and people may be trapped inside. They think it was an accident." The bell rang, and we all walked out. We I arrive in my next class, the room was buzzing with conversation about what had taken place. Not long after my second class began, one of our assistant principals walked into our class, and pulled his ex-wife (our teacher) to the corner of the room. He was the type of man that talked with his hands, and it was very easy to tell by his hand motions and the look of horror on our teacher's face that another plan had crashed. Only, she wouldn't tell us where. The bell rang to release us to lunch, where I met up with my friends at my car to head to a local fast food resturants. The knew as much as I did, but that changed when I started the car. The radio came on and all we heard were minute to minute reports. We then learned about the other planes had crashed into the other tower and the pentagon. WE FREAKED OUT! We all wanted to go home, but school wasn't canceled. We had no choice but to go back. I was sad and scared. My first class after lunch, we didn't do anything. My teacher was crying and running all over the place. Her dad was happened to be flying that day, and she couldn't find him. Her panicing was scaring us. I just kept think of the fact that a month before this day I was standing underneath the towers as I did the summer before. What if this had happened a month earlier? What is happening to all those people I saw leaving the building at the close of the day? School ended and I had a dress fitting for the homecoming dance. But I went home first. My TV was already on our NBC station. I watched in horror as the replayed the tapes of the planes hitting the buildings, and the buildings falling. That night I didn't sleep, I cried. Everytimed I closed my eyes I saw faces from the days I was in NYC or a plane hitting the buildings. So I sat up all night watching the clips over and over again, and watching the recovery effort. I was shaking uncontrolablly, and it didn't stop or weeks after. 9/11 changed my life; however, I have not be back to NYC since the attacks. 9/11 will fully sink in for me until I return to New York and see the gap in the skyline for myself. Then, maybe I will be able to begin to let heal and let go. My heart, prayers, love goes to the heros, victums, and famlies touched my the attack. Peace and Love! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story11764.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-08-24 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 70.225.56.196