I was in 7th grade, seemed like a normal day. The teachers must of all agreed to not say a word about it, so I didn't know till I got home. My oldest brother was in front of the tv in the kitchen, he said that the world trade center buildings were gone, I laughed. I thought he was screwing with me, until I saw the footage, I think I watched for an hour then just went back to my normal video game induced routine. (I didn't have any idea what it had meant) My school made an announcement the next day, but everyone had already knew what had happened.

@hawkes... well said i believe that you are correct for the most part. our society in general has a common belief that extremists and terrorists are of one group and of one kind. we do not openly acknowledged the fact that our actions and the actions of our governments in the current date and in the past could be considered terrorist activities because those notions simply do not help our cause. i think its important to understand that a great tragedy occurred on 9/11, yet at the same time its important to understand the route cause of the tragedy and ensure that we do not make such mistakes again.

... also i sort of didnt get this part ... lol

Originally Posted by Hawkes

. I mean, suppose that al-qaeda were backed by a superpower and they stormed the white house, assassinated Bush, and installed a dictatorship (i'm referencing 9/11/73). Or suppose that iran overthrew the US government, installed a dictatorship, and than, once the dictator was overthrown, supported, say, Mexico in a chemical war against the US (referencing the 1953 coup and the Iran-iraq war).
.

Originally Posted by giftedchick

excuse my ignorance... but im assuming many schools in nyc are given numbers instead of names?.... how many are there

I've been living in Canada for a longer period of time, so I'm unsure but back in my day all the schools were just given numbers, see here for more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._New_York_City

Originally Posted by Mr.Prodigy

I honestly don't understand the ideology of many Afghanis. They hate the US for some odd reason even though they were the ones that financially supported the Taliban's rise to power to fight off the Soviet Invasion. They also seem to hate Pakistanis even though they offered refuge en masse in their country and supported them (through weapons and training). Also, living in poor conditions still doesn't justify the killing of innocent people. If they wanted to give a "wake up call", they could have resorted to more peaceful means. As a result of 9/11, the middle-east is now a large with suicide bombings, civil wars and paramount poverty. There are so many other people that live in extremely poor conditions around the world, yet they don't resort to terrorism (e.g. Bangladesh).

you should not generalize like this, not all "afghanis" are terrorists or hates of the states, many supported the actions of the states and welcomed the troops and the prospect of a brighter future. also if you look at their history the reason they got to where they are now is because of the role the US has played in their past, which may at the time have seemed righteous and justified but in the end has only led them to ruins.
what you said is the same as saying all terrorists are afghans, all Americans are snooty pompous cowboys like bush, and all Canadians are maply syrup drinking, plaid wearing, eh saying roughnecks ( dono about that last one). anyway its really rude and ignorant to generalize like that.

Originally Posted by Chevalier

you should not generalize like this, not all "afghanis" are terrorists or hates of the states, many supported the actions of the states and welcomed the troops and the prospect of a brighter future. also if you look at their history the reason they got to where they are now is because of the role the US has played in their past, which may at the time have seemed righteous and justified but in the end has only led them to ruins.
what you said is the same as saying all terrorists are afghans, all Americans are snooty pompous cowboys like bush, and all Canadians are maply syrup drinking, plaid wearing, eh saying roughnecks ( dono about that last one). anyway its really rude and ignorant to generalize like that.

Firstly, I said "many" not "all". You might want to read more carefully next time. Secondly, the reason they got to where they are now is because the Taliban are uncontrollable and enforce their savage mentality on the general population (e.g. stoning for supposed adultery, throwing acid on girls for going to school, sexually abusing young boys, etc). It is of their own doing, not US involvement. After a decade of long and hard fighting against extremism, many are now realizing that there is no hope for that country. Of course, this realization came at a cost of 157 Canadian casualties.

P.S. I love maple syrup, wear plaid, and say "eh"

I was still in Nigeria at the time and I remember I was at home because our summer holidays finished in late September. I remember actually watching it on TV with my uncle and my brothers. I never realized something major had happened but that terrorists had attacked the US. I never realized how big of a deal it was until subsequent year anniversaries where I see yet another layer of this disaster.

I was on my way home from my American school in Saudi Arabia. Just when I got home, I saw the 2nd plane crash on TV.

Originally Posted by Mr.Prodigy

Firstly, I said "many" not "all". You might want to read more carefully next time. Secondly, the reason they got to where they are now is because the Taliban are uncontrollable and enforce their savage mentality on the general population (e.g. stoning for supposed adultery, throwing acid on girls for going to school, sexually abusing young boys, etc). It is of their own doing, not US involvement. After a decade of long and hard fighting against extremism, many are now realizing that there is no hope for that country. Of course, this realization came at a cost of 157 Canadian casualties.

P.S. I love maple syrup, wear plaid, and say "eh"

I disagree that there's "no hope" for afghanistan. I think the mission's goal wasn't the correct line of action. The goal should have been to kill Bin Laden, and thin out Al qaeda... as of may 1st that was reached, and no one would deny that Al-Qaeda is a lot weaker than it was. But the mistake the US, and Nato made was assuming they could serve democracy on a platter. The US had a long and brutal revolution, a revolution they started and they won. No one gave it to them. The people of Afghanistan will have strive for revolution themselves, and having seen the events in the middle east for the better part of the year, I think they will... eventually

Originally Posted by Souks

I was on my way home from my American school in Saudi Arabia. Just when I got home, I saw the 2nd plane crash on TV.

wow, I had just gotten home from my American school in Saudi Arabia too (Rahima Academy, now ISG Dammam). I remember i was reading the Quran and soon as i was done with that, i walked into the living room and saw the incidents on BBC.

and like Phil said, I didn't see the repercussions until much later on...that day really did change the world, and not for the better

I was in grade 3?

Originally Posted by lawleypop

Terrorism is justified because we are FORTUNATE enough to have a higher standard of living. Innocent people being slaughtered is justified over them not being able to control all this "bragging."

Okay then,

What is wrong with you? That's not what I meant. DO you pick all your fights on mac insiders?

Originally Posted by Hawkes

"...That said, there is no ;war on terror.' You cannot have a war on terror just like you cannot have a war on violence or a war on guns. American policy towards the middle east is rather consistent. We are interested in the energy resources in the region. Thats why we allied with Saddam and then turned on him when he invaded Kuwait. That why we toppled irans elected prime minister and installed the Shah and supported him for 25 years. Thats why we continue to support the monarchy in Saudi Arabia.

Its true that America was under terrorist attack on 9/11/01 but Americans should look to the root of the problem. In the 80s the US organized terrorist groups (called the mujahideen) and criminals/killers to combat the russians in Afghanistan. After Russia pulled out of Afghanistan, the terrorist forces the US organized destroyed the country, giving rise to the Taliban (which consisted of some mujahideen members that the US had financed and trained). Osama bin Laden (member of the mujahideen and trained by the US) founded al-qaida. The US stationed troops in Saudi Arabia (where some of the holiest muslim shrines are), imposed devastating sanctions on Iraq after the first gulf war (killing 500,000 children), and continued its support for Israel and its occupation of Palestine and still does.

Americans need to realize that the US isnt an innocent and benevolent government that got attacked out of the blue by Muslim extremists. The US has carried out numerous large scale terrorist attacks some of which I mentioned. I mean, suppose that al-qaeda were backed by a superpower and they stormed the white house, assassinated Bush, and installed a dictatorship (i'm referencing 9/11/73). Or suppose that iran overthrew the US government, installed a dictatorship, and than, once the dictator was overthrown, supported, say, Mexico in a chemical war against the US (referencing the 1953 coup and the Iran-iraq war).

So to finally answer your question, yes terrorism is a very serious threat, just ask the Palestinians who are under US-Israeli terrorist attack and have been for decades. Or ask Nicaraguans, Salvadorians, or Guatamalans who were under US terrorist attack in the 80s. Ask the south vietnamese who are still dieing from chemical warfare and still trying to recover from the US invasion of South Vietnam."

This.

Originally Posted by Amardeep_S

9/11 was the result of a group of people with childlike beliefs that this imaginary man in the sky wanted them to kill people who didn't believe in the same imaginary man. While the west may also have people with these same childlike beliefs, unlike islamic extremists, seem to take it out on others a lot less. The US is not to blame for deciding to set up a starbucks...

To simplify 9/11 into that one sentence is extremely ignorant of you, sorry. There was much more at work than Al Qaeda simply deciding to slam planes into towers full of innocent people just because Americans don't believe in the same God. Granted, Al Qaeda doesn't give two ****s about innocent lives, but it wasn't ever that simple. Al Qaeda is a monster born and raised by the CIA after all, and Bin Laden was an agent for the States just like Saddam was- there is a LOT more politics at work.

Originally Posted by Amardeep_S

Also, I fail to see why everyone talking about Afghanistan is so horrible. The group responsible was in afghanistan and was being harboured by the Taliban... the UN sanctioned the war in Afghanistan,

I think we all agree that it doesn't make any sense for Al Qaeda to kill innocent Americans just because they have beef with the U.S. So there's no justification for the U.S. killing innocent Afghans just because they have beef with the Taliban.

Originally Posted by Amardeep_S

and the people there are far better off now than under the taliban.

Nobody is better off after war...Just ask the Afghans, has the violence stopped? Are they leading better quality lives? Ask Iraq...Yeah Saddam is gone, but the sectarian violence has escalated so profoundly since the war that no one is safe anymore.

I was sitting on the carpet in my classroom in 4th grade when our teacher told us something "awful" had happened in the United States. She was being vague, probably didn't want to scare us, and I remember being a little lost and confused but i didn't think much about it until I saw it at home on tv - it was hard to grasp the enormity of what had happened at that age, and of course i don't claim that I've ever grasped the full extent of it. Watching the various documentaries and other features on tv today gives you a glimpse of what some of those people personally involved went through, either because they lost someone close to them, or because they were there that day to witness it. I could never imagine what that would feel like, and my heart goes out to everyone who's suffered and continues to suffer because of it

Originally Posted by Mr.Prodigy

I honestly don't understand the ideology of many Afghanis. They hate the US for some odd reason even though they were the ones that financially supported the Taliban's rise to power to fight off the Soviet Invasion. They also seem to hate Pakistanis even though they offered refuge en masse in their country and supported them (through weapons and training). Also, living in poor conditions still doesn't justify the killing of innocent people. If they wanted to give a "wake up call", they could have resorted to more peaceful means. As a result of 9/11, the middle-east is now a large with suicide bombings, civil wars and paramount poverty. There are so many other people that live in extremely poor conditions around the world, yet they don't resort to terrorism (e.g. Bangladesh).

HI! umm let's see, where to begin.

1. Afghans did NOT support Talib rise to power. Your information is deeply flawed. Please go do some proper research before you argue a point.
2. I never said it justified the killing of innocent people. Thank you for putting words in my mouth. Please find another hobby.
3. "As a result of 9/11, the middle-east is now a large with suicide bombings, civil wars and paramount poverty." --- HELLO! Afghanistan was like that before 9/11!! It's been like that for 50 years! If people liek you weren't so clueless about the living conditions of the places outside your bubble, we would be much better off.