to think that if 9/11 had happened anywhere else we wouldn't be remembering it ten years on?

[wannaBe]

... or probably even one year on.

I am not taking away from how horrific it was for all who were directly affected.

But if it had been anywhere but America the world would have moved on and we wouldn't be facing wall-to-wall coverage ten years on. Even if it had been the UK only the UK would be remembering.

american has never been attacked before though has it (from another country) and it was televised

we have continually had some other country dropping bombs on us haven't we.

it just came out of the blue totally for the US didn't it

It was Nagasaki that was the eighth. I know because it's a friend's birthday, and it always made her sad.

The world IS a terrible place. Horrible things happen all the time. I, for one, could not watch the news at all after having dd as it was a constant reel of accidents and murder. But we need to have some perspective I think.

but honestly, would not an event where four passenger planes were high-jacked anywhere in the world and flown into landmark buildings horrify you

honestly??

ok , withdrawn... it was argued already and agreed it would
just cannot jump off, feeling a bit defensive [sigh]
why do we think so low of ourselves?

Well, apparently we are global now....but even so, local news does mean more to us. America has the 'special friendship', so of course we will remember things more than say, something that happens in Tokyo/China/Africa. We were there with America on the day, we felt their pain, and we have joined them in wars since, in the name of 9/11. So we remember it because it has such an impact on our recent history. Rowanda was horrendous, and is remembered - but it didn't have the same effect on us (the UK) as 9/11 did.

Eg1 - if, in the UK now, you have the misfortune to be on board a hijacked plane, you are highly likely to be shot out of the sky, rather than let the hijackers crash into a building of their choice. Before, you may have been allowed to land at a particular airport. Eg2. our armed forces in the UK and Afghan wars. Eg3. 7/7 attacks - as a result of us being in said wars, and in alliance with the US. The 9/11 attacks changed the world forever - never again will we be so complacent (I hope).

I remember many disasters that I followed on the news - Beslan , 7mths pregnant with ds2, I still think about the horror of it now. I still where I was when my mum told me about Aberfan (way too young to actually remember it happening.) I also remember that the Madrid bombing happened exactly 2.5yrs after 9/11 on March 11th 2004 - it was gloated about by al quaeda at the time as an anniversary attack.

So, 9/11 - the biggest loss of life from a single terrorist attack ever . On American soil, in the most audacious, horrific way. It has changed the word far more than any other terrorist attack and is rightly remembered by us - but I doubt places like, say, Tokyo has the 'wall to wall' anniversary programs (sic) that we do.

It's not just about the lost of life (although that was huge) it is also about the impact on us and the world.

Bemybebe - I saw a whole program dedicated to Rick Rescorla - a true hero.

I was horrifed yes.

*That's the Iraq and Afghan wars.

9/11 is the 9/11 because of where it took place and when it took place. arguing that "9/11" would not have the same impact because it was else where is a bit strange because it then would not be 9/11 the way we know if...

I was trying to put this into words earlier but couldn't. I agree with this completely.

Oh, and I think other people on the thread are right about the fear we all felt as we watched it unfolding on television?

I was actually heavily pregnant with my first child when it happened, and I can still remember the fear of WW3 breaking out that night! I can remember people being evacuated from London buildings, literally nobody knew what might happen.

I think YAB a knob. 66 people died from the UK which is why it is important to you And this is why it is important to everyone else

Country Total fatalities
Argentina 4
Australia 11
Bangladesh 6
Belarus 1
Belgium 1
Brazil 3
Canada 24
Chile 3
China 3
Côte d'Ivoire 1
Colombia 17
Democratic Republic of the Congo 2
Dominican Republic 1
El Salvador 2
Ecuador 3
Ethiopia 2
France 3
Germany 11
Ghana 2
Guyana 3
Haiti 2
Honduras 1
India 41
Indonesia 1
Ireland 6
Israel 5
Italy 10
Jamaica 16
Japan 24
Jordan 2
Lebanon 3
Lithuania 1
Malaysia 3
Mexico 16
Moldova 1
Netherlands 1
New Zealand 2
Nigeria 1
Peru 5
Philippines 16
Portugal 5
Poland 6
Romania 3
Russia 1
South Africa 2
South Korea 28
Spain 1
Sweden 1
Switzerland 2
Republic of China (Taiwan) 1
Trinidad and Tobago 14
Ukraine 1
Uzbekistan 1
United Kingdom 66
Bermuda 1
Venezuela 1

OP I also think YAB a knob.

Sorry, and this won't make me popular but I agree with where the OP is coming from and was even discussing it today with my DH.

It is almost as if we MUST or are PUSHED to immerse ourselves in the tragedy of 9/11 every year without any respite. Failure to do so is seen as a hostile attitude toward tragedy (this thread gives a good example of that IMO), as if it is unheard of to not want to have tragedy thrust into your consciousness once a year, every year, for weeks at a time.

Watching some of the things on TV recently I actually just felt sorry for those who were seriously affected by 9/11 who may not want to relive it so graphically each year. The poor children who have to sit through TV special after TV special (some very tasteless and made for ratings grabbing or political agenda) about the event that killed their mother, father or relative, or the poor men and women who lost husbands and wives wives for instance. It somehow struck me as disrespectful and somewhat sadomasochistic almost.

It was tragic and is still a sore wound, but we do not reflect on Hiroshima with the same sort of enthusiasm that we reserve for 9/11 for instance and in a historical context, that was not that long ago.

Many have mentioned our 'special relationship' with America and the place in which this tragedy took place as somehow making it more important or poignant to us as a nation. That to me is a terrible thing as it essentially means one life lost is somehow more worthy of remembrance and honours because of simple geography and status.

And as for the idea that the fact that we could see it as it happened plays a big role in this, Palestine is still happening everyday and terrorist attacks on Palestine are readily available to watch on youtube at your discretion. The same goes for other conflicts going on in the world right now, but they are not treated in the same way.

Please excuse me if others have said this already, I didn't read the whole thread

And of course I do feel sorrow for those lost and affected by 9/11. No one should have to experience such a thing.

Hear hear LDN Mummy!

We are fortunate to live in an era where this is the wost thing ever. So many worse things have happened. like this

Do you really think the whole of WW2 is comparable to a single terrorist attack though?

bemybebe and Fontsnob
^"9/11 is the 9/11 because of where it took place and when it took place. arguing that "9/11" would not have the same impact because it was elsewhere is a bit strange because it then would not be 9/11 the way we know it...

I was trying to put this into words earlier but couldn't. I agree with this completely."^

Really though, I don't think I understand this at all. It seems to me to back up everything you have been arguing against with the OP, that one of the reasons the rest of the media is still focusing on 9/11 in such a big way is because it happened in America and not elsewhere.

It wouldn't be 9/11 as we know it to be but if the one detail that changed was the country in which it happened, but still the same day, still with the same horror, same loss of life, same shocking images and tragedy, it still would be 9/11.

I think I am missing your point. What does it mean when you say "9/11 is the 9/11 because of where it took place and when it took place" and "then it would not be 9/11 the way we know it..." if you are not agreeing with the OP?

It would still be just as terrible if those planes had crashed into other buildings, anywhere else in the world, with the same number of lives lost and in the same ways. Which is what I thought you had been saying in earlier posts, so why now are you saying (what I think you are saying) and that it is only 9/11 as we know it because of the one detail of location, the where and when it happened?

And again, for the people calling the OP a knob etc, she isn't saying and has never said that 9/11 shouldn't be remembered by any country other than the USA, she's asking if the media would be paying the anniversary so much attention if it had happened anywhere else.

Are you not aware/seen remembrance ceremonies that take place in Japan each year LDNmummy? And who is pushing you to immerse yourself in 9/11 activities? Are you not free to do as you please? Are you forced to hold a period of silence? How do you know that children "have to" participate in any TV coverage?

My "status" as a mother makes me mourn my baby girl who is dead, yet I do not expect everyone else around me to be immersed in grief, yet I can see that my friends acknowledge it. I wonder if nations have the same mindset.

My "hostile attitude" to your message is because it is utter bollocks.

Sorry Goldfish is that question for me?

As I said, haven't read the whole thread so not sure

The more a specific country is affected by a tragedy, the more coverage it will get. It's the way of the world.

Can't have a thread on 911 without the conspiracy theorists coming out.

kerrymumbles thinking of one does not stop you thinking of another. or is there a place for only one tragedy in your heart and you have to choose which one.