Scary story

[greencreeper]

I keep thinking back to a photograph I saw in the Los Angeles Times called "Falling" by Pulitzer Prize winning AP photographer Richard Drew. It's a photograph of a man, his body is stretched out, one knee at a right angle, as if he's lying on a couch, watching television in the living room, relaxing and enjoying life. But he's not. It's a photograph of a man falling from one of the top floors of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. This man jumped to his death, most likely because it seemed a less painful way to die than being engulfed in flames.

This picture is haunting. For a long time I kept it in my office. I still think about this picture and I wonder about this man -- his daily life, what he did for work, what he did for play, what his thoughts were about the world. I think about this person. I think about the meaning of "dry run." And then I think about what it means to be politically correct. And I keep coming up blank.

<wipes away tear> A brilliant example of emotive journalism. Really tugs at the heart strings.

[Mr_love_monkey]

Someone once said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and sadly this is true.
After 9/11 nothing can ever be the same again, and it's wrong to think otherwise - when you have an event that shocking, how can people look at things in the same way again? - of course people are going to be scared of groups of middle eastern men - it doesn't make it right, but it's going to happen. If you're out one night, and you get sent on by a group of chinese youths, and they kick seven types of snot out of you, are you not going to be scared next time you see a group of chinese youths in the street? - of course you are, it's natural, the same happens if you get set on by a group of white youths - it doesn't make it right, and you probably makes you borderline racist, depending on who the attackers are - but the 'types' of people that hurt you are what you remember, so you can be aware of them next time.

As Earl of Bronze said, most of america knows very little about the outside world, they don't understand that their foreign policy is pretty much to blame for what happened - all they understand is that a group of people hurt them, hurt them pretty badly - and now they are scared of those groups.

Lets not forget that September 11th was the terrorists greatest moment in history. It was brought about by the best of the best of their skill. Excellently Planned and excellent excuted. It required years of planning (acording to reports) and at the end of the day was a miutre of the best skills, a lot of money and intellgance mistakes. It will be hard for this to happen again

[Mr_love_monkey]

Originally Posted by Damien

It will be hard for this to happen again

Just because something is unlikely it doesn't stop you being afraid. No one thought something like this would ever happen, people aren't going to be quick to believe that it will never happen again.

From now on, until a very long time later, you're going to hear scare stories like this - because that's how a lot of people feel

Originally Posted by Mr_love_monkey

Just because something is unlikely it doesn't stop you being afraid. No one thought something like this would ever happen, people aren't going to be quick to believe that it will never happen again.

From now on, until a very long time later, you're going to hear scare stories like this - because that's how a lot of people feel

Thats what terrorism is all about, the media is helping them

[Mr_love_monkey]

Originally Posted by Damien

Thats what terrorism is all about, the media is helping them

Is the American media not merely echoing the current feeling of America?

it a bit of both though they keep telling thekm public they are under attack. same here albeit on a smaller scale

[danielf]

Originally Posted by Damien

Lets not forget that September 11th was the terrorists greatest moment in history. It was brought about by the best of the best of their skill. Excellently Planned and excellent excuted. It required years of planning (acording to reports) and at the end of the day was a miutre of the best skills, a lot of money and intellgance mistakes. It will be hard for this to happen again

Perhaps not that easily on quite that scale, but Bali and the Spanish train blasts show that there are lots of easier targets out there where a substantial number of people can be killed.

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by Damien

It will be hard for this to happen again

I hope so, but I'm not too sure.

There's probably more hatred now of the West than before 911.

The US government has spent tonnes more money on the Iraq war than on Homeland Security.

The 911 Comission, the US Senate report on the Iraq war intelligence, etc. etc., seem to show that the intelligence community still has a lot to learn from its mistakes, as do the politicians, & there is no guarantee that the changes recommended will be implemented.


And as danielf said, even if the terrorists don't manage anything else on the scale of 911, things such as Bali & Madrid show how easy it is for smaller, but still terrible, attacks.