Sept 11 Reader Comments: "I Hate 9-11"
By Cat
“Celia....do you live in NYC? I think the problem with that day was the fact that we in NY in my family at least, knew it was a fake and we knew something huge was going to happen because of it. I used to work near the World Trade Center and went there on my lunch hour many times just to ride the gigantic elevators. I was there in the 1970s and the buildings weren't even finished. One day as I was on that elevator going up to the 107th floor, a group of men were entering the elevators during their lunch hour and Iooking back, that could have been the Cantor Fitzgerald floor. those elevators were HUGE...and as the door closed, I said out loud to those in the elevator and there were over 30 people: "I would never work here unless I had a parachute under my desk." they all laughed out loud, but I was dead serious. There literally was NO way out and coming from Brooklyn I always was aware of my surroundings and even though the buildings were glorious....there WAS NO WAY OUT.! It was damn scary to work there.
“When they hit the towers, I thought it was going to fall immediately, mostly because my son would use blocks to build large towers and then knock them down. But [they] always fell sideways....So I thought if we are under attack these buildings are going to fall....they are structured too tall not enough base to keep them standing. However, to fall into a footprint was the first sign to me, it was a set up. Of Course at that time the world in NY just stopped and we all were victimized even if we weren't there. So very sad...so so sad.
“So I no longer pay any attention to the "ceremonies" and think they are just a reminder of the real state of affairs of this time in history. We are the enemies...we are the victims, we are the partakers, we are the public.. endlesslesly going over the tiny details is ridiculous...the devil really is in the details, but until we as a country admit we have a terrible government and culture, then its all just useless. Wrongs and sins must be admitted first before we can move into a new world. They will never be admitted by the government. We as the public, know now the vicious monsters in charge are lethal. We are doing NOTHING about it but TALK, TALK, TALK>. It's all meaningless and been done and overdone. ENOUGH..ITS FINISHED AND THE COUNTRY DID ENTER THE REALITY OF THE FASCIST/COMMUNIST/DICTATORSHIP that took over decades before that event.
“NOW WHAT? Going forward is more important than ruminating over the past. I HATE 9-11.”
Comment by Cat
Cat: Thank you for this comment, I hope you don’t mind I pulled it up as a post. Should I tell you (plural you) my September 11 story? It starts weeks before. If I do, it will be maybe later today since it’s no longer that date, which I also hate, I’m with you. I have a deadline I must adhere to on a book project (not my book) so I need to be disciplined but this thread is alive with things other than the melting temperature of steel and how exactly airplanes behave when they are flown into buildings. I always die a little inside when I am exposed to over-certainty. Know what Justice Learned Hand said? “The spirit of liberty is the spirit that is never too sure that it is right.”
—Celia
Thank you for sharing Cat’s perceptive comment, Celia. What she demonstrated is that she possesses the situational awareness and self-preservation instinct that most people have had educated out of them.
The lesson I take away from the 9/11 and Maui attacks is: THOSE WHO DISOBEYED SURVIVED.
There is no better illustration of this principle than the ordinary hero Rick Rescorla, who saved 2,700 individuals by leading them in a life-saving act of disobedience:
• https://twitter.com/RealSpikeCohen/status/1701192725851173171
Below is the text for those not on Twitter:
This man's name is Rick Rescorla. 22 years ago today, Rick disobeyed orders, and saved 2700 lives. Rick was the head of security for Morgan Stanley in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. He warned that the Towers' basements were vulnerable to attack. His warnings fell on deaf ears. Then the 1993 attack happened, and people started listening to him. After that attack, Rick implemented regular evacuation drills, using his megaphone to direct the thousands of employees out of their offices, down the stairwells, and out of the building to safety. Born in Cornwall, Rick would sing Welsh and Cornish songs from his megaphone, as he directed the employees out of the building. He would routinely tell all of the employees: in an emergency, no matter what chaos is happening around you, no matter what anyone tells you, leave your offices, go down the stairwells, and leave the building. Rick told his wife Susan that he suspected another attack on the World Trade Center would happen, this time by air. And 22 years ago today, on September 11, 2001, that attack happened. When the first plane hit the North Tower, the Port Authority announced over the South Tower's speaker system "Please do not leave the building. This area is secure." Rick ignored them. "The dumb sons of b------s told me not to evacuate," he said to his best friend Dan. "They said it's just Building One. I told them I'm getting my people the f--k out of here." And so Rick picked up his megaphone as he had done so many times before, told his employees not to listen to the orders, and directed them out of the building. His Cornish songs helped keep their nerves calm as they evacuated, even after the second plane hit their Tower. Once he had successfully evacuated his employees, Rick went back to look for survivors. But first, he called his wife Susan. "Stop crying. I have to get these people out safely. If something should happen to me, I want you to know I've never been happier. You made my life." Rick rushed back to the South Tower. That was the last time anyone saw him alive. All but 6 of the more than 2700 Morgan Stanley employees survived. Had they obeyed the Port Authority, they would all be dead. Thankfully, they listened to Rick instead. Rest in Peace, Rick. Thank you for your service.
I loved Cat’s comment also. I was across the river in New Jersey when it happened. I had worked in General Aviation for 15 years and flew a lot. There was no doubt in my mind that people who were barely able to fly single engine airplanes would be able to maneuver jet liners as precisely as those planes apparently were that day. To this day, I have no respect for the government that continues to lie about what happened. After that (and the JFK, MLK, and RFK assassinations in the 60’s) why would anyone expect them to tell the truth about anything.