How is 9/11 viewed internationally?

[Moonlight Butterfly]

In Britain, 9/11 (No one in Britain refers to it as 11/9, even though thats the correct way in this country) is pretty well respected as far as I'm aware. I always get the feeling, atleast in my area, that it's an attack not only on America but on Britain aswell. I know the 7/7 bombings are 'our thing' but I believe 9/11 has affected us as a country a great deal.

Im British, and i view it as a big deal.

I wasn't affected personally by it, so now, ten years on, i see it more as an important historical marker.

The media says that its "the day the world changed", and while I wouldnt say that's quite true, i would agree that its the day "the west changed", at least in our mindset towards security and Islam.

I would say these opinions are true. Just to add to it;

I thought it was world war 3 when the towers got hit. I really did, especially since Bush was in...The fact that someone had attacked America was horrifying becuase no one knew how Bush was going to react.

As a 19 year old I actually thought the nukes were going to start dropping. I was that scared.

Afterwards you couldn't travel anywhere easily anymore in the western world and everyone was on tenterhooks for a really long time. It really did effect people, in the UK at least.

 

[Lord_Nemesis]

Over here it's 11/9. Why America does dates month/day/year is totally beyond me. Its just illogical!

Any to the question. I wouldn't even know it was the aniversary if it wasnt for all these 10 year ani. programmes cloggin up the telly.

 

[adrakonis]

NZ. Not cared about in the slightest. In fact[footnote]Though to be fair this is just from people I have spoken to about it.[/footnote] people find it distasteful that americans still go on and on about it like it was such a big thing. And the whole "They attacked us!" is disgusting.

Simple fact is this, unless you actually lost a family member in the attack then you really need to stfu about it and stop acting as if it had anything to do with you.

Oh and internationally its viewed 11/9. <.<

So because people don't know any of the 3000+ people killed, they shouldn't care and feel bad for those that lost their lives? I find it pretty distasteful that you don't think it wasn't a big deal considering it was a LOT of civilian deaths. Not trying to give you "This is 'Merica!" speech but seriously dude.

A lot of people were affected by it in a lot of emotional ways regardless of knowing any of the victims just like how Pearl Harbor affected the people that were alive when that happened. I'm sure other people feel the same for tragic attacks in their country as well.

On the topic of civilian deaths, this is how it's remembered by plenty of people i know:

Sad for the innocent lives lost... but there's also a lot of fucked up controversy that it comes with.

Many statistics that come up with these numbers, however, do not take into account two things: One, they do not seperate civilian casualities caused by coalition forces and insurgents.

Two: They do not compare or contrast the number of deaths under previous regimes (think millions), the estimated deaths had these regimes stayed in power (think, about the same as if not more than that bar), and the economic boom that has followed since the US invasion (hint: Iraq is quickly becoming a center for economic power in the middle east, already about twice as rich as it was under Saddam, and the same goes for Afghanistan).)

So to me, these statistics are a moot point.

I didn't really like your answer.

For one, it is okay to kill people so long as the economy is booming because of it?

Second the seperation of party's to blame aren't really relavent. It happend because they were invaded and are now trying to fight back. Which now causes more deaths then normal.
Also on the topic of speculation, who is to say that the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan will have any positive effects in the long run? Once the coalition forces have left people will see the possibility for them to grab power in a violent way?

It's arrogance to think that our ways are always the better ones. There are so many actions that could have been taken. Why war against these people? Why should you try and kill at least 10 people for every 1 they have killed of your own?

 

[ScourgeOfHell]

Ok so im gonna go ahead and speak as a typical muslim "terrorist" or "vandal" or whatever cliche you've bestowed upon us these days. You know what I love about the US, their tendency to break rip a nations heart out for so much as scratching American national pride. The millions of civilians killed in America's 3 massive ***** fits are ofcourse totally ignored, oh no, what matters is that America's big Penis compensation was torn down, yeah that totally justifies 3 trillions dollars worth of war. People, get over it, its been a decade we get it, it was a bad thing to do, we pwomise never to do it again happy?

 

[icaritos]

NZ. Not cared about in the slightest. In fact[footnote]Though to be fair this is just from people I have spoken to about it.[/footnote] people find it distasteful that americans still go on and on about it like it was such a big thing. And the whole "They attacked us!" is disgusting.

Simple fact is this, unless you actually lost a family member in the attack then you really need to stfu about it and stop acting as if it had anything to do with you.

Oh and internationally its viewed 11/9. <.<

So because people don't know any of the 3000+ people killed, they shouldn't care and feel bad for those that lost their lives? I find it pretty distasteful that you don't think it wasn't a big deal considering it was a LOT of civilian deaths. Not trying to give you "This is 'Merica!" speech but seriously dude.

A lot of people were affected by it in a lot of emotional ways regardless of knowing any of the victims just like how Pearl Harbor affected the people that were alive when that happened. I'm sure other people feel the same for tragic attacks in their country as well.

I agree with you there, if it was maybe a dozen or so killed in a car bomb or something, I wouldn't really give two shits. But 3000+ after planes flew into the highest buildings in the world? Yeah, that's not something that is easily forgotten, even if they wanted to forget.

Have either of you taken a look at civilian casualties caused by the U.S. in Iraq since the invasion? Do so, it might put some of these posts into perspective.

 

[LuckyClover95]

As sad, and awful, but we don't make as big a deal out of it as in America. Sorry.

 

[Thyunda]

Well, was sad and shocking when it happened. However, it's been ten fucking years and neither my memory nor my sympathy stretches back that far. Everybody who knew or cared about somebody in the towers would have gotten over it by now. Anybody that still thinks our myriad of wars have any relevance to the world trade centre has issues. It's ridiculous. After the 7/7 bombings here in England, people stopped caring the moment it happened. The people with relatives involved were upset that their relatives were killed, but there was no crying for revenge.

See, over here in Europe, we understand that an Afghan ordering a terrorist attack is not an Afghan military manoeuvre. Just like in Scotland, they understood that a Libyan man who was protected by Gadaffi, because there was no evidence as to his involvement with the Lockerbie bomb, that he was NOT a state-sponsored terrorist. But that's the Americans for you. If not the people, then certainly the Government. SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED! THERE MUST BE SOMEBODY TO BLAME!
Gadaffi won't extradite him? GADAFFI SENT HIM!
An Afghan ordered the attacks? DECLARE WAR ON AFGHANISTAN!

So how much have these wars actually benefited the US? Don't tell me about the effect they've had in the Middle East, because ibn Laden wasn't flying planes into the Middle East. Is America more secure? Has it taken the time to understand the motivation behind the attack? No, it's flexing its muscles more than ever, and it's just going to get into trouble.

 

[Gudrests]

Simple fact is this, unless you actually lost a family member in the attack then you really need to stfu about it and stop acting as if it had anything to do with you.

So in order to care about something that happened in my backyard, that put my school into lockdown, after hearing the stories of police and firemen running up the build's after they were hit to help people.....I needed to of lost a family member for me to care? You.....are a cold cold person, and I truly hope nothing like this happens anywhere near your country or home. The world view on it should be at the least it was a sad incident, it sucks...and thats it.....not "stfu unless your family died"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Well, considering America loves to milk the ever loving crap out of everything it does, I'm not surprised they're still going on about it.


Yeah it sucks, but unless you knew someone who died in that incident, you should have probably stopped crying by now.

 

[Kathinka]

Well, was sad and shocking when it happened. However, it's been ten fucking years and neither my memory nor my sympathy stretches back that far. Everybody who knew or cared about somebody in the towers would have gotten over it by now. Anybody that still thinks our myriad of wars have any relevance to the world trade centre has issues. It's ridiculous. After the 7/7 bombings here in England, people stopped caring the moment it happened. The people with relatives involved were upset that their relatives were killed, but there was no crying for revenge.

See, over here in Europe, we understand that an Afghan ordering a terrorist attack is not an Afghan military manoeuvre. Just like in Scotland, they understood that a Libyan man who was protected by Gadaffi, because there was no evidence as to his involvement with the Lockerbie bomb, that he was NOT a state-sponsored terrorist. But that's the Americans for you. If not the people, then certainly the Government. SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED! THERE MUST BE SOMEBODY TO BLAME!
Gadaffi won't extradite him? GADAFFI SENT HIM!
An Afghan ordered the attacks? DECLARE WAR ON AFGHANISTAN!

So how much have these wars actually benefited the US? Don't tell me about the effect they've had in the Middle East, because ibn Laden wasn't flying planes into the Middle East. Is America more secure? Has it taken the time to understand the motivation behind the attack? No, it's flexing its muscles more than ever, and it's just going to get into trouble.

even better: saudis blow up our towers? attack iraq!

pure logic at work.

 

[YunikoYokai5]

Totally forgot that today was 11th of September. But I'm like most people, it was a horrible disaster but it never affected me in any way, no family or friends were killed in it. I can't remember what I was doing that day...Must've been in school or on my way home but it isn't a day I establish something important to. I don't think the UK does anything for 7/7 any more.

My personal opinion? Pay your respects then move on. Clinging to the past will never allow wounds to heal.

 

[Ris]

I remember it having a big impact on me at the time, but ten years on it feels almost morbid to still be talking about it.

We've had a few bombings too on smaller scales, and every time the British people practically refuse to acknowledge it. It's kind of a "don't let the bastards know they've got to you" mentality that we have. The more you mourn, the bigger the victory to the other side.

Sometimes I think that by marking the anniversary every year, Americans are unwittingly courting repeat attacks by making it painfully clear how badly it's affected them. Haven't they already uncovered one plot for an attack today?

 

[Ariseishirou]

2) How it made a nation most of us held in high regard, transform into somthing, that we can barely recognize anymore.

Yeaaaaaaaahhh.

Canadian here and this pretty much sums it up. I was old enough to remember the boundless optimism of the '90s, before the War on Terror, quite well. I remember hearing everyone say on 9/11 "this will change the world forever" and thinking but it doesn't have to. We in the west could have held our heads high, refused to give in to fear, treated it as a criminal act and hunted and punished the perpetrators without turning it into an endless war against an unseen enemy that would stifle all of our freedoms attacked that day - without doing, in other words, exactly what the terrorists wanted.

But even then, as an 18-year-old, I knew that would never happen. I knew it would change. There was too much interest, both politically and economically, in seeing it change. Bush had daddy's war to finish, even though the terrorists had no connection whatsoever to Iraq, and war would drag down the economy enough to justify massive cuts to social spending and free handouts to longtime Republican allies and weapons manufacturers.

That said, I think you'll all come out of it, and better than before. After the Second World War the US was mired in fear of Communism and went on witch hunts against its own people, became the most repressive socially that it had been in decades in the '50s. Eventually, that gave way to the Civil Rights movements in the '60s. Eventually, the populace rose up against the war in Vietnam.

Stop letting a single terrorist attack destroy everything America stands for.

 

[Edward_Bear]

I'm going to be on page 7 or 8 with this comment chances that some will read this slim to none but I would like to put in my 2 cents.

I'm a teacher in Holland teaching childern from 11 to 16. so most off them would not have been following the news 10 years ago. But If 9/11 comes up most childern have seen either zeitgeist, farenheit 9/11 or such and almost all agree that they do'n realy belief that the story as it's told is true. Most ( I would guess I never realy did a poll or anything) would say that the american goverment is at least involved or else spinning the story to exploit it.

Bin laden is seen as a bad man and a murderer but because he is a murderer that killed in an other country it's not seen as all that relevant. Moslims are connected by association to the attack. but but Iraq and Afghanistan are not. Attacking counteries willy nilly is what America does.

mind you these are children and as such not a lot of thought went into these ideas. on the other hand I can't see most of them changing there minds before 25 year 9/11

 

[StBishop]

NZ. Not cared about in the slightest. In fact[footnote]Though to be fair this is just from people I have spoken to about it.[/footnote] people find it distasteful that americans still go on and on about it like it was such a big thing. And the whole "They attacked us!" is disgusting.

Simple fact is this, unless you actually lost a family member in the attack then you really need to stfu about it and stop acting as if it had anything to do with you.

Oh and internationally its viewed 11/9. <.<

So because people don't know any of the 3000+ people killed, they shouldn't care and feel bad for those that lost their lives? I find it pretty distasteful that you don't think it wasn't a big deal considering it was a LOT of civilian deaths. Not trying to give you "This is 'Merica!" speech but seriously dude.

A lot of people were affected by it in a lot of emotional ways regardless of knowing any of the victims just like how Pearl Harbor affected the people that were alive when that happened. I'm sure other people feel the same for tragic attacks in their country as well.

Thing about Pearl Harbour. More bombs were dropped on Darwin Harbour in Australia.

That's just the thing. It was a tragedy, but we're sick to death of it's over representation to the exclusion of all others. We do(did?) feel bad, but it's old news and it's used as a pretty weak excuse to hate "brown people" and justify wars; and it was a decade ago.

It happened, and it sucked, but if you bang a drum often enough and loud enough someone's going to fucking cut that drum and burn it because they're sick of the God awful noise.

 

[Bobzer77]

It was a terrible tragedy and I can understand why Americans remember it but I find it kind of sad that it has become this world wide remembrance thing, people die horrible everyday.

Look at Syria atm, more people care about 3000 people dying 10 years ago than hundreds/thousands dying now.

 

[Gamer_152]

While I sympathise with the people who lost loved ones in 9/11, I can't say it has a great deal of emotional significance for me. Here in the UK though it's seen as a very big deal, but the emphasis seems to be on it being a human tragedy, whereas from what I've seen the emphasis in the US has been on it being an American tragedy.

 

[dyre]

At least in NJ, it seems like people have moved on long ago. I understand that maybe New Yorkers would have reason to keep remembering it, but I'm pretty sure the media hype is just for ratings. Most of us regular Americans don't really care anymore. Our retaliatory actions cost us a helluva lot more than 9/11 did.

 

[Rofl Harris]

9/11 changed the world. It's remembered as such. We're still fighting wars as a result of it. Maybe the UK's more sympathetic than Europe I don't know; it's interesting to read the posts here from different countries, even if they aren't probably fully representative.

 

[StBishop]

there is a reason Americans write the date differently
if you were to pronounce every word in the date (today being 9/11) it would go like this
American- 9/11/11- when pronounced it says september 11th 2011
Europe- 11/9/11- when pronounced it says 11th of september 2011
the fact is Americans are just writing the way they pronounce it.
Honostly Ive never heard someone pronounce the date then the month then the year. (seen it written but never spoken)

It's probably been said, but the only date I know of said month-day is today. Sept 11. And only because it's practically a band name now. Also, it's an American tragedy, makes sense to use American date format.

I say all dates (as does every single person I know) in the correct, day-month-year format.

My birthday, for example, is the 28th of August. In August I say the 28th and people know it's this month.

It works quite well.

For reference, I live in Australia.