How is 9/11 viewed internationally?

[Rayne870]

Canada... on a personal level, we're respectful and sympathetic as we often have relatives that were directly affected but in the grand scheme of things, we really don't care/observe anything. It's your thing and we respect your history but it had nothing to do with us.

Some of us are starting to wonder why a week of several of our TV channels including local news outlets are being dedicated to something that happened out of our country. Newfoundland is having a whole month dedicated to it just because of the fact that planes were rerouted to Gander. There were a few Canadian victims and such but really it's just not our history it's someone elses.

Other than that most of the world doesn't really focus on 9/11 as they have had their own terror attacks. And even then those countries don't seem to dwell on it as much as the Americans seem to.

It's a suck thing but the terrorist mastermind is dead now and its time to let go and move on with life. Or at least for Canada to move on, America can do it's own thing.

 

[DSQ]

I was so young when it happened (11) so It really didn't have an emotional impact on me (political on the other hand...) but yeah it think alot of people really are a bit tired of the wall to wall coverage (I'm side eyeing you channel 4 >.>) especically when they tnd to talk more about the people and the stories that came out of the tragidy (which of course are very sad) rather than the way it changed the politcal landscape for the world.

America killed ten times as many innocent in retaliation. Coming from a fairly pacifist nation, yes, the attack was horrible, but the reason it's so popular is because it scarred their idea of being invincible. A country whose main attribute is a high horse could never stand to it.

No offence to the smart Americans. When you look outside the box, that's how it is.

100% agree.

 

[Lord_Gremlin]

I'm Russian. By now people don't give a damn, but back when it happened I remember part of population felt grief and pity the victims, and part rejoiced since USA, especially back then was hated by many (Soviet Union mentality leftovers).
Well, and as I said, although by now people here don't give a damn everybody remembers that date. Just like everybody remember when WWII started, or when last Tsar's family's been executed.

I myself felt bad for the victims, but since it's still debated who exactly was responsible - aka what terrorists, if terrorists - well, pity for victims sums up my attitude. Now I no longer give a damn, and actually find 9/11 jokes related to Sauron and Two Towers funny.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I myself felt bad for the victims, but since it's still debated who exactly was responsible - aka what terrorists, if terrorists - well, pity for victims sums up my attitude. Now I no longer give a damn, and actually find 9/11 jokes related to Sauron and Two Towers funny.

You know there was a movement to get them to change the name of the Two Towers movie?

 

[Project_Omega]

Being American, the 9/11 attack is a big-ish deal, especially with the buzz going around about the 10th anniversary.
However, I have no idea how other country's view it, and am wondering how you see it? Do you remember it, or recognize the day? Has it affected you guys too?

Sorry if I sound really American, but these are honest questions.

Poland, officially, is in great grief over what happened at 9/11 and are very sympathetic towards Americans about it.

Actual, everyday people in Poland, including me?

[http://tinypic.com?ref=n6p4sl]

 

[The_Emperor]

Yeah I personally, find it a little sad that it draws so much focus, in Britain it's just plastered all over the news and they won't stop banging on about it, mostly I think because our media is owned by Americans or our Government so they want us to feel that our actions in the war were justified but at the same time there is naught but A TRICKLE of rememberance that goes out to the terrorist attacks in London, the MASSIVE terrorist attacks by the IRA and here we are acting as if New York was a British city.

Yes it was a most tragic thing that happened but obsessively pushing it in people's faces every year is a little sick, sure have a minutes silence for those who were lost, interview someone who lost somebody but 24/7 news coverage, a series of documentaries on discovery and history channel and on all the British tv channels is too much.

and you get a feeling that is isn't about the people who died it's being used politically, the fact that it was used politically for so long and so often is just sick, you cheapen those peoples deaths when you use it to invade countries that have nothing to do with the event, you cheapen their deaths when you scaremonger and push it down peoples throats in order to continue an unpopular war on terror

In my eyes the reason I don't like it all over the TV and mentioned in every sentence regarding the war is the way it was used as a basis for a war that should never of happened for 10 years. When I see it on TV something at the back of my mind tells me "This feels wrong somehow"


In short the political overuse of this tragedy has cheapened it and made it a thing of contemption and it's the US governments fault.

 

[Treefingers]

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.

 

[zombie711]

The only people that still care about it in Australia are old women and channel 7 and 9.

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)

 

[Okysho]

Canada... on a personal level, we're respectful and sympathetic as we often have relatives that were directly affected but in the grand scheme of things, we really don't care/observe anything. It's your thing and we respect your history but it had nothing to do with us.

Some of us are starting to wonder why a week of several of our TV channels including local news outlets are being dedicated to something that happened out of our country. Newfoundland is having a whole month dedicated to it just because of the fact that planes were rerouted to Gander. There were a few Canadian victims and such but really it's just not our history it's someone elses.

Other than that most of the world doesn't really focus on 9/11 as they have had their own terror attacks. And even then those countries don't seem to dwell on it as much as the Americans seem to.

It's a suck thing but the terrorist mastermind is dead now and its time to let go and move on with life. Or at least for Canada to move on, America can do it's own thing.

The "National day of Service" thing that we just got yesterday, I get. For us Canadians it wasn't as light-hearted as "Foreigners get killed somewhere!!" it was "Foreigners get killed next door!!"

That being said, and while my heart still goes out to those who actually lost people in the us, the biggest damage was the the pride of the US, thinking they were invincible.

The Bush administration's "War on terror" killed well over ten times the amount OF THEIR OWN PEOPLE these past ten years.

I have no problem about the US covering their 10th anniversary of unscheduled demolition (maybe that's a bit harsh....) but there have been worse mass deaths, most occur outside of the US.

over 50k people have died during these past few months of the Libya rebellion, no one makes a story about their memorial ceremonies.

I don't remember a week long news coverage about the two nukes being dropped in Japan in 2005 either. That'd be the 40th anniversary of that, where MILLIONS of (people's lives were snuffed out in an instant, not to mention all those that died from the radiation afterwards.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't remember this day. Some people are still trying to get over it. Loved ones were lost as well as livelihoods destroyed.

But stop shouting it out to the rest of the world. It's pretentious and very self-centered, and if I see a documentary or US wide celebration on the death of Bin Laden in 10 years, I swear I'm gonna crack the borders between Canada and the US and we'll be the new biggest island in the world!!

 

[Hawkmoon269]

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.

 

[squeeble69]

From my experience (being British), it seems to vary on a person-to-person basis; personally, I find it annoying and somewhat disgusting how a lot of Americans (and our own media) keep weepily gabbing on about it as if it's the greatest tragedy to ever occur, but I know quite a few people who think the opposite to me, although most people seem to be somewhere in the middle. Oh, and the whole 'wrong-way-round dates' thing niggles at most people I know. (It should be 11/9, dammit!)

 

[bobtail123]

Personally I never really saw it as a huge deal, but recently I was thinking about it and I realized just how damaging it would be to a country' sense of security to have a huge, famous building to have been destroyed in it's biggest city. I think many people probably felt very powerless and vulnerable. I'm not necessarily saying I support or condemn the "war on terror" but I do see why it provoked this reaction from some people.

 

[SinisterGehe]

Finland was shocked, but afterwards, we really didn't care. Neither do we now, the media tried to do a big thing about it when it reached the 10 years ago mark (as they try to do from any disaster) but at the end only 2 papers (which are really the same paper, owned by same company but published under 2 names) ended up doing the special thing about the even but no one really bought them, I still see stacks of them sitting in the stores floors.

But anyway, the international media did care when it happened, it was a big think a horrible event no excuses for that. But what the international community thinks really is that America had it coming one way or another. America doesn't really want to listen to the international community before acting, causing really mixed opinions and you guys really always think that every country looks up to you guys, as some pinnacle of western lifestyle.

Basically, I didn't care back then, seeing that I was first grader, neither do I care now. But I think you war on terrorism keeps hurting you and your international relationships more than the terrorist. I know this one fellow who can't fly in America aerospace because she was suspected of being a terrorist for having her insulin syringe in her backpack when going to the plane. And did I forgot to mention, her ethnicity is Turkish.

I have seen your airport, one tunnel 4 security checks and constant stereotypic profiling, you will destroy your international relationships and destroy yourself. In my opinion the state of America keeps showing signs of the terrorist winning, you are destroying your iconic freedom and bravery because you are afraid, that is just what they want to see, you being afraid and changing your life-styles, that is how they are going to destroy you and you guys are so falling to their trap.

I don't like specially like America, I don't hate it either. And that is enough to flame me as a terrorist, but luckily I wan white as the winter snow...

It is sad isn't it...

But at the end of the day 9/11 and pentagon happened and I still don't care, I will never care. Long as you keep ignoring UN and the international community no one is going to care about you guys and there is no one else who can force the change than the people, not the government.

 

[smartengine]

I live in Croatia. I was like 6 when it happened. I don't really remember it. And while I recognize it as a bad thing to happen, and am sorry for all the lives lost there, I don't really care. I have this feeling that if it happened outside USA, it would have been long forgotten. And not to mention there wouldn't be that whole war thing.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Nothing wrong with remembering it on the date and for those that died. Although its mainly an American more so than another coutries. Although people from many different countries died in the building. But life goes on, have your days remembering and move on and live. Unless of course you lost a close relative, then yes i understand it can be a difficult few days with all the newspapers and tvs showing pictures of it again.

But i do think the US government like to milk it anytime they want and the amount of innocent people that have been murdered by American bombs in Iraq and Afganistan is horrific. By all means attack those that committed the bombing but how America went about it made matters worse.