How is 9/11 viewed internationally?

[fudgemonkey118]

I'm British, and 17. so I was pretty young when it happened, I have no idea what I was doing when it happened, and I really don't think people need to talk about it quite so much. If I had family members who died on 11/9 (month-day-year makes no sense) I don't think I would want to be constantly reminded about it for weeks running up to the date, I would rather just mark it quietly and personally.

 

[rob_simple]

In Britain it's viewed as 11/9.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

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.

the reason i have known that we do it that way, is because of the number formatting

(smallest amount of numbers)/(second smallest amount)/(largest-infinite amount)
month/day/year
(1-12)/(1-31)/(1-99999999999999999999999999999999999999999)
also for computer purposes, dating them that way is much much handier when you are going through documents by date.

now i'm not saying that is the CORRECT way, as so many people besides americans seem to dictate, i'm just showing the reason why, at least i was taught, as to why we do that.

I can't believe this has turned into a date format debate. LOL.

FYI - For "computing" purposed, YYYYMMDD makes the most sense as it sorts numerically and there is no ambiguity.

i was just stating a reason why i knew that we did that, so many times people bash/troll on different things and don't care to learn why people do it.

and yeah, i knew someone would respond with that, and it does make the most sense, however it isn't as widely used as it should be.

 

[Soushi]

It was a tragedy, no doubt about it. It was an attack on civilians that resulted in thousands of utterly useless deaths that has only served to spread an atmosphere of fear and poison over this entire planet, an atmosphere generated by those responsible few who claim to stand for the majority.
Now, moving away from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan to what was used to justify them, the 9/11 terror attacks.

The way see it, is that America has to stop using the past to justify ignorance and intolerance in the future. Instead of using these attacks as a means by which to pull themselves together, to reassess where America and its people really stood as a unified and fortunate people who should care for each other, this tragedy has been used to justify political extremism, acts of violence and terror, the use of illegal weapons and illegal wars, treachery within their own country, torture of people both innocent and guilty (not that it really matters, its wrong always), the curtailing of the rights of their own people. The people have allowed this horrible, detestable act to be molded and spun to the point where America now seems like a country teetering on the brink.

Do yourselves a favor, let this 10 year anniversary mark the day that you stop using this tragedy as a tool. Build instead a country that you can be proud of, a country that the +3000 people who died would have wanted to see, rather than using their deaths as club and turning your country into a militaristic, intolerant, incompetent, ignorant, radical right wing cesspool (you know, the kind of country where the fucking Tea Party wouldn't stand a chance in hell of gaining any kind of power). Stop insulting the memories of those people who died and move on to build a better world.

Again, my sincerest condolences to the victims of this terrible crime, and its aftermath, and their families. I hope that in the end, the world may learn and grow from all of this and come together to build a brighter future in memory of those lost.

 

[Phas]

Ehh, I see it as americans being oversensitive, and I do find the entire "war on terror" thing that came with it ironic, considering america did kinda commit the biggest terror attack in history with the two atom bombs, which by the way killed many times more than 9/11 did.

 

[richardsza]

I can still remember where I was and what I was doing on that day. I'm sure most people can.

I can remember feeling gutted for the those poor people. I can remember the sickened feeling I had in my stomach watching the towers fall knowing people were dying at that moment.

It was a terrible thing to see and experience via television in another country, let alone in the same country, city or even street as with so many New Yorkers.

To this day, I do feel sorry for the people who lost their lives and their families and friends as I would for the victims of any tragedy; However;

Do I feel sorry for America as a country? Well, honestly no. For two reasons. Firstly, I don't believe in victim mentality. America as a country has (some may say controversially) picked themselves up, wiped the proverbial blood from their lips and given the other guys a bloody nose right back. Does that sound like a country that needs sympathy? Secondly, the world has bigger problems to worry about. There is no time for sympathy for a decade old event when things which are happening right now are much more serious.

So, my final say on the topic is. Remember the dead with honor but don't cheapen their sacrifice for ratings. Spare a moment to look over your shoulder to see where you have come from and what you have been through. Take some time to look at what is going on next to you right now. But, most importantly, look ahead and prepare yourself for what is coming.

 

[Snoozer]

Empathie for what happend, it was horrible. But when I hear 9/11 I rather think about how it was abused to justify any anti Terrorism activites.
The war against terror ruined the American image as well the country finances. The Patrot Act is just disgusting, the invasion of the Irak was just stupid. I lost all faith in the US, most reasons have something to do with the country not having develloped in the last 20 years ...

 

[Dawns Gate]

For me specifically I remember being really young and my dad just recently came back from a tour in Cyprus and we were watching the news and the attacks popped on, I remember my dad's eyes go wide and he said. "Son of a *****!" kissed me on the forehead grabbed his gear and ran out the door shouting to my grandparents "There probably gonna put everyone on standby I might be sent somewhere tonight!" It scared the hell out of me I thought that because it was in the U.S. we here in Canada were fine but seeing him in such a frenzy made me think that we were gonna get hit too.

A few months later he was sent to afghanistan.

 

[GamerAddict7796]

It's terrible that so many people died and that it sparked a war but no-one goes on about what the IRA did and the Americans funded it.

 

[Yopaz]

To those saying that Americans should "stfu and get over" 9/11. I'm curious, do you think the Japanese should "stfu and get over" the bombings in Nagasaki and Hiroshima[1]? They have a park to symbolize what happened, and every year memorialize those events. I don't live in Japan so I can't say if it is still as large a rememberance as 9/11 is to Americans toady. But it is much more recent to us. 50 years from now, when the majority of people alive on 9/11 has passed on, it will become more like Perl Harbor is today, where there are only a few left who were alive when it happened, and there are smaller ceremonies, and for most it is a date on a calendar that they might think of for a few moments, and then move on with life. 150 years from now it will be more like the Battle at Gettysburg: taught about in history books, remembered primarily because someone gave a nice speech about it (4 months after it happened), but for most people a date like any other.

But you can't deny that it was a major event in lives of the American people today. If you don't care, hey, whatever. But don't be so callous to other people's feelings. I wouldn't begrudge Japanese for marking important dates in their history, I wouldn't begrudge British people for marking the subway bombings. I won't tell you how to live. But I expect the same courtesy from you.

--
[1] Yes, I recognize the irony of an American using this as a counterexample, but I also recognize the extreme impact that would have on a people. Something some of our international friends on this forum apparently don't.

OK... so there are several differences here between the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and the September 11 attacks.
Japan might still have memorials for the dead, but they're not trying to convince the whole world that it's still a big deal to all of us and that we should show them sympathy. Japan did not start a war to get revenge ending up killing tons of civilians, in fact they pulled out of a war because of this. The death toll was a lot higher than in the September 11 attacks, even divided by how many years it's been they still got more deaths. For Japan the bombings are still relevant because the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima used uranium 235 which got a half-life of more than 100000 years meaning their cancer rates and the rates of birth defects will be spiked long after it's all forgotten.

The question here was how the international view of it is. I wont deny that it changed America somehow. It did not change the world. It did not affect us in any way but what we've experienced from participating in a war. You can't expect the whole world to have endless sympathy with you.

 

[woodsymoments]

I work as a baggage handler and i'll say that the americans were always lax about security in america to america flights pre 9/11 which was a contributing factor in allowing t terrorists easier access to hijack the planes as they iddn't have to go through stringent security checks.

 

[Kathinka]

To those saying that Americans should "stfu and get over" 9/11. I'm curious, do you think the Japanese should "stfu and get over" the bombings in Nagasaki and Hiroshima[1]? They have a park to symbolize what happened, and every year memorialize those events. I don't live in Japan so I can't say if it is still as large a rememberance as 9/11 is to Americans toady. But it is much more recent to us. 50 years from now, when the majority of people alive on 9/11 has passed on, it will become more like Perl Harbor is today, where there are only a few left who were alive when it happened, and there are smaller ceremonies, and for most it is a date on a calendar that they might think of for a few moments, and then move on with life. 150 years from now it will be more like the Battle at Gettysburg: taught about in history books, remembered primarily because someone gave a nice speech about it (4 months after it happened), but for most people a date like any other.

But you can't deny that it was a major event in lives of the American people today. If you don't care, hey, whatever. But don't be so callous to other people's feelings. I wouldn't begrudge Japanese for marking important dates in their history, I wouldn't begrudge British people for marking the subway bombings. I won't tell you how to live. But I expect the same courtesy from you.

--
[1] Yes, I recognize the irony of an American using this as a counterexample, but I also recognize the extreme impact that would have on a people. Something some of our international friends on this forum apparently don't.

OK... so there are several differences here between the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and the September 11 attacks.
Japan might still have memorials for the dead, but they're not trying to convince the whole world that it's still a big deal to all of us and that we should show them sympathy. Japan did not start a war to get revenge ending up killing tons of civilians, in fact they pulled out of a war because of this. The death toll was a lot higher than in the September 11 attacks, even divided by how many years it's been they still got more deaths. For Japan the bombings are still relevant because the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima used uranium 235 which got a half-life of more than 100000 years meaning their cancer rates and the rates of birth defects will be spiked long after it's all forgotten.

The question here was how the international view of it is. I wont deny that it changed America somehow. It did not change the world. It did not affect us in any way but what we've experienced from participating in a war. You can't expect the whole world to have endless sympathy with you.

and above all, the japanese don't get high and mighty and pretend that they did nothing to provoke this. (not saying they deserved to be bombed. you get what i mean)

 

[TheMan2203]

I believe that all countries regardless of their feelings towards the good ol' US of A recognize 9/11 as a tragedy the likes of which the world hasn't, and hopefully will not see again. What made it all the more real for most people was it was the first truly horrendous moments of human history to receive live coverage.

Personally? I believe that it was many deaths for no good reason, many deaths that have lead to many more. I wouldn't say that my nationality has any bearing on my opinion, British if you are wondering, but i would also like to add that a lot of my fellow countrymen, people i know even, have felt repurcussions, from the 7/7 bombings to the prolonged war in the middle-east and so it's more my experience as a person from what will be remembered as one of the defining moments of human history, that i will remember for the rest of my life.

So yeah, i could go on but your probs bored if you are reading this thanx for reading.

 

[Tiberiu Paul Iordache]

I'm from Romania. I've been seeing stories and reports about it on the news about 9/11 for the past two days.

Politicians here seem to care most about 9/11 (mostly because of the amiable relationship between the USA and Romania). They've said more than once that 4 Romanians died that day and news reporters keep talking about how it changed the world forever or how it represented the beginning of the decline of western society.

Among the average citizens however it doesn't seem to have had much of an impact.

 

[Agayek]

Personally I would call it "some fucked up dodgy business, possibly Vietnam 2.0"

To be entirely fair, the circumstances leading to Vietnam were a lot more dodgy on the US end than the War On Terror!(tm). I'm not saying you're wrong, just that retaliating against an attack on civilians is far different from the Gulf of Tonkin.

 

[Cyrax987]

Your reply was pretty well meaning. I don't have a problem with the date being remembered. I just think its a bit grisly how yanks react to September 11th like Macbeth to Banquo's ghost. Everyone else doesn't understand why they're screaming and describing the horror.


The only bit of your post that baked my noodle was this one...

It was a major attack, it wasn't a dozen people like 24 it was over 3000 people.

I mean, I don't know if this was a reference to a specific event or the TV show "24",which is kinda a tacky comparison if it was or if the number of dead people equals a number of years to be mournful? Clearing up would help.


And yes Daft Punk does kick ass.

Mentioned a number to just state that it wasn't a small death toll attack, but yeah I do hate how people have mentioned 9/11 way too much especially the politics that happen over here in the States. It was tragic and the drum has been beat into the ground, I guess my first post kind of seemed a little patriotic too it seems from some of the other people that quoted my initial post.

My only problem was mainly the fact saying it wasn't a big deal, but not that we should be having a global 9/11 one hour prayer or something like that. All I plan to do today is read the Escapist, watch Youtube, play Team Fortress 2, and goto work like any other day. Thanks for the understanding and yes Daft Punk is amazing and need to hurry up and go on tour again!

 

[Agayek]

torture of people both innocent and guilty (not that it really matters, its wrong always)

I absolutely agree with everything else you said, but I gotta rebut this. Some people deserve to be tortured to insanity and then left to die a slow, agonizing death. Those people are incredibly rare, fortuantely, but they do exist, generally in the form of serial rapists/killers. Some people simply enjoy inflicting suffering and harm on others, and they should be exterminated with great prejudice.

 

[Smooth Operator]

To be entirely fair, the circumstances leading to Vietnam were a lot more dodgy on the US end than the War On Terror!(tm). I'm not saying you're wrong, just that retaliating against an attack on civilians is far different from the Gulf of Tonkin.

Well at the time of Vietnam noone wanted to hear there is any shady business involved, and well... paters tend to repeat.
Ofcourse we wont ever hear the full truth behind anything, but there are some odd things going on.

 

[erto101]

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.

Not easily forgotten ?
Sierra Leone civil war. 50 000 dead (1991-2002)
Second Congo War. 3.8-7.8 million dead (1998-present)
Civil War in Chad more than 1 million dead (2005-2010)
Darfur 2003-2010 300 000 civilian deads alone (2003-2010)
How many people remember this?
I'm not saying 11/9 wasn't a horrible day and everything, BUT worse things happen in this world and they are mostly ignored.

(Captcha looked like something my little brother might have drawn.wtf?)

EDIT: Forgot to actually answer the question. A good friend of mine turned 18 that very day, and I would much prefer to celebrate her. (18 is "the big deal" here in Denmark. You get to vote, drive and all that cool stuff.) Other than that It WAS a terrible day, but it's not something I think about anymore.

 

[Agayek]

Well at the time of Vietnam noone wanted to hear there is any shady business involved, and well... paters tend to repeat.
Ofcourse we wont ever hear the full truth behind anything, but there are some odd things going on.

Oh for sure, I fully agree with you there. The only thing I was trying to get at is that the current kerfluffle is far more ethically justifiable than Vietnam ever was.

Afghanistan made sense from that perspective, but Iraq just doesn't, so there's almost certainly ulterior motives. One of the theories one of my buddies has been throwing around is that Bush wanted to establish a US/West friendly nation in the Middle East, to allow us to keep an eye on Iran and their nuclear program. I don't know if I believe that, but it's certainly a lot more believable than "oh hey, we thought Saddam had nukes."

I fully expect there to be some serious shenanigans involved in the whole affair, but that doesn't mean it's anything like Vietnam, which was effectively "We know better than those silly Asians. Let's go in and show them. Oh wait, now we're all dead."