OK. I’m a baby. I’m also only a bachelors degree in theatre educated woman. I feel like a little girl lately though. A wimp. A coward. I don’t know exactly how the world works, NATO, the government, the “article 5” and all that.
But I will say this. I’m absolutely terrified. I haven’t stopped shaking for days. I’m scared to go on the subway since I heard an “expert” on talk radio tell me that the next step will be a serin (?) gas attack. I’m scared that the world is going to be leveled by a nuclear war. I cancelled my plans to go to Vegas since they said this morning that there are possibly two more men out there with stolen pilot credentials and uniforms. More buildings in New York are falling down and when will that stop? The impact of the next building falling will knock down five more. Manhattan is going to be leveled, how can it not?
The president, the mayor, everyone says to get back to normal. I can’t! I can say now that I will NEVER fly again. I’m frightened to live in this big city, to work next door to the Hancock building. I can’t eat. I have pounding headaches. I sleep and I have nightmares, I jump at every sound. My panic and anxiety attacks are back full force. Howard Stern said this morning that we’re starting World War III so get ready. He said we have to blow up at least SIX COUNTRIES to stop this. I almost threw up in the shower from fear. People calling in to Howard’s show were calling for all Muslims to be rounded up and SHOT, and I quote: “just like they did in World War II” WHAT?
Experts on radio and television say “this WILL happen again” and that they “WILL use biochemical warfare” and that they’re infiltrating our country going to our schools, driving our cabs, and that some of the bin laden crew isn’t even arab, but normal, blend into the background whitebread americans.
Everyone says not to panic, and then everyone incites panic with prophecies from long dead kooks and cryptic messages from the internet, conspiracy theories, warnings.
I understand we must face reality, but can we take a moment or find someone in the world who will look at cowards like me and say “it’s ok. You’re ok for now.”
No one has said that yet. Thank god for my celexa, although I wish it would just knock me out for a week or two.
Sounds like mainly scaremongering. I think Howard Stern is talking out of his arse.
I’m worried that World War Three may start, to be honest, although I do have faith in the US Government (especially Secretary of State Powell) to think before they act.
Every leader in the world except Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden have said that this is awful and inexcusable. Even people who hate America say that this is awful. I think that pretty much everyone bar the two mentioned above is against Tuesday’s atrocities.
It’s quite possible that the Taleban will hand over bin Laden (if he is indeed behind this) in order to prevent destruction of their country.
If the US and the rest of us in NATO go in there gung ho and bomb six countries (which ones did the radio scaremonger mention?), then WW3 may indeed result. I really don’t think that’s what’ll happen. If we find out who did this, and go after them alone, and have a united world response (not just a Western response), then we can start rebuilding peace, and hopefully (BIG hopefully, I admit) get to a point where people don’t necessarily want to commit these terrible terrible acts.
It’s reasonable to be scared, but I don’t think it’s reasonable to suspend normal activities.
But why would someone want to do that? Why would people want to scare each other? Why would someone want me to be nauseous and leaving work early from fear?
People scare me. People’s reactions are scaring me. There was a protest outside a mosque in the South Suburbs, a bunch of drunk teenagers in IROCs with American flags, threatening Muslims. Is this the kind of people we’re breeding?
I felt the same way you do now after the OKC Bombing. Strange becasue I lived in NYC at the time and I live there now.
All I know is this, the worst has happened and I am still here. My city is still here. My nation is still here. So I understand Jarbaby but sooner or later you will go back to normal.
I can understand very much where you’re coming from. Yesterday I was upset enough (and felt damn sick to my stomach) that I had to leave work. Glad you have the chemical help, I’m almost wishing I had some in stock right now. My nerves are killing me.
The media will always be the media, and will always sensationalise the topic of the day. In this case, they don’t even have to work at it. This is not to say that they don’t care and aren’t affected, but this is what they -do-. I imagine it’s as natural as breathing to them now.
I will agree that I don’t think that was their one and only attack. I think they have other plans. But we have to hope that those plans will be uncovered and foiled. If you live your life in terror, you’re giving them just what they want. A little bit of fatalism might be helpful right now, just help if you can, donate blood if you can, care but try not to worry.
I don’t think they want to scare you as such - they want to get all excited about what might happen, and how bad it could possible be. I don’t think they’re aware of the consequences of their speculations.
The hate being shown to Muslims scares me too. I do wish that the media wouldn’t call the terrorists Islamic. They’re very very un-Islamic. An imam from Liverpool was interviewed on our local news last night. He said that the Qur’an says very specifically that you don’t kill innocent civilians, you don’t kill innocent women and you don’t kill children.
I feel sorry for the poor young boys who have been brainwashed into believing that Americans are evil. I wish there wasn’t such misunderstanding about Islam, and such racism against Arabs, Arab-Americans and British Asians.
jarbaby, I don’t have any magical words to help you. Sadly, your reaction is exactly what terrorists strive for - fear.
Just a little something to share, tho. My daughter, my Perfect Child[sup]TM[/sup] has opined that we wouldn’t be having these problems if women were in charge of the world. Rather a profound thought from a 16 y/o, I thought.
Anyway, try your best not to dwell on things beyond your control. Leave your TV off and find some escapism that works for you. Things will settle down eventually and life will go on. I don’t think that’s cold - it’s just the way things happen. Hang in there…
Jarbaby, I’m scared shitless as well. I know what you mean, if somebody would just say ‘Its going to be alright, you’re safe’ I could maybe get a grip.
I think the thing that just cripples me with terror is that I can’t protect my kids or my family from this kind of thing. What the hell could I possibly do to save my kids if somone decided to bomb the local petroleum plant? I can’t keep my kids safe from biological warfare. Dammit, its my JOB to keep my kids safe and I CANT DO IT! I can’t stand up to this. There’s nothing I can do.
And I feel like such a liar when I reassure my kids that they are safe. I tell them that me and their father will keep them safe but truthfully, we really cant. I keep going, keep pretending that I’m alright, in control. I worked the day this happened. I have gone shopping, cleaned house, helped my kids with their homework. I’m really trying to keep on keepin’ on, but my mind and heart are both stricken with total, wide-eyed, rabbit in a snare fear.
I also feel like an idiot for being so afraid. Other people dont seem to be feeling the same intense fear that I am, so I think maybe I’m being a baby, like you said. And I can’t quite seem to get my head around the catastrophe. I keep replaying the series of events in my mind and and it feels like my mind skips over some parts. Like if I could really grasp this, if it should really sink in, I might just go nuts. I feel like an idiot for this too.
I’m glad to hear other people feel this way. I wish there WERE magic words. I wish I had valium actually
I just look at my husband, who sleeps like a baby and simply says “I have faith in my government to protect me”. How nice that must be! But then I come in here today and hear people saying the government is BEHIND it all! I mean, where does it end? Who do I NOT have to fear?
If I could I’d take the next commercial airpline I could find to anywhere. And I’ll take any Arab-American that wants to travel with me just to prove that we can get past this.
And now they’re reporting on Stern that they’ve caught a man with a car bomb in Jersey! And Howard’s saying that before this is over we’ll be gassed, bombed, murdered. I mean…he’s probably right.
Zebra says “the worst is over”. How do you know? The Sears Tower is still standing today…will it be tomorrow?
I understand your feelings of dread and fear. It is perfectly normal for people to look at these events and realize it could have just as easily happened to us. There are many problems with terrorism but one is the inexplicable random nature of the violence. We often try to live our lives looking at those things we can change to prolong our lives (e.g., diet, exersize, seatbelts). We also have been able to accept that there are certain things that are often completely beyond our control (e.g., plane crashes, forces of nature). Somehow, we all find the courage to live even though we are constantly faced with the possibility that we may not live beyond today due to circumstances which we could not control.
Terrorism, while relatively new to us as a country, is one of these types of uncontrollable circumstances. It is generally more disturbing to us, especially at these times right after an incident, because we know that the avowed aim is to scare us in to altering our attitudes/way of life.
That is one of the reasons that I feel so proud of you and everyone else in this country. It may not seem heroic, but merely by getting out of bed you are beginning the process of coping with the tragedy and thwarting the goals of the terrorists. It is times like these that acts of heroism, big (like saving people trapped in the WTC) and small (continuing normal routines despite the fear we all feel), are needed to show the terrormongers that they will not be allowed to control us.
It is a variation on a cliche but time allows us all to adjust. Little by little you will return to normal and put to the back of your mind the bad things that can happen to us all on a daily basis (terrorism being just one of those things) and focus again on the positive aspects of being here and sharing this time and space with the rest of mankind. We must all assist in that process as well.
I wish I could guarantee you that it will never happen to you or that tomorrow you will wake up and feel normal again. I can guarantee you that there will come moments when the fear is manageable and your attention can return to the people and things you love. Those moments will continue to grow to encompass days. You will always be different than you were when you went to bed September 10, 2001, but you still have the capacity for love, hope and joy and you will feel all of those again.
We must believe that in order to go forward. The terrorists’ hope that they have incapacitated us with fear. We must not let them have this victory.
Remember that doomsayers have been around for a very long time and the apocalypse has still not come despite being predicted over and over again. There is no reason to believe it will happen now. Yes this was a horrific event. Yes it takes away the sense of security we as Americans have had on our own soil. We are still a very strong nation, though. We will get through this.
The subway, airplanes, and the US population in general are as safe now as they were before this incident. In some ways air travel will be even safer. We as individuals have never been completely in control of our lives. We never will be. You have to live as best you can despite that. There are a million ways every day you can die. If you hide away and try to avoid everything because of this possibility then you are not really living.
As cheesy as this sounds, you must make a conscious effort to choose to live. Make it an act of defiance. Make it your own personal protest against acts of terrorism. Be pissed off. Be mindful of the life you have. Mourn for the victims and the loss of a certain age of innocence. Do not be afraid.
You are safe. You are alive.
[sub] Please note that I am not trying to invalidate anyone’s fear. I realize many of the things I have said may be easier said than done, but give it a try.[/sub]
Today? Most everybody. And there are a dozen fewer people to worry about than there were Monday. Flying anywhere in the near future will be safer than it has ever been. And anybody who tries anything will be messed up so bad by people who don’t care about their own safety that DNA fingerprinting will be the only way to identify them.
This is a topic, like 60s pop music, in which my age is an advantage! Surviving October '62 and living most of my life in the blast zone of Primary Target O’Hare Field is finally paying off! And you people thought I came about my fatalism naturally.
Your fear is understandable, but you cannot allow it to rule you. By doing so you give these creeps the victory they sought. To do this you must understand that NOTHING BAD IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN TO YOU! The possibility exists, but the odds are overwhelming that you will die an old woman, surrounded by your children, their children, and their grandchildren.
There are things you can do to improve your odds, but they can be summed up in something that you should have been taught at your mother’s knee: Be aware of what’s going on around you. There is a difference between paranoia and wariness.
And you know that you have a lot of invisible friends here. Keep taking advantage of them; they don’t mind.
I am surprisingly calm. I know when I will be scared, though - the next time I am on a plane. I am going away for a long weekend at the end of the month. I’m a nervous flyer anyway - takeoffs and landings always make me nervous. I’m going to be really scared on the next flight. But I’m still going to go. I figure each uneventful flight will make the next a little easier…
Because he’s just a normal guy, going with his gut feeling. He doesn’t have someone handing him a script or writing him a speech. Worst case scenario is what keeps people on their toes, I suppose.
I keep telling people that I ‘have to worry’ about my building being bombed. and they always say ‘why’? Because I do! It’s my life, it’s my building, it’s me that might have to jump out to my death or call my husband and say “i’m being hijacked, I love you” I have to worry about that so I’m prepared for it.
Jarbaby
Turn off Howard Stern! The guy is not “just a normal guy.” He may not be using a script but he is a shock jock. He says things for shock value. What is more shocking than predicting the end of the world? Please, turn off the ignorant spewing of this assinine boob.
Okay, you’re scared. We all are. We’ve undergone a horrendous shock, an assault on our safety.
At the same time, I think it’s time to offer a little slap. You are quite deliberately whipping yourself into a bit of a frenzy here. Stop, sit down, and just think about this for a moment, okay?
Manhattan is not going to collapse into the sea
Howard Stern is an idiot
If the experts were so smart, they’d have predicted the first attack, wouldn’t they?
I know you’re scared, but being scared and letting yourself fly into an irrational panic are two different things. You know perfectly well that Howard Stern is exaggerrating and that Manhattan is not going to collapse right up to the north end. You’re a big girl now, just sit down and compose yourself.
Worse things than this have happened, and they got things fixed up and moved on. Take a deep breath and think.
I’m scared out of my mind, and I live in Australia.
It’s terrifying, this war that came seemingly out of nowhere, and I’m afraid none of us will ever live in peace or without fear again.
I’ve never been to the US, but we are supposed to come over and visit sometime in the next few years. I have never been on a plane in my life, but being the nervous type I’m scared of them. I have always had a phobia about planes falling out of the sky. This hasn’t helped.
I can’t sleep at night. I jump whenever a car drives past the house. I fear aircraft more than ever. I wake up all through the night to check the news and see that everything is still ok. Everytime I close my eyes, I see the second plane heading for the second tower. I put my normal reading away and dragged out my Enid Blyton books from when I was a kid to try to relax so I can sleep.
I know I’ll calm down with time, but this is a new and terrifying world, and I have to learn to adjust to it. Being a paranoid, skittish kind of person, I’m just having trouble learning to live with all I’ve heard and seen on the news in the last few days. I dread the victims becoming real people, as I know they will, because a face, a name and a family grieving are the things that haunt me whenever a tragedy occurs. This time, there are more faces, more names and more stories than usual.
