The new chic--My town is a PRIME terrorist target!

The BBQ Pit
1

With the Iraq war, problems in Afghanistan, SARS, 9/11, North Korea, etc., it seems people get their knickers in a twist over some of the stupidest things. I guess to make their home-towns seem important, more people are writing letters to the editor alerting the government that “Hey, don’t forget about us–we’re a vital part of this country.”

A case in point:

From the Erie Times-News 03/30/03 (Just an excerpt)

Erie is at the center of a 100-mile radius of three major, heavily populated cities. If you consider Tom Ridge is also from Erie and the nation’s security director, it would seem that Erie would be a prime target for a major terrorist attack…

…In additon we have a large population of Iraqi-born people in Erie (no offense intended), and how do we know any of them are not sleepers, secret terrorists waiting for the right moment to strike?

…If you consider what could be and the way Saddam can be so deviant, how do we know if we are safe?

…And then if you consider the waterways as Lake Erie and surrounding strems and rivers, we are a very likely prime target.

Also, I have had the local real estate woman tell me she’s afraid that there are already those terrorists living locally, and that we’re in danger because we’re so close to Cleveland, OH. (We’re 68 miles from Downtown.)

And my own mother is afraid because our town is just below the dam of a big lake. "You know that those terrorists could blow it up, and the flooding would go all the way to Pittsburgh!)

PEOPLE, CALM DOWN!.

I hate to tell you, this isn’t WWII, there are no more steel plants, railroads, munitions factories in this part of the country. We are so far from everything, we might as well be in Canada. (We’re close.)

Saddam has no clue where Erie is, hell most of the United States has no idea where Erie is, let alone what Tom Ridge’s hometown is.

Trish, the real estate lady: there is nothing in Cleveland worth blowing up, and also, if there were any foreigners living in our 100% WHITE area, I think the nosey neighbors would have noticed within a few days.

To Mom: The Shenango river does not go to downtown Pittsburgh, it empties into the Ohio river at Beaver Falls. And no terrorist blows up a cornfield and gets on CNN.

So people, get a grip and be glad you live here in the sticks.

2

I had a student totally freak out on me over the possibility that terrorists would choose the campus of our liberal arts college for a biological attack. “They could put something in the water. And then, you know, then we’re all dead.” Er, uh, yeah, tell you what–come to class, take your damn exam, and don’t drink the water if you’re not comfortable with that, m’kay?

An exboyfriend of mine somehow found my phone number and left this worried, shakey message on my answering machine on Sept 12, all like, “I don’t know if I have the right number, but I’m trying to reach Podkayne Fries, to find out of she’s alright.” And then he hung up without leaving his number. :rolleyes: From 1997 to September 10, 2001, he has no idea whether I was languishing in hospital bed with colorectal cancer or bleeding to death in a ditch. Then suddenly on September 11, my safety becomes his overriding concern. I could just picture him going around telling everybody in Dubuque that he has a close friend “out there” and he doesn’t know if she’s okay, and he’s all torn up about it. If I lived anywhere near NYC, it would be a lot less pitiful. Merciful heavens, darling, you know someone who lives east of the Mississippi. You must be in agony.

How giddy and exciting it is to be involved in global events!

Hey, I’m not immune. I stockpiled nonperishable foods and bottled water before Y2K. :slight_smile:

3

Damn, here I am, south of Indian Point at home, crossing half the bridges in NYC to get to work, and… I’m still less concerned than these people.

4

Heh, I be not to far from the largest nuclear power plant in the U.S… contemplating that “yes the blast may not reach me” yet… would I rather be on ground zero and become a shadow… or would I rather worry which way the wind blows?

… i’ll flip a quarter when the time is right.

5

I live within 50 miles of Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, the so-called “America’s Team.”

I’m a goner, aren’t I.

6

There’s nothing new about this. It has been going on at least since the 80s, when the big bad-guy was the USSR. It was always cool to think of reasons why your town probably had at least one ICBM targetting it.

We were all certain, of course, that Albuquerque was a prime military target, being the home of Sandia National Laboratory and Kirtland Air Force Base, just west of the Manzano mountain weapons storage area, 200 miles north of White Sands missile range, Trinity site, and Holloman AFB, and 60 miles south of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Santa Fe, home to bored movie stars and the world’s #1 source of turquoise Indian jewelry. :slight_smile:

So the idea of thinking about how important your city is in the eyes of the world hasn’t changed. The only thing that’s different is where the threat comes from (no terrorist would hit here…it’s a military target for Russia or China, not a symbolic emotional one like NYC).

7

I’m all of 15 miles from the Oak Ridge facility - I best duck and cover now, just in case. :wink:

8

I’m in L.A… Sin city. Surely we’re targeted.

9

I work within a mile of one of Charlotte, NC’s nuclear power plants–yesterday the warning siren went off and everybody at work freaked. Just another drill, though.

10

The only reason anyone would want to bomb Cincinnati (besides being home to the Bengals, of course) is that we have Interstate 75 running through our town.

And Hussein does NOT want make the tactical error of blocking the route of the fine people who make their annual migration from the north to their winter homes in Florida. The blue-haired revolutionaries have lived through the depression, they’ve survived World War II. Who’s Saddam Hussein? He’s a gnat. You think Hussein would be stupid enough to trifle with the generation that kicked Hitler’s skinny little ass?

Nope, we’re in no danger here. Sorry about your bad luck, Erie.

11

The state I live in is in the center of the U.S. The town I live in has an oil refinery, and more than one foundry. It is possible that my town could be targeted. I’m still not going to let this vague possibility shut down my life. I have bills to pay,and a very important date with my husband…and a chocolate bar. :wink:

12

None of you are Washington kids. We grow up with this shit, man.

We love it.

13

But I live closer to DC than you do, so I’m more doomed than you are! Ha, ha, ha. . . oh, wait. . .

14

I work 1 block from the White House. This shit doesn’t concern me at all. My wife, however, is freaked and we have the “escape bags” packed in the basement.

15

I can see the 2002 Winter Olympic torch from my office window. :eek:! What if Saddam forgets that the Olympics were over a year ago and tries to bomb the stadium!?!?!

I should just go home to my house waaaaaaaaaaaay out in the country, but then again, my town holds the same name as a former President!

Good GOD! We aren’t safe anywhere!!!

16

Hey Guy, where do you live exactly? My grandparents’ farm is between Conneaut Lake and Linesville, close by the Pymatuning dam you’re obviously nearby.

I work about two blocks from the Pentagon, and my office smelled of smoke for days after 9/11. Target!

17

My mother-in-law is a high school art teacher in rural Wisconsin. She told me that her school has a special policy for these troubling times–if the nation is at orange alert, students are not allowed to leave the county for any school functions (field trips, athletic events, etc.) I guess you’ve got to keep those kids close to home so that they can help with the plastic and duct tape!

18

Hey Guy, where do you live exactly? My grandparents’ farm is between Conneaut Lake and Linesville, close by the Pymatuning dam you’re obviously nearby.

I live in Jamestown–Gateway to the Pymatuning.

I work about two blocks from the Pentagon, and my office smelled of smoke for days after 9/11. Target!

I’m surprised you didn’t have a cover story in the Meadville Tribune. They are always doing some “Local Native is connected to Current Event” story

19

Are you kidding? We’ve got lots of vital stuff here, like, ah, er, um, give me a minute, would you?

(think, think, think).

Let me get back to you, ok? Thanks!

20

Jeez, why is it the small-town folks are always so much more concerned than the big city people who are actually near targets?

I live a stone’s throw from the “tall building” part of downtown LA, I spend every Sunday at Disneyland. And you know what? I don’t give a flying rat’s ass. I think the bag checks they’re doing outside the gates at Disneyland are stupid - they’re not a safety measure, as they’re easy to get around… it’s only there to comfort all the small-town nimrods who visit, or heaven forbit, put off their visit because “they’ll be visiting a prime target” and somehow the week they want to go is more likely than any of the previous quiet weeks.

Wake up… first of all- it’s so unlikely that you’ll be the victim of a terrorist attack that it’s downright stupid to worry about it. Second, do you have any idea how hard it would be to hit more than a handful of people in a spread out place like Disneyland?

Meanwhile, I have to endure these lame slow lines and unzipping of backpacks that make park hopping a royal pain.