# Today is 9/11, it's been 19 years since the attack **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2020, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346 "2020-09-11T14:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/1 "2020-09-11T14:18:56Z")
2,977 people died 19 years ago. Plus many of the responders have died of related illness since then. 😟 The years have gone by so quickly. Life has never been completely normal since 9/11. 2020 has been the worst year that I’ve ever experienced. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/2 "2020-09-11T17:11:43Z")
Where is the Straight Dope thread from that day? I have a harder time finding things now we moved. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/3 "2020-09-11T17:12:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 2020 has been the worst year that I’ve ever experienced. With 190K Americans dead up to this point from our current crisis, it is a very tough year. I would agree that 2020 has been really tough. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/4 "2020-09-11T18:11:56Z")
I lost my sense of security and safety after 9/11. I’m always apprehensive when I check the news. How many of our overseas troops died, terrorist attacks, school shootings and tropical storms. It’s always something. Now this year we’re hit by Covid-19. Just had a tropical storm hit the coast last week. Fires in California. It all gets to be a bit too much. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/5 "2020-09-11T19:00:10Z")
2020 has been the worst year I’ve experienced, but September 11, 2001 was the worst day. We were all reeling. I spent the day helping my teen-aged students try to comprehend what was happening while covering my own shock and alarm. We’ve lost the sense of unity we had in the weeks that followed. If, God forbid, something that cataclysmic were to happen today, there’d be no unity, no shared mourning, no mutual grief, only finger-pointing, mistrust, and rage. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/6 "2020-09-11T19:02:09Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > something that cataclysmic were to happen today, there’d be no unity, no shared mourning, no mutual grief, only finger-pointing, mistrust, and rage. Yeah, 9/11’s rally-together effect was unfortunately a one-time phenomenon. We won’t see that happen again in our hyperpolarized red-vs-blue society today. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/7 "2020-09-11T19:12:24Z")
I opened court with a moment of silence this morning. I still remember 9-11-01 very well. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/8 "2020-09-11T19:23:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Just had a tropical storm hit the coast last week. Fires in California. The _derecho_ in Iowa and Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/9 "2020-09-11T23:10:50Z")
mahaloth, this is not that original thread. However, this is the [Narrative of my experiences as an E.M.T.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-changed-a-9-11-world-trade-centers-narrative/263923/24) from the September 11, 2001 WTC attack. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/10 "2020-09-11T23:16:03Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > The _derecho_ in Iowa and Illinois. It actually extended all the way into Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/11 "2020-09-11T23:27:30Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Where is the Straight Dope thread from that day? I have a harder time finding things now we moved. The same question was just asked [here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-original-9-11-thread/920382). So having found it, here it is: > [@World Trade Center Plane Crash](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-trade-center-plane-crash/80850): > > I’ve just heard about this from a friend, and I’m wondering if anyone has details - how bad it is, exactly what happened, anything? If it’s as bad as it’s been made out to me so far… my greatest sympathies go to the families of everyone involved. (I actually find it much easier to find things now using the board search. It was a little glitchy when we first moved, but it seems to be working pretty well now.) ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/12 "2020-09-12T03:38:18Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Yeah, 9/11’s rally-together effect was unfortunately a one-time phenomenon. We won’t see that happen again in our hyperpolarized red-vs-blue society today. Might want to ask anyone who looked middle eastern or wears a turban or any kind of head covering how much of a ‘rally together’ effect there was… ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/13 "2020-09-12T03:45:09Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > 2020 has been the worst year I’ve experienced, but September 11, 2001 was the worst day. QFT. Since I am not a historian, and my knowledge of current events lurches from “razor sharp understanding of every detail” to “huh…what?..I don’t remember,” I’m not prepared to defend my thesis, but: I do think that so much of what is wrong in America today can be traced back to that event. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/14 "2020-09-12T06:54:24Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > > [@Velocity](#): > > > > Yeah, 9/11’s rally-together effect was unfortunately a one-time phenomenon. We won’t see that happen again in our hyperpolarized red-vs-blue society today. > > Might want to ask anyone who looked middle eastern or wears a turban or any kind of head covering how much of a ‘rally together’ effect there was… Hey, Americans from all walks of life ranging from white Catholics to white Protestants banded together in racism, jingoism, heavy-handed nationalism, and paranoia! ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/15 "2020-09-12T16:31:24Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Hey, Americans from all walks of life ranging from white Catholics to white Protestants banded together in racism, jingoism, heavy-handed nationalism, and paranoia! Yep! I get tired of the mythology surrounding 9/11, that we ‘all came together’ and put aside our differences. There were lots of attacks on Americans who looked like they might be Islamic to violent, ignorant types (including Orthodox Jews and Sikhs, both groups traditionally at odds with Muslims), and lots of aggressive ‘wave that flag now boy’ type incidents. The Patriot Act was the subject of a lot of controversey, non-Republicans didn’t jump in behind Bush’s foreign policy plans and continued to protest him, Republicans didn’t do anything to come together with anyone not following their line, and more. Just to give it some hard numbers: > **[Data: Hate crimes against Muslims increased after 9/11](https://theworld.org/stories/2016-09-12/data-hate-crimes-against-muslims-increased-after-911)** > > According to data from the FBI, there was a spike in hate crimes against Muslims after the attacks on September 11, 2001. In these data visualizations you'll see that while attacks have dropped in the years since, hate crimes against Muslims have... And some issues reported by the DOJ: > **[Combating Post-9/11 Discriminatory Backlash](https://www.justice.gov/crt/combating-post-911-discriminatory-backlash-6)** ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/16 "2020-09-12T18:30:55Z")
I apologize for not mentioning the hate crimes and vicious attitudes toward Muslims. You’re both right: the unity was not all-inclusive, and I should have remembered that very important point. Predictably, in times of crisis some people turn ugly, and the ugliness hasn’t abated since 9/11. Yet there were many of us who fought the anti-Muslim idiocy, just as we fought against Jerry Falwell’s noxious claim that the attacks were brought on by God’s wrath against gays and feminists. Domestic unity was marred by this crap, but it wasn’t obliterated. Political divisions _did_ cease to matter for a time. And the international outpouring of grief and solidarity from nations around the world, including many Muslim-majority countries was definitely not a myth. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/17 "2020-09-12T19:16:46Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > It actually extended all the way into Indiana. Using a Sharpie, you can make it go wherever you want. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/18 "2020-09-12T19:20:14Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > It actually extended all the way into Indiana. I knew that, but got carried away since I had a sister in Iowa (Cedar Rapids, which was hit the worst) and a brother in Illinois. I hope all in Indiana fared well and are getting the disaster relief needed. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/19 "2020-09-12T21:57:00Z")
By the time it got to Indiana it had diminished to EF1 tornado levels and between that and our building codes it wasn’t too bad. Some people had power out for over a week but they’re all restore now. And no, we’re getting zero disaster relief but frankly I’m more upset at Iowa and western Illinois being neglected than my county. We had lots of damage, but not the wipe-out-your-livelihood-and-everything-you-own levels parts of Iowa did. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346/20 "2020-09-12T22:08:35Z")
Glad you and yours are ok and everyone there got power back fairly quickly. It will take most of a generation for the affected parts of Iowa to restore it’s landscape. At least very few lives were lost. Everything else can be replaced. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-is-9-11-its-been-19-years-since-the-attack/920346.md?page=2)