Anyone Else NOT Watching the 9/11 CBS Show? (1 Viewer)

[James Edward]

Just curious- There must be others out there that were just too close to the action when it actually happened. I was, and therefore am just about afraid to watch this show.

I was in the Chase Manhattan Plaza building when the planes hit, several blocks away. The building shook better than any sub could, and I was on the street when the towers fell, and due to a back problem, could not get away too fast. I wonder how many of the firemen I saw responding did not make it out.

Just venting, I guess.

 

[ryan_x]

I watched the first hour...but the had to shut it off...just way too depressing

 

[KeithH]

I was watching Season on the Brink on ESPN for awhile, but decided to check out the 9/11 program during a commercial break on ESPN. I found the 9/11 program too compelling and never went back to ESPN. Unbelievable footage. I have the utmost respect for the FDNY.

 

[Eve T]

Very depressing. I'm glad they didn't edit out the curse words and that they kept the footage and reactions exactly as they were. Very impactful and so sad.

May we never forget.

On a side note, I'm wondering if they will pay a tribute to the ones lost at the Pentagon and the passengers of the airplanes. I think it would be fitting to honor those firemen, policemen,military, and the victims who were also a part of that terrible day.

Peace,

Eve

 

[Chip E]

I just finished watching 9/11. The part where the first tower was falling with cameras rolling from the inside with all those firefighters was overwelming. At first, i thought they all perished but, they all got out (Engine 7 Ladder 1) except for the Chaplin, the first recorded death of the tragedy. The last thing on the screen when the documentary was over was the words "Let Us Never Forget"

I hope we never do.

 

[Jassen M. West]

I didn't watch, it was too soon for me. The company i work for made a sign in honor of the Chaplin that lost his life. It will be carried during the Holyoke St. Patricks Day parade seeing as he was originally from this area.

---jay

 

[Kevin P]

I taped 9/11 last night, but I think it's too soon to watch it quite yet. Maybe in another 6 months to a year I'll pop the tape in and watch it.

KJP

 

[Aurel Savin]

What was most amazing about the FDNY was that they never lost their cool ... amazing display of courage.

Even after the first tower collapsed, these guys were totally cool (at least the ones that were being filmed), never losing track of what had to be done.

Truely amazing!

 

[Thomas D]

I too did not want to see the special. I don't need things to remind me what happened that day. I'm still upset that the conductor on the train let everyone off at the PATH platform when there was the smell of smoke down there. From what I understand, the train should have never opened its doors and just turned around and went back to Hoboken.

Don't even get me started on the ghouls who sell postcards and posters on the streets of the city. Or the "Ground Zero Viewing Platform". THIS IS NOT A FUCKING TOURIST ATTRACTION.

 

[Thomas D]

Ahem. Sorry about that. Venting a bit, too.

 

[Holadem]

"Ground Zero Viewing Platform". THIS IS NOT A FUCKING TOURIST ATTRACTION.
I really fail to see what problem you and others have with people going there to see. I needed to go and see with my own eyes. People who go there are not like "Yeepee let's go see Ground Zero, it will be the highlight of my day!" :rolleyes.
Some of us need more than the TV to fully absorb the reality. It is HUMAN.
Perhaps you think it is disrespectful for the lost to go there. I don't think so at all, on the contrary. On the other hand, comments like the one above are disrespectful to my feelings and that of thousands of others.
--
Holadem

 

[Jack Briggs]

Well, let's try to be cool about things here. This topic can get us all worked up, so let's go back to smiling at one another. I understand, though.

I'm wondering if they will pay a tribute to the ones lost at the Pentagon..."

I'm so glad this was said, because I've always thought the Pentagon tragedy has received short shrift by the media. It's just as tragic an event, even though the number of people killed and injured is smaller. In fact, this issue sort of reminds me of something that always made me angry about the general-media coverage of the STS-51L mission (i.e., the ninth and final flight of Space Shuttle Challenger): All the focus was on Christa McCauliff, the school teacher. I mean, there were five professional astronauts and one corporate-sponsored payload specialist onboard the spacecraft too.

So, remember the Pentagon.

 

[DavidMich]

Well, I for one think everyone NEEDED to see it!
All too often in our busy, hectic, lives, we experience something memorable, only to forget it all too soon.
We all need to be VERY PISSED OFF about what the terrorists did. We all need to be reminded; I see people every day who have no idea that we are AT WAR!!
Yes, it is true that it is depressing. But that is the nature of war.
I am glad they showed it.
I hope it moves people to take action.
Complacency has no place in our modern society.
Maybe some people who saw it will get mad enough to finally get involved in the political process and contact their representative.
My heart goes out to each and every person who was affected by the tragedy. Really.
But lest us never, ever forget.
And if it takes daily reminders to make the citizens of our great nation stand up and have their voices heard by the politicians, then so be it.
The time for action is now.....
:star: :star: :star: :star: :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Thomas D]

I've been wondering how to respond to this, to get my words to accurately convey my feelings. After a lot of thought, it boils down to two things.

Someone from Boise, Idaho, does not need to make a pilgrimage to New York City to observe the WTC remains. When someone like that decides to visit New York City for a vacation, to state they won't be afraid, to support the local economy -- that's fine. When they visit and say, "Hey, while we're here, let's go see Ground Zero," it becomes a tourist attraction. The local comic book store I visited on my lunch break now has a sign in the window saying they have disposable cameras for sale. There are people on the sidewalks with postcards and posters available, ready to close their briefcases or cover their tables with blankets just in case a police officer walks by. When I returned to work, there were people on the streets down there who just wanted to see it. In my mind, they are treating the WTC site as a tourist attraction.

The people who need to see it are people who live in the greater New York City area. I live in Clifton, NJ. Hartford, CT, is about as far away from Manhattan. To us, to people who worked in the area, to people who saw the skyline every day, it was something that happened right here, right next door. I have no problem with people who work here, who live here -- or who lived here at one time -- wanting to come to the WTC site to get a sense of closure, to get a sense of relief that they didn't die during what happened.

The impact on those of us who were in the area is greater than the impact on someone living five hundred miles away who have never been to NYC or know anyone who lives in or near the area. To those people, New York City is only something you see on television.

The second thing is this. There are still bodies in the rubble. They aren't buried there. The are just there, lost in the wreckage. There are still bodies there, there are still body parts there.

If everyone escaped and the buildings just collapsed with no loss of life, I probably wouldn't have as big of a problem with the viewing platform. But because there were thousands of corpses lost in there, hundreds now (no, I don't know the exact count of the missing), I keep thinking of the people visiting the city to observe the recovery process as rubberneckers on the highway. I can't really put down what I'm feeling into words, just that people are coming down to look at a pile of bodies because they're curious.

If the area was a huge graveyard with the remains of all the victims, I wouldn't have a problem with it. They're still digging up bodies.

I think it's disrespectful for the curious to go see it, not the lost, not the shellshocked, not the survivors.

---

Anyway, that had nothing to do with the topic. I didn't want to watch the 9/11 special. I still don't. I don't need to hear wet noises from outside the lobby. I don't need to keep seeing footage of the towers burning and collapsing. I have my memories and that's enough.

 

[Thomas D]

Oh, and I agree with everything DavidMich said, including the "Go Dallas Stars". People do need to be reminded.

 

[Steve Owen]

Thomas, I guess we can agree to disagree on this. I'm from MA but for the past couple of months I've felt a deep need to visit the WTC site. As an American, I want to see with my own two eyes what was done. I want to pay my respects to the victims at the place in which they perished. It's not that I'm curious, or feel that it's "a tourist attraction", but I have a need to connect with these events in a more tangible way. Now. Not later when it's a park with trees and flowers and a memorial.

These events touched everyone in this country in very unique ways, and how we react and heal is very individual. My personal healing process is going to involve a trip to the WTC site. And I don't think that's in any way disrespectful.

-Steve

 

[David Paymer]

As I said in another thread, I couldn't watch the 9/11 film because the memory of it is still too fresh. I lost two friends that day. Living in NYC all my life has made me kinda tough but I'm not tough enough to deal with seeing images of that day for two hours. Sometimes my emotions get the best of me while I'm working or whatever and I don't know when that's gonna stop. Anyway, somebody said something to the effect that New Yorkers feel this situation more that people who live further away. Well, I gotta tell you that I've never been to Oklahoma City but when that federal building was bombed and all those innocent people were killed, it hit me hard. So I know that even if you're not from NYC, you felt the impact hard too. Stuff like this can't be measured really.

 

[Mitty]

Nice post David.
I watched the special. Truth is, I hadn't planned on it, but when I heard De Niro was hosting, I figured he has enough integrity not to attach himself to anything exploitive.
I didn't watch it when it was aired. I taped it and just watched it last night. I wasn't even sure if I was gonna watch the whole thing, except that it was instantly compelling.
It takes about 45 minutes of set up to arrive at the actual event. I had a pit in my stomach as I watched, knowing what was just around the corner. I had that same sick feeling, slightly muted I suppose, that I carried around on the actual day as I watched the news like everyone else.
The selling point of this documentary is its POV. With very few exceptions, the entire special is compiled from footage shot by those two French filmmakers, augmented by talking heads (they do use a very limited amount of news footage). They could have padded it with other footage in an effort to fully "document" the events of the day, but they didn't. They also could have used re-enactment and B-roll footage that so many of these network docs use (I HATE those).
In the end, they could have also edited it in such a way as to artificially heighten the drama. They didn't. They understood that the material needed no such manipulation.
I can completely understand that people would not be ready to watch it, especially now, but maybe never. As I said, I went through a lot of the same feelings I had on that day, and I have no direct personal connection to the event at all.
Just think: as a "probie," he only cleared about $300 a week. Talk about earning your pay.

 

[Holadem]

Thomas, I appreciate your clarification. Even though I used to be resident of the city until 6 weeks ago, I still don't agree with your point of view, but that is what makes this country so great .
To go back on topic, I never saw the documentary in question, I wish I did.
--
Holadem