email404.xml
Title
email404.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
email
Date Entered
2002-08-19
September 11 Email: Body
hey doctor.
i don't even know what to say. it's so awful, shocking, frightening. i woke up this morning to someone on npr talking about the pentagon being hit, then heard about the wtc, and finally woke up enough to turn on the tv as i began to think the whole country was being attacked. i spent about 3 hours watching all the various confused coverage. i must have seen the footage of that second plane's impact and then the collapsing first tower 50 times at least. finally i came into work, and it was weird to see the city going about its business. watching tv it had seemed much more immediate, so getting out of the house was probably a good idea. people are freaked out, of course, and schools and some businesses are closed, but for the most part things are going on as usual. i can't even imagine how it must feel to be in manhattan now, how traumatized the entire populace must be. it's really amazing to think how quickly everything can change. what other circumstances could paralyze the entire country this way (air travel shut down completely, stock market closed)?
almost as frightening is the possible aftermath. the bush people will want to find whoever's responsible immediately - and, failing that, somebody who can reasonably take the blame - and bomb them off the map. violence must, after all, be met with violence. they'll need a scapegoat fairly quickly. already i have heard a republican congressman telling us to forget about spending for education and healthcare because that money should be going toward the military. in some obvious ways, this situation plays into the hands of the military-industrial complex, and the clownish politicians who represent their interests. the only political presence i saw who wasn't spouting rhetoric and vowing to "get the bastards who did this" was rudy giuliani; he was of course indignant, but admirably poised and reassuring, and focused on rescue efforts. truthfully i would like to be able to get behind bush and co. - and if osama bin laden turns out to be responsible, well, if you're going to obliterate a government it might as well be the taliban - but the whole thing seems like an endless cycle of brutality.
it's all so sad, and it gets sadder as the day goes on, as the whole thing becomes more real, less surreal. i'm sorry you have to be there, amid all the horror and confusion. i hope that you take good care of yourself.
love,
pete
-----Original Message-----
From: rustym@mindspring.com [mailto:rustym@mindspring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 1:10 PM
To: Paul Couey
Subject:
pete,
it is so amazingly unsettled in the city today. i walked out this morning right after the first crash and saw the second plane hit the other tower of the trade center. i have a full view of the buildings from my corner and watched them for a long time. the streets were full of people. i have never seen anything like it in my life.
now, it is so unreal to look downtown and see smoke and debris in the air rather than the two buildings. the whole city, except for rescue services, has stopped. i am at the hospital and no one is working in the auxiliary service areas. the er area is lined up with ambulances.
i went back over to my apartment which is near st. vincent's hospital, which is the trauma center for the lower part of manhattan. the scene there looks like a war zone. sixth and seventh avenues are closed except for emercency services. there has been a constant sound of sirens since right after 9 am. it is such a sad day for us all.
it is unbelievable to think that we are no longer safe. i think we should not allow any people into our country except for u.s. ciizens, at least for some period of time. the city is on full emergency alert with all bridges, tunnels, and subways closed into the city. just a few outlets out of the city are open and the city is emptying out...feels so weird.
and just think, we have bush trying to figure this out and make decisions for us. what a frightful idea. he is SUCH a fool.
anyway, i am sad and in shock. hope you are well.
xor
i don't even know what to say. it's so awful, shocking, frightening. i woke up this morning to someone on npr talking about the pentagon being hit, then heard about the wtc, and finally woke up enough to turn on the tv as i began to think the whole country was being attacked. i spent about 3 hours watching all the various confused coverage. i must have seen the footage of that second plane's impact and then the collapsing first tower 50 times at least. finally i came into work, and it was weird to see the city going about its business. watching tv it had seemed much more immediate, so getting out of the house was probably a good idea. people are freaked out, of course, and schools and some businesses are closed, but for the most part things are going on as usual. i can't even imagine how it must feel to be in manhattan now, how traumatized the entire populace must be. it's really amazing to think how quickly everything can change. what other circumstances could paralyze the entire country this way (air travel shut down completely, stock market closed)?
almost as frightening is the possible aftermath. the bush people will want to find whoever's responsible immediately - and, failing that, somebody who can reasonably take the blame - and bomb them off the map. violence must, after all, be met with violence. they'll need a scapegoat fairly quickly. already i have heard a republican congressman telling us to forget about spending for education and healthcare because that money should be going toward the military. in some obvious ways, this situation plays into the hands of the military-industrial complex, and the clownish politicians who represent their interests. the only political presence i saw who wasn't spouting rhetoric and vowing to "get the bastards who did this" was rudy giuliani; he was of course indignant, but admirably poised and reassuring, and focused on rescue efforts. truthfully i would like to be able to get behind bush and co. - and if osama bin laden turns out to be responsible, well, if you're going to obliterate a government it might as well be the taliban - but the whole thing seems like an endless cycle of brutality.
it's all so sad, and it gets sadder as the day goes on, as the whole thing becomes more real, less surreal. i'm sorry you have to be there, amid all the horror and confusion. i hope that you take good care of yourself.
love,
pete
-----Original Message-----
From: rustym@mindspring.com [mailto:rustym@mindspring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 1:10 PM
To: Paul Couey
Subject:
pete,
it is so amazingly unsettled in the city today. i walked out this morning right after the first crash and saw the second plane hit the other tower of the trade center. i have a full view of the buildings from my corner and watched them for a long time. the streets were full of people. i have never seen anything like it in my life.
now, it is so unreal to look downtown and see smoke and debris in the air rather than the two buildings. the whole city, except for rescue services, has stopped. i am at the hospital and no one is working in the auxiliary service areas. the er area is lined up with ambulances.
i went back over to my apartment which is near st. vincent's hospital, which is the trauma center for the lower part of manhattan. the scene there looks like a war zone. sixth and seventh avenues are closed except for emercency services. there has been a constant sound of sirens since right after 9 am. it is such a sad day for us all.
it is unbelievable to think that we are no longer safe. i think we should not allow any people into our country except for u.s. ciizens, at least for some period of time. the city is on full emergency alert with all bridges, tunnels, and subways closed into the city. just a few outlets out of the city are open and the city is emptying out...feels so weird.
and just think, we have bush trying to figure this out and make decisions for us. what a frightful idea. he is SUCH a fool.
anyway, i am sad and in shock. hope you are well.
xor
September 11 Email: Date
9/11/01
September 11 Email: Subject
Collection
Citation
“email404.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 6, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/39026.