story264.xml
Title
story264.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-03-17
911DA Story: Story
Like millions of other people I was watching the Today show when they cut away to the shot of the first plane hitting the tower. Perhaps like some others, my first reaction was that it must be an accident; the plane looked small in the TV shot and so I assumed it must be a commuter plane. But when the second plane hit, that optimistic assumption about an accident was shattered.
As I headed out to work, I thought that it would be interesting to collect online reactions to the unfolding events and "flashbulb memories." But I worried that such an effort might be seen as exploitative of the tragedy.
My tendency to minimize or underestimate the scope or the events continued. When we heard on the car radio, a report of fire at the Pentagon, I suggested that it must by hysteria--how could something simultaneously be happening in Northern Virginia. Later, when I heard speculation that the WTC might collapse, I dismissed that as well.
It was all much worse than I or anyone could have assumed.
As I headed out to work, I thought that it would be interesting to collect online reactions to the unfolding events and "flashbulb memories." But I worried that such an effort might be seen as exploitative of the tragedy.
My tendency to minimize or underestimate the scope or the events continued. When we heard on the car radio, a report of fire at the Pentagon, I suggested that it must by hysteria--how could something simultaneously be happening in Northern Virginia. Later, when I heard speculation that the WTC might collapse, I dismissed that as well.
It was all much worse than I or anyone could have assumed.
Collection
Citation
“story264.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 19, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/5984.