It's already been mentioned in a few places but I can't remember feeling so bad about the Turkish earthquake victims, or Bophal (sp), Cambodia etc etc. Why?.

I'll tell ya why....cos we never actually saw it happening step-by-step on TV. Most of us don't actually like flying do we....Feck me...I'm due to get on a plane to Germany on Tuesady and as God is my witness...ANY Arab looking person on that plane better not move...not even to have a pee.

Now...it's football tomorrow and we're gonna pan yer slimey Geordie arses :-)

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

Answers

It's affecting us because of the intense media coverage.

Pan our arses? "You'll not be singing anymore" when we do another 3 - 0 over yer tommorow , you glory hunter hunters need to be taken down a peg or two.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

Probably because we are all unwittingly racist and the fact such a thing could happen to a "civilised" nation frightens the life out of us.

Best of luck for the game tomorrow, beardy.

ML

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

Lanky - it used to be called the Gook factor.

Blanc is going to have a nightmare

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

Because of the intense media coverage and the fact that we saw it live - with no warning.

Hope Veron doesn't play tomorrow....

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

See the 'Is it too early ...' thread for my feelings on the matter.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

I hope Veron does play , so we can chant "What a waste of money" at the LR lookalike.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

How come a ML3 knows how good looking I am :-)

Bobby...Blanc was a dream last week. Stand-by for a French Revolution.

Rik...Juan Sebastian Veron...Twenty eight mill'on....all well spent. Tomorrow U will see why. He's like feckin' Eric.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

LR - dunno about you, but it seemd so much more close to me. I've stood on the top (well, not quite the top you understand) of the WTC. I've also walked those streets below (only a few short months ago). I have the pictures on my PC (the first I took with my new digital camera). I flew out of Newark last time I was over there.

But for the grace of God, it could have been me. That's what brought it home to me. Not (I hope) in a selfish way. Just that I could identify very closely with those who suffered. Their circumstances were not a lot different from mine.

Bophal, Turkey and the like are so remote. Very little in common with me (and the rest of the Western World). It probably is selfish, but that's what makes it so much more real to us - plus the fact it was so horribly played out on the media.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

My theory is similar to Screach's. Part of it must be personal for so many who've been to these places or have friends/family/coworkers over here. But I also wonder if part of it is a subconscious sense that maybe the US really was somehow untouchable on it's own soil. And the fact that not only was the country hit, but hit in the most highly visible and horrific manner, maybe shakes people up that much more. If it can happen in NYC and Washington, DC there really is no safe place. Anywhere. After food and air, safety/security is probably one of the most basic human needs.

Dunno, just an idea that's been floating around in my head. Probably spouting a load of cack, but there ya go.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

Because, unlike any natural disaster, this was a well planned attack on the most powerful political and economic state in the world. A state whose major cities have never been attacked, not even in WW2. This is not to be equated with victims of an earthquake. Its by far the most significant event since the end of the Cold War, its ramifications will live with us for years and years to come. And its far from over, the US is gearing up for a war. Reserves are being called up. Public opinion is being prepared for a conflict. America's allies are getting nervous and the stock markets are in freefall. These are very dangerous times we are living in, thats why it affects us all. It puts everything else in terrible perspective.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

Scale. Hi-jacks resulting in the loss of all the passengers are always deeply shocking. Plane crashes are always upsetting. Planes crashing on built up areas even more so as we saw in the Netherlands and Germany in recent years. To have 4 simultaneous hi-jacks leading to deliberate crashes and buildings collapsing with thousands inside is simply beyong imagining. This didn't need the media to make it a big event. I'm still afraid to travel by train in the UK and we had no footage of those train crashes, just the everyday experience of travelling that same stretch of track. It's partly the "could have been me", but also the "shouldn't have been anyone". Natural disasters and accidents are harrowing enough but ordinary people brutally drawn into events like this are teh stuff of nightmare.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

I understand Screach.....It was the same for me at the time of the Kursk. I rememeber how I felt when we had an ingress of water for the 1st and only time thank God...and then when I heard about the Kursk........'mare.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

For me it's the harrowing personal accounts with relatives recanting the victims last words and those poor souls searching for fathers, mothers, brothers & sisters. I keep thinking what it would be like to have a member of my family involved, very upsetting.

-- Anonymous, September 15, 2001

Because it could've been you, me, your mother, father, brother, sister, cousin, anyone who happened to be in the buildings or anywhere near.

430 companies worked in the WTC. 26 nations.

-- Anonymous, September 15, 2001

Quite simply it affects us because we are the unofficial 51st state of America(or is it 52?) This was an attack on the entire western world in which we are a major player despite europes influence. Tonight i was in the taxi queue at the central station as it was very noticable how many people would not get into an asian taxi and how few asian taxis were around .A normal saturday night would see approx 70% asian taxi drivers.Tonight i would guess there was under 30%.Of course my figures are completey open to arguement but the feeling i got was that the general public are suspicios of muslims now.I know i will be labelled as racist for this but that is not my intention.As an aside i also noticed that people were talking about tuesday and realising that life can be taken away at any time.The act on tuesday seems to be bringing about a new tolerance in the general public around here.long may it continue but not at a price to anyone.

-- Anonymous, September 15, 2001

Sadly there are numerous reports of harrassment of Muslims over here. There was an interview with a woman today who is 3rd generation American born, has photos of her parents standing with President Eisenhower, and she spoke of not being able to allow her children outside to play due to threats, one of her sons being beaten up in school, how they keep their windows and curtains closed lest someone throw something through them. The idiots doing these things are probably also running around dressed in red, white and blue and waving flags. They don't even know the meaning of it.

-- Anonymous, September 15, 2001