911
By: Kayla Bonilla
What Happened?
On September 11th 2001, nineteen terrorists associated with the Islamic Extremist group al- Qaeda hijacked four airlines and committed suicide attacks in New York City. Two towers were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center, one hit the Pentagon, and another hit a field in Pennsylvania. Over 3,000 civilians and emergency response were killed. Al-Qaeda hoped.. by attacking these symbolic targets America would be in fear which would ultimately weaken the United States.
How They Saw it
- Media Portrayal
Air Defense
The North American Aerospace Demand Command (NORAD)is prepared to send out fighter jets during the times of a hijacking or attack on the nation. On September 11th generals of NORAD did state they were notified of the attacks which allowed them time to scramble jets. Some believe NORAD stood down because their presence was not seen or heard from during the attack.
Fake Calls
Civilians on the hijacked planes allegedly called home to their families. Some conspiracist say these calls were staged. There was no way they could have had signal at the altitude they were flying. They spoke of a call that was placed to a man's mom. The man stated his first and last name to his own mother.
America's Opinion
As far as America knows the attacks were directed only toward the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Few people know that there was a fourth plane. America focuses primarily on the leader of the attack, Osama Bin Laden. Focus on the actual terrorists who hijacked the planes are not prevalent. We see what the media allows us to see which potentially leaves us less informed than the government or any other official.
Cultural Criticism
After the attacks of 911, prejudice toward Muslim Americas increased tremendously. Americans walked by a Muslim and assumed they were associated with Al-Qaeda. This lead to negative stereotypes that are still looming today. Muslims were given attitudes and some people did not even want to be in the same room as them. In America's eyes Muslims were all terrorists.
My Thoughts
September 11th was indeed a horrid event. I do not believe this was an outside attack. The government was just as surprised as we were. They could not have done anything more to protect the United States of America. They acted in a timely manner and did everything they could. We learned from these attacks, in fact; Homeland Security was developed through this event. We now take precautions which has allowed us to become a safer and better nation. Through this event, we grew not only as a nation but as citizens of the United States.
IMG 9566
Works Cited
"9/11 Attacks." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 5 May 2015.
"The 11 Most Compelling 9/11 Conspiracy Theories." News One RSS. 11 Sept. 2012. Web. 5 May 2015.
"The Saliency Bias and 9/11: Is America Recovering? - The New Yorker." The New Yorker. 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 5 May 2015.