Do you remember 9/11?

[Sir Mohamed]

Yes. The day and the aftermath. Horrible. I was only 13 back then. It took a few years until I really became interested in that and learned about the complexity of this subject (politically).

[Mr. Smith]

Are you just intentionally making a poll to make us 20-something feel old as sh**t?

[dead0man]

OK, here's another question.  Before 9/11, how many of you:

1) Knew who Osama bin Laden was, and
2) Knew what the Taliban was.

Since I was already an adult (and a news junkie) in 2001, yes on both counts for me.  But I don't think that, for example, my mother had ever heard of either of them before 9/11, as she doesn't really follow world events that closely.  Of course, once 9/11 happened, name recognition for both bin Laden and the Taliban reached ~100% overnight.

I'm sure I had heard both names before, but no, I don't think I knew who Osama was or what the Taliban/AQ was.


and to the twentysomethings feeling old, STFU.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

OK, here's another question.  Before 9/11, how many of you:

1) Knew who Osama bin Laden was, and
2) Knew what the Taliban was.

Since I was already an adult (and a news junkie) in 2001, yes on both counts for me.  But I don't think that, for example, my mother had ever heard of either of them before 9/11, as she doesn't really follow world events that closely.  Of course, once 9/11 happened, name recognition for both bin Laden and the Taliban reached ~100% overnight.

I'm sure I had heard both names before, but no, I don't think I knew who Osama was or what the Taliban/AQ was.

Aren't you a former military guy?  That's what I think I recall from before I left here the first time.

[Mr. Morden]

While I don't think I recognized the term "al Qaeda" before 9/11, I knew who Osama bin Laden was, because he'd been talked about since the 1998 African embassy bombings.  And the Taliban had just recently been in the news in the summer of 2001, because of those Western aid workers who were jailed there.

[Blair]

I have a slight memory of my mum watching TV, and something important happening but I was only 4 at the time so it's a fragment at best.

I do remember 7/7 though

[Lumine]

Actually, I do. For whatever reason I didn't go to school that day (I was 6) and my grandmother was watching TV by the time our news began to report on what happened.

Apparently I took a large interest on the issue (leading to some embarrassing moments looking back), and I often tried to read about what was happening in Afghanistan and later, Iraq in the newspapers and magazine specials that came with them.

[dead0man]

Aren't you a former military guy?  That's what I think I recall from before I left here the first time.

Yes, USAF Vet.  Still work for the military.  I was in the same "bunker"* Dubya was that day, I was just at home sleeping when he was there (I work mids).  I also got to fondle the phone he used when we were prepping it to go to some museum a few months later.


*it's not a "bunker", more of a 3 story office building below ground.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

OK, here's another question.  Before 9/11, how many of you:

1) Knew who Osama bin Laden was, and
2) Knew what the Taliban was.

Taliban yes. I remember destruction of Buddhas of Bamiyan.

Osama no. I remember being surprised that it took very little time for TV to break who was responsible, given he hadn't claimed responsibility for a long time.

[Reaganfan]

Yes, of course I remember it.

Serious question: How young would a kid have been (on average) on 9/11 for them not to remember it 15 years later?  I have some fragmentary memories of when I was 3, but that was of course family stuff, as I didn't know anything about world events back then.  Would someone who was 6 on 9/11 have been aware of it, or been able to remember the day years later?  Where's the cutoff?

Interesting question.

Being born in 1990, the first political event I can vaguely remember anything from was the 1994 EU referendum in my country. But that's an 'outlier' though - other than that I can't remember any political/world event from until I was 7-8 years old.

I was born in 1988, and I have slight memories of the 1992 Presidential election. I remember the Waco Siege. Pretty much 1993-on is solid memories. But I was very into news as a kid.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Vividly

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

I was 7 around the time of 9/11 and I remember I was in school and all the sudden I heard my teacher being told to put on the television on the news and then that's when we saw both of the towers on fire and CNN was saying that there was a good possibility that we were under attack and my babysitter at the time came and picked me up from school early that day because she was worried that we could be under attack,

 I'm sure everyone remembers that everybody was paranoid that anything could have been attacked that day and I do remember that my dad was telling me that after they found out the culprits of the attack a lot of people who are friends of my dad turned on him because of that they were not afraid that he could be secretly plotting an attack and he almost lost his job because his boss was afraid of him too but as for me nothing happened to me I still can't believe 911 was 15 years ago.

[TDAS04]

Yes, very well.  I was in 8th Grade and I saw it on TV before I went to school.

[Grand Wizard Lizard of the Klan]

Yes.

[Mr. Reactionary]

They cancelled the PTA meeting at my school that night. I remember even as a 5th grader thinking that terrorists wouldn't bother atacking such a small meeting in bumbletown, nowhere.

[The Last Northerner]

I would say 2001-2003 was the most afraid the US was in my lifetime - even more than the 08 recession. You can't understand public opinion towards the Iraq invasion without understanding the post 9/11 paranoia. People were more than afraid of getting on a plane; they were ghastly terrified and rationalized that another attack like that could happen on them personally - even if they lived in the middle of nowhere. The whole 'Saddam will give WMDs to Al Queda to attack the US again' made sense to a lot of Americans.

[RightBehind]

I was in fourth grade. I knew something happened, and didn't understand the severity at the time. I was picked up after school and went home and saw it. I knew it was bad, but I initially didn't know it was that bad.

What sickens me is the people who seek to politicize 9/11 and also compare it to something they don't like.

[dead0man]

What sickens me is the people who seek to politicize 9/11 and also compare it to something they don't like.

Nickleback, the 9-11 of modern rock.
Gross, this sandwich tastes like September 11th.
That blue sweater totally looks like 9-11 on me.

Like that?

[NeverAgain]

I was one so I didn't really understand it until about 2004. I went to a Kerry rally with my parents and they talked and explained it (Bush Bad, Kerry Save 'Murica).

[Figueira]

Yes, of course I remember it.

Serious question: How young would a kid have been (on average) on 9/11 for them not to remember it 15 years later?  I have some fragmentary memories of when I was 3, but that was of course family stuff, as I didn't know anything about world events back then.  Would someone who was 6 on 9/11 have been aware of it, or been able to remember the day years later?  Where's the cutoff?

I was 6 on 9/11 and I definitely remember it. I think most Americans my age do as well.

[Classic Conservative]

I wasn't alive, but I knew about it in Preschool because my town had a lot of people who died on the planes.

[Reginald]

Vaguely. I was like eight and it was on TV while I was eating breakfast before school. Don't remember thinking anything sophisticated about it, and only one other kid in my class (other than the teacher of course) had even heard about it once I got to school. School didn't do any of the "gather around and watch the TV" either. Lol typical Oklahoma being tuned into the outside world.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I went through a pretty normal class of Physics in first period of my senior year. I went to second period: English and found a bunch of people talking "OMG did you hear what just happened?!" The bell rang...and the teacher just turned on the TV.

Oh and guess what, we actually had a prescheduled meeting in the auditorium that period about preparing for college applications or something. The speaker even said "Yeah I know you guys probably aren't too interested in this now..." before going over it quickly. Went back to class and watched the news the rest of the period...and then for every class the rest of the day.

[RightBehind]

What sickens me is the people who seek to politicize 9/11 and also compare it to something they don't like.

Nickleback, the 9-11 of modern rock.
Gross, this sandwich tastes like September 11th.
That blue sweater totally looks like 9-11 on me.

Like that?

That, and Bryan Fischer comparing Obergefell to it.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I remember the day vaguely, but I remember the immediate aftermath vividly. I was 5 years old at the time, so naturally it isn't all that clear.