Is anyone actually scared about a terrorist attack?

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blackredyellow
blackredyellow Posts: 5,889
edited September 2006 in A Moving Train
In the news and political world in the US, it seems a majority of the discussion is about terrorism, fighting terrorism, preventing attacks, etc, like it's the number one cause of death in this country. Are people actually scared of getting killed by terrorist in their daily lives?

Besides the first time that I flew after 9/11 (like a month later) I thought about it for a minute, but besides that, I don't think I have spent a second of my life worrying about being killed in a terrorist attack. There is probably more of a chance that I will get killed by a runaway elephant on street than a terrorist. I just can't understand why terrorism is THE issue in our lives today.
My whole life
was like a picture
of a sunny day
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― Abraham Lincoln
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Comments

  • ledvedderman
    ledvedderman Posts: 7,762
    All very good points, I think the fact that when it creeps into your brain it scares the hell out of you. It's like when you are at a ballgame, say at the beautiful new Busch Stadium in St. Louis, it will sneak in your mind that "someone could do a lot of damage if they decided to use this for an attack"
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  • Ms. Haiku
    Ms. Haiku Washington DC Posts: 7,368
    I listened to the news this morning, and this story came on. I knew as a country the USA is scared, but I didn't know we were that scared.
    There is no such thing as leftover pizza. There is now pizza and later pizza. - anonymous
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  • robbie
    robbie Posts: 883
    there are plenty of people SO afraid of trorroists that they are willing to give up civil liberties in order to feel safer. i dont get it either, it must suck to live in fear holed up in the house with plastic and duct tape on the windows and doors.
  • RockinInCanada
    RockinInCanada Posts: 2,016
    If you are scared the terrorists are winning...are they not....????


    As to the question, the day after 9/11 (for that matter even during the day i wasn't) I still wasn't scared and still am not....
  • jlew24asu
    jlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    blackredyellow wrote:
    In the news and political world in the US, it seems a majority of the discussion is about terrorism, fighting terrorism, preventing attacks, etc, like it's the number one cause of death in this country. Are people actually scared of getting killed by terrorist in their daily lives?

    Besides the first time that I flew after 9/11 (like a month later) I thought about it for a minute, but besides that, I don't think I have spent a second of my life worrying about being killed in a terrorist attack. There is probably more of a chance that I will get killed by a runaway elephant on street than a terrorist. I just can't understand why terrorism is THE issue in our lives today.

    I dont know where you live. if I lived on a farm in central Iowa, no, it wouldnt really cross my mind.

    I live in downtown chicago. I live in a high condo next to the next trump building which will be 90 stories high. I work in a high office tower 3 blocks from the sears tower. I ride the subway regularly as well as chicago mass transit system. I also fly on business 5-10 days a month. I wouldnt go as far as saying i'm scared to walk out my door, but I am concerned that it could happen in my city. and I support the government for going overseas to fight them on the streets of baghdad and khandahar instead of the streets I live on. terrorists are determined to attack us, even if you choose not to believe that.
  • Meatwagon
    Meatwagon Posts: 108
    I would call it awareness more than fear. But fear is more profitable;)
    Axis of justice.com
  • OneLove
    OneLove Posts: 563
    I think Americans have developed a warped sense of reality post 9/11.

    That said, for most of us, the actual threat of a terrorist attack is quite small. Not much chance they'd hit some small town in the midwest, you know?

    For those who live in the areas which would be desireable targets, I can sort of understand being a bit apprehensive (living in the DC area, you do think about it on occasion). There are certainly more people who want to hurt us now than prior to 9/11. I certainly don't let it affect my daily life though.

    I think if you are scared, they win right? Seems that the current administration and the terrorists have something in common in that respect.
  • RockinInCanada
    RockinInCanada Posts: 2,016
    jlew24asu wrote:
    I dont know where you live. if I lived on a farm in central Iowa, no, it wouldnt really cross my mind.

    I live in downtown chicago. I live in a high condo next to the next trump building which will be 90 stories high. I work in a high office tower 3 blocks from the sears tower. I ride the subway regularly as well as chicago mass transit system. I wouldnt go as far as saying i'm scared to walk out my door, but I am concerned that it could happen in my city. and I support the government for going overseas to fight them on the streets of baghdad and khandahar instead of the streets I live on.

    However does that not leave the door open for them to attack you since effectively your country is attacking them???

    To me that gives them more ammo. than before.....such that they can come overseas and take the battle to you....funny as this pro-war logic, to me at the very least, can go both ways...two sides bent on killing each other....no matter where you are they want to kill you....both sides the pro-war and Fundanutalists go hand-in-hand with each other....both with the same idiotic goals that will only lead to innocent death.....makes me shake my head everytime....
  • blackredyellow
    blackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    jlew24asu wrote:
    I dont know where you live. if I lived on a farm in central Iowa, no, it wouldnt really cross my mind.

    I live in Albany now, but have lived in Pittsburgh until this past year. Since 9/11 every job I have had was either at an airline, or in a sports arena/stadium. Not exactly in a high rise in NYC, but it's not like I have been in the middle of nowhere.

    jlew24asu wrote:
    ...and I support the government for going overseas to fight them on the streets of baghdad and khandahar instead of the streets I live on. terrorists are determined to attack us, even if you choose not to believe that.

    That line of thinking blows me away... Going overseas to fight them on the streets of baghdad is actually producing more terrorists that want to kill us.

    edit - I originally forgot to take out "khandahar" when I cut an pasted... I actually agreed with going into Afghanistan
    My whole life
    was like a picture
    of a sunny day
    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
    ― Abraham Lincoln
  • jlew24asu
    jlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    Rockin'InCanada wrote:
    However does that not leave the door open for them to attack you since effectively your country is attacking them???

    To me that gives them more ammo. than before.....such that they can come overseas and take the battle to you....funny as this pro-war logic, to me at the very least, can go both ways...two sides bent on killing each other....no matter where you are they want to kill you....both sides the pro-war and Fundanutalists go hand-in-hand with each other....both with the same idiotic goals that will only lead to innocent death.....makes me shake my head everytime....


    I cant argue with "fighting" for peace. peace is a good thing. what I am refering to is el queda. If we didnt go to afghanastan, osama and co. would still have a base of operations and camps to train people to come to america and attack.
  • ledvedderman
    ledvedderman Posts: 7,762
    jlew24asu wrote:
    I dont know where you live. if I lived on a farm in central Iowa, no, it wouldnt really cross my mind.

    I live in downtown chicago. I live in a high condo next to the next trump building which will be 90 stories high. I work in a high office tower 3 blocks from the sears tower. I ride the subway regularly as well as chicago mass transit system. I also fly on business 5-10 days a month. I wouldnt go as far as saying i'm scared to walk out my door, but I am concerned that it could happen in my city. and I support the government for going overseas to fight them on the streets of baghdad and khandahar instead of the streets I live on. terrorists are determined to attack us, even if you choose not to believe that.

    If I were you I would feel better in knowing that Larry Silverstein, who owned the World Trade Center Building, now owns the Sears Tower. I hope that building isn't an investment like the previous was, I think that man knew something was up, and he saw billions of dollars could go into his pocket very easily
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  • jlew24asu
    jlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    ledvedderman wrote:
    If I were you I would feel better in knowing that Larry Silverstein, who owned the World Trade Center Building, now owns the Sears Tower. I hope that building isn't an investment like the previous was, I think that man knew something was up, and he saw billions of dollars could go into his pocket very easily


    thats an unbelieveable thing to say. you actually believe he plotted to destroy the trade center, and according to you, now the sears tower?
  • RockinInCanada
    RockinInCanada Posts: 2,016
    jlew24asu wrote:
    I cant argue with "fighting" for peace. peace is a good thing. what I am refering to is el queda. If we didnt go to afghanastan, osama and co. would still have a base of operations and camps to train people to come to america and attack.

    I will give you that the Taliban ran the country and openly houses Al Queda..I respect that aspect of your arguement (as you alluded to in a response in the Bush thread)...

    To me though "fighting for peace" in this current Iraqi scenerio is a pipe dream....to win I believe you need to drop the fight and ante up the peace.....
  • jlew24asu
    jlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    Rockin'InCanada wrote:
    I will give you that the Taliban ran the country and openly houses Al Queda..I respect that aspect of your arguement (as you alluded to in a response in the Bush thread)...

    To me though "fighting for peace" in this current Iraqi scenerio is a pipe dream....to win I believe you need to drop the fight and ante up the peace.....


    for Iraq yes. to a safe haven for the taliban and el qeuda, no.

    I believe once Iraq can defend itself and work out its relgious differences we should leave. more and more I'm starting to hear about iraqis killing iraqis. el queda seems to have died out since we got the leader. its sad what has happened to that country. and yes, we are partially to blame. we should now do what we can to build a country and leave. IMO
  • homeratbat
    homeratbat Posts: 219
    i think people are afraid and of course it is something that should be thought about but not to the point where people are willing to give up their human rights for it! which sadly i think many americans are and have been willing to do....i do not agree that it has worked going overseas to fight over countries because the a$$holes who destroyed the WTC are still out there and can still plan to attack the usa at anytime! to me the iraq war has done nothing to make the usa safer
  • mrwalkerb
    mrwalkerb Posts: 1,015
    Rockin'InCanada wrote:
    to win I believe you need to drop the fight and ante up the peace.....


    great line but I think they (americans) are just too far in now to worry about diplomacy, I'm not sure they ever could have done that anyways there must be some middle ground between where we are and where we should be that we can at least work towards as a start though.
    "I'm not suicidal, except when I drink. That's why we don't all drink at the same time, there'd be no-one alive to drive home..."
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  • ledvedderman
    ledvedderman Posts: 7,762
    jlew24asu wrote:
    thats an unbelieveable thing to say. you actually believe he plotted to destroy the trade center, and according to you, now the sears tower?

    With what I have come to conclude after my studies of this whole "9/11 Conspiracy" is that this man decided to "pull" World Trade Center 7, there is some evidence of a possible pull on the twin towers (that I am not sure of).

    It was well-known by the city of New York that the WTC was an asbestos bombshell. For years, the Port Authority treated the building like an aging dinosaur, attempting on several occasions to get permits to demolish the building for liability reasons, but being turned down due the known asbestos problem. Further, it was well-known the only reason the building was still standing until 9/11 was because it was too costly to disassemble the twin towers floor by floor since the Port Authority was prohibited legally from demolishing the buildings.

    Silverstein took out a $3.5 billion dollar insurance policy against terrorism not long before the towers fell. After the buildings came crashing down, he filed 2 seperate claims for the maximum of $3.5 billion because of there being two seperate acts of terror. He was trying to make $3.5 billion off of this national tragedy. That doesn't speak a lot for the type of person he is.
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  • chopitdown
    chopitdown Posts: 2,222
    Rockin'InCanada wrote:
    As to the question, the day after 9/11 (for that matter even during the day i wasn't) I still wasn't scared and still am not....

    that's b/c you live in Northern canada...nobody wants to go up there...there's nothing to hijack...they gonna melt your igloo? ;)

    I'm pretty much in the same boat. I'm not scared of a terrorist attack, the thoughts creep in, but to me, fear of a terrorist attack is when you purposely don't do things b/c of the threat of attack. You can't live every day in fear of something. I'm much more likely to do driving on the road, and that doesn't stop me or cause me fear.
    make sure the fortune that you seek...is the fortune that you need
  • acutejam
    acutejam Posts: 1,433
    I don't buy into the "give them more ammo, give them more reasons" meme -- they're going do what they wanna. We responded to African Embassy Attacks, the U.S.S. Cole got hit -- we didn't respond to the Cole incident AT ALL, and we got Sept 11. Now it can certainly be argued our overall methodology and policies worldwide are creating reasons for them to attack us, but I would still argue they just rationalize actions they wanna do anyways. It's their major recruitment tactic and has little to do with us, IMHO.

    One day it's our policy in the mideast, next it's Palestine specifically, then lebabon, then troops on "holy ground," then treatment of muslims in Russia -- Why they even slammed us for going into Kosovo and HELPING the muslims there! We got no credit for that! There's always something their gonna wanna complain about and rather than (or as well as) work it out in discussion, they resort to violence. Talk about old men sending the young off to die....

    I am not scared personally about getting taken out in a terrorist attack, but yes, I do fear them striking Western Civilization again. I live near a major port and some major American icons that could probably be on a target list. I fear what one nuke on a container ship could do. I fear that a nuke will go off within the next five to ten years near a major city in the world.

    I do not duct tape my windows, avoid ballgames or theme parks, but I keep my family emergency supplies up-to-date (heck I live in earthquake country, no-brainer) and have an emergency kit in my car trunk at all times. I keep my gas tank nearly full at all times (again, earthquake country).

    The only change in my life personally is that I am a lot more vocal like thus.

    And yes, I think the Islamic Fascists are winning right now. But not because I fear them, but because too many folks do not.... We have absolutely nothing in place to deal with their 10-20-50-500 year plans. We are concerned with quarterly profits, seasonal tv series, yearly taxes, and electing officials every few years.

    We'll pass on huge debts to our grandchildren with out blinking an eye, why would this issue be any different?
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  • jlew24asu
    jlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    ledvedderman wrote:
    With what I have come to conclude after my studies of this whole "9/11 Conspiracy" is that this man decided to "pull" World Trade Center 7, there is some evidence of a possible pull on the twin towers (that I am not sure of).

    It was well-known by the city of New York that the WTC was an asbestos bombshell. For years, the Port Authority treated the building like an aging dinosaur, attempting on several occasions to get permits to demolish the building for liability reasons, but being turned down due the known asbestos problem. Further, it was well-known the only reason the building was still standing until 9/11 was because it was too costly to disassemble the twin towers floor by floor since the Port Authority was prohibited legally from demolishing the buildings.

    Silverstein took out a $3.5 billion dollar insurance policy against terrorism not long before the towers fell. After the buildings came crashing down, he filed 2 seperate claims for the maximum of $3.5 billion because of there being two seperate acts of terror. He was trying to make $3.5 billion off of this national tragedy. That doesn't speak a lot for the type of person he is.


    I have on idea if the trade center was on a list to be demolished. I find that hard to believe. but since you say it, it must be true.

    so what that he took out a policy against terrorism. its no secret those buildings were targets. happened in 93 remember. he filed the claims becuase he paid for the policy. and guess what he plans to use the money for? ready for this shocker.... please read the last line carefully.

    source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Silverstein


    September 11, 2001 attacks
    When the attacks occurred at 9:30AM, Silverstein was at home debating with his wife about plans to move his headquarters to the 88th floor of the North Tower (One World Trade Center). His son Roger was at 7 World Trade Center but was not hurt. [citation needed]


    Dispute with Insurers
    As a private developer with a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center, Silverstein insured the property. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, he sought payment for the destruction of the towers as two incidents. The two dozen insurers held that it was one incident. If it were considered to be a single incident, the payout would be $3.55 billion and if it were two incidents, it would be $7.1 billion. Silverstein sued the insurers. On December 6, 2004, a federal jury ruled in favor of Silverstein giving him an additional $1.1 billion from nine insurers, declaring it to be two "occurrences". [6] However, in a previous trial, a different federal jury delivered a mixed verdict which highly favored insurers on April 29, 2004 [7]

    At dispute in the trial were interpretation of standard forms used in the application for property insurance and when particular insurers saw which documents.[8]

    In total, Silverstein was awarded nearly $5 billion in insurance money following the destruction of the Twin Towers [9]. He plans to use some or all of the settlement to rebuild. [10]








    what did you thing he was going to do with the claim? split it up between him and George W and all the other conspirtors?

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