posted on September 12, 2001 04:38:18 PM new
Here is a copy of an email I just received from a customer in Norway. It really touched me.
Dear friends in the United States of America
In the last two days the whole world has been in shock over the terrible that happened in you country. To do things like this has no sense at all. You shall all know that all the people outside the States are in deep sorrow as your self. We feel sorrow for the people who lost their life, who lost their family members and their love ones. We hope all that the people that are behind this act will get their punishment. An act like this is hard to understand for us that are so fare away from you, but still so close in a time like this. Words in a time like this are hard to describe and to tell what we feel. But we feel the same sorrow and we are in deep shock………………….
posted on September 12, 2001 04:53:56 PM new
A real blessing to have someone in a far a way country take the time to offer sympathy.
Many of us have been blessed in this way and we are thankful for the positive sentiment.
posted on September 12, 2001 05:49:33 PM new
My husband is in Korea. He was supposed to fly home today. He says that they are gettin plenty of CNN news, but the local reaction is "why can't the strongest country in the world protect itself?" He trys to explain that we are an open and free society and this openess is what makes us vulnerable. To be safer we will have to sacrifice some of our personal freedoms. We may now have armed guards in airports and other public places, more personal searches before entering public places. He feels like he isn't just an individual, but he is the USA when in public there. He obviously stands out as a foreigner and he gets chilling looks. The Koreans he is with see the USA as being "weak." He is anxious to get home.
posted on September 12, 2001 06:35:55 PM new
margot- What you have relayed is scary. I hope the North Koreans and China aren't thinking the same thing.
posted on September 12, 2001 07:08:15 PM new
reamond: It is scary. The oriental mindset and culture is very different from ours. I, too, worry that others in the area may be perceiving us the same light as weak.
posted on September 12, 2001 11:49:53 PM new
My DIL talked to her grandfather in Indonesia tonight. He also said we are weak, and if we don't have the guts to push that button he'd be happy to do it for us.
posted on September 13, 2001 03:57:12 AM new
Well, we are weak, aren't we? Isn't this the nation that tied it's soldiers arms in Viet Nam? Don't kill women or children even tho they are carrying the bombs to kill you?
Turn the other cheek, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, even tho it usually does no good. Certainly did no good in Iraq!
We need to clean up our own act while we are figuring out which other countries are responsible.
Yes, it means turning into a partial police state, but it's either that or put up with more and more casualties. The terrorists were right here in America so that should be where we start. Obviously, we let anyone come into the country and thats one place to start.
So many unanswered questions here. How did they hyjack 4 planes with only knives? How did they get to the pilots when the cabins are supposed to be locked?
posted on September 13, 2001 08:03:37 AM new
Yes, we have become weak. Or perhaps the better word is soft. Not in military power, but in overall mindset. Someone enters our country, highjacks our planes, destroys two of our national symbols, killing tens of thousands of our people (not to mention the foreign nationals also in the WTC & on the planes)...and the reaction of many of our people is that we must try to understand why the terrorists did it! That *we* must change our ways so they won't do it again! Even more, that if/when we do find out exactly who is responsible for this atrocity, we shouldn't do anything about it because "innocent" people would be hurt. It's no wonder that other countries see us as weak. It's disgusting. If we *don't* take decisive action against those who did this & whatever country is harboring them, we can expect to see similar incidents again and again in the near future. Maybe not hijacking planes & crashing them. Perhaps nerve gas attacks. Or the release of deadly viruses or bacteria in heavily populated areas. Suicide bombers on buses. You name it. We'll have it.
posted on September 13, 2001 09:57:48 AM new
I don't think we're weak, but I do think we're too tolerant and maybe a little too giving.
One thing we have to do is find out what is wrong with our intelligents system. How can terrorists inflitrate and blend into our society and plan something like this? How and why are they so familiar with where to strike? This may be the biggest, but not the first.
We have to really take a stand, and do some heavy investigating into our internal workings. We have to take control and start doing what's best for us. If it means closing borders, halting immigration for a while so we can get a grip, so be it.
It's like with President Fox from Mexico telling us what we have to do for his country. Since when do we have other countries telling us what to do, and how long we have to do it?
