[Laura W.]

To people not born or living in the United States: What is your opinion regarding the terrorist attacks Sept. 11 in New York and Washington, D.C.? Did we deserve it? Should we have seen it coming? What should we do about it?

User Detail :  

Name : Laura W., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 40, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Systems Analyst, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jane C.]

Did you deserve it? - No. No one who died that day, or who lost friends or family, deserved those horrors - no one who lived in New York deserved to see the centre of their city shattered like that. I have total admiration for Rudi Guilani and other New Yorkers who have pulled together in the face of such a tragicatastrophe. Should you have seen it coming? - Yes, possibly. Not the attack itself - I don't think anyone could have foreseen that 4 people (or more - but they seem to think now only the pilots were definitely volunteers for suicide) could have been willing to kill themselves and take up to ten thousand people with them. But that there exist people in the Middle East who have justifiable reasons to hate the US government for what it has done to their countries - the despotic regimes propped up and the arms sold, while the US talks about democracy and freedom - that, the American people should have been more aware of. What should you do about it? - You should never have bombed Afghanistan. Not helpful, but true: killing innocent civilians by dozens (at least) in direct raids, and possibly by millions because aid cannot get through under the bombing, will not do anything to lessen the threat of terrorism. You could write to your Representative or your Senator (or your President) and tell him (or her) that bombing Afghanistan isn't making you any safer. I don't think that will do any good now, though - things have gone bad and will get worse. You could support RAWA (www.rawa.org), you could donate to UNICEF, you could learn more about American foreign policy from the point of view of non-Americans. But no, you did not deserve what happened on September 11th. No more than the people of Afghanistan deserved what happened to them on October 7th and is still happening now.

User Detail :  

Name : Jane C., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 34, City : Edinburgh, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Nehal Patel]

No country or people deserve what happened on Sept. 11th. It was an appaling act of murder and is condemned by mostly everyone I know. However, a Muslim friend of mine actually thinks what happened was justified, which I thought was pretty shocking. He believes that the US had it coming to them, because of their acts in the past against other countries and cultures, namely Islamic countries, and the Islam faith. Sept. 11th was somebody rising up against a corrupt, and racist superpower. Although I completely dismissed his views as ridiculous, in a strange way I felt that there was some truth to it. MAYBE America WAS a racist nation. MAYBE somebody was finally going against this wrong nation. And MAYBE I agreed with it. But then I remembered thousands of innocent lives being lost in the attrocities. There was NO way that that could be right. So in answer to your question, most of us non-Americans do not think that what happened was deserved, and most of us strongly condemn it. One question though: Why was it not picked up by the US Intelligence agencies? If it happened in any other Western country e.g. UK, France, Russia, and many other countries e.g. China, Japan, India, it would have been realised, so why not in the 'greatest country in the world?'

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Name : Nehal Patel, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Indian in ethnic origin, British in nationality, Religion : Hindu, Age : 16, City : Leicester, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : College Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[I.B. Maluleka]

What Americans need is the ability to 'put oneself in the shoes of another.' Without this, I'm afraid there's more to come. The United States has a wonderful Constitution, so we're told. All the time we hear about 'our Founding Fathers blah blah blah' - if 'our Founding Fathers' said 'Thou shalt pee in the streets,' what right would U.S. policymakers have to force that value on other nations?

Secondly there's this Big Brother-like attitude. Honestly, will the bombings in Afghanistan make little Mohamed repentant, or is it going to turn him into another Bin Laden (if he's the culprit)? In other words, what is this going to accomplish?

We're where we are today courtesy of the decisions our forefathers made a long time ago. I thought we'd evolved enough to see that. I can only be grateful that I live in the southern tip of the African continent.

User Detail :  

Name : I.B. Maluleka, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 23, City : Johannesburg, State : NA Country : South Africa, Occupation : Information technology, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[noha]

did you deserve it? no not civilians but maybe some of the decision makers that impose their american control on other countries especially here in the middle east,those who support racist killings of innocent civilians of palestine and those who want to shut everyone who's not acting for american interests up.should you have seen it coming? defenitly ,how america treats other COUNTRIES who never asked for help and how other human rights other than americans' are neglected surely forecastes such acts and provokes such hatred. what should you do about it ? protest against international discrimination,war on iraq,racism and killing of palastinians,support of israel only then there'll be no such justified hatred.

User Detail :  

Name : noha, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Muslim, Age : 16, City : cairo, State : NA Country : Egypt, Occupation : student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

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