Guest guest Posted September 12, 2001 Report Share Posted September 12, 2001 Yesterday I took the subway to Manhatta and walked around for several hours. I wanted to experience the feeling of community that springs up when a disaster occurs. I expected to find strangers talking to each other with the feeling that we are all in this thing together. I also wanted to see the disaster and visit a hospital to donate blood. In the afternoon my local subway line was working so I went to Times Square, the center of Manhattan. The train was delayed and people began to talk. I expected them to talk about the disaster, but mostly they talked about the delay. One woman was going to her office to work. I said that surely the office is closed. She said she is responsible for something at work and she has to go and unfortunately she can't call them for a reason that I didn't understand. She seemed to be an intelligent, capable, mature person who was acting irrationally. Three men including the subway driver were standing at the front of the train talking animatedly about the delay. I mentioned the World Trade Center, and for a moment they talked about it. But then the conversation shifted to an earthquake in Greece that one of the men had witnessed. It was as if the World Trade Center itself was too big a topic. Everybody was cheerful. There was no sense of disaster. Nobody talked about who might have done it, or what the government might do in response, or how life in the United States will change, or how many people had died, or anything of that kind. While we talked, the plume of smoke was visible through the train windows (we were stopped on an elevated track). I reached Times Square, the heart of Manhattan. Manhattan is an island and the mayor had closed all the bridges and tunnels. Police everwhere. There was no traffic on most streets, and people were using them as pedestrian malls. It was a beautiful day. People were strolling, smiling, pointing into store windows, just enjoying a beautiful day. The smoke from the burning buildings was visible in the sky, but almost nobody was looking at it. The sense of community that I anticipated did not exist. Nobody was talking to other people. It was like an ordinary holiday. Maybe people didn't realize yet how large this event was. The world's superpower is now at war, a war of a new kind, and large events will follow. Maybe people realize that things have changed too fast for their ideas to keep up, and so they keep quiet. Or maybe it was because many of the people were tourists from other countries visiting the United States. It's hard to tell whether people are visitors or residents because so many New York residents come from other countries. I walked south toward the World Trade Center (it was at the southern tip of the island). The mayor had barricaded the island from west to east at Houston Street. This in itself was incredible because the barricade was several miles long, a solid barrier of sawhorses and police. Now finally I encountered other New Yorkers who had walked or bicycled or roller-bladed to this place to see the disaster for themselves. Houston Street was being used as a staging area for heavy construction equipment. Small crowds stood on the sidewalks watching. They were quiet. There was little or no conversation except for the police imploring people, " Please get out of the street. You can't stand here. " At almost every corner there was a police barricade, but the police were disorganized and didn't seem sure which way foot traffic should be permitted to pass. By zigzagging from block to block, taking advantage of the inconsistent rules, I was able to walk west to the river. The largest crowd of observers stood here staring at the plume of smoke, which was now just a few blocks away. Standing and staring. Nobody was talking. Many people seemed cheerful. I say police, but most of these people were students from the police academy. They wore bulletproof vests and baseball caps. Some of them came from relatively obscure city agencies like the Sheriff's department. Obviously, every possible city worker had been mobilized. During the whole time I walked around Manhattan, I didn't see a single moving ambulance. Clearly, living people were not being found. The most moving sight was in the large playground at the corner of Sixth and Houston. Hundreds of men in blue overalls sat in folding chairs. They were gardeners, maintenance workers for one of the large city projects. Somebody was giving them instructions through a bullhorn. They were about to put on face masks and drive their half-ton trucks to the World Trade Center and search for bodies. Yesterday, these middle-aged men were gardeners. Today they are heroes. I walked north to Saint Vincent's hospital, the closest hospital to the disaster. About a hundred people in green surgical scrubs sat in folding chairs in front of the entrance. I don't know if they were workers waiting for patients or patients who had lost their clothing. I couldn't get close enough to ask. Nobody seemed to have any work to do. Two ambulances were parked. They didn't have anything to do either. Lots of people in various kinds of uniforms stood around. It was apparent that they had come from the disaster site because their shoes and pants were covered with white dust. They had grim facial expressions. It was clear from their faces that they had seen something terrible but I didn't talk to them. It was odd how nobody was talking. That's my biggest impression overall. Nobody was talking. Nobody could donate blood because blood collection wouldn't start the next day, even though the media have been begging people to donate blood. Reminded me of the old World War II joke that the army is organized on the principle, " Hurry up and wait. " Well, it makes sense. It's easy for an official to say " We need blood " at a press conference, and easy for the media to report it, but it's much harder for the hospitals to organized a program to collect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 12, 2001 Report Share Posted September 12, 2001 Thanks Rob. Excellent report. Are you a journalist? Maybe no one is talking because, as we know, some things are difficult to express in words. Gelf - " Rob Sacks " <editor <Realization > Wednesday, September 12, 2001 10:30 AM New York City > Yesterday I took the subway to Manhatta and walked > around for several hours. I wanted to experience > the feeling of community that springs up when a > disaster occurs. I expected to find strangers > talking to each other with the feeling that we are > all in this thing together. I also wanted to see > the disaster and visit a hospital to donate blood. > > In the afternoon my local subway line was working > so I went to Times Square, the center of > Manhattan. The train was delayed and people began > to talk. I expected them to talk about the > disaster, but mostly they talked about the delay. > One woman was going to her office to work. I said > that surely the office is closed. She said she is > responsible for something at work and she has to > go and unfortunately she can't call them for a > reason that I didn't understand. She seemed to be > an intelligent, capable, mature person who was > acting irrationally. > > Three men including the subway driver were > standing at the front of the train talking > animatedly about the delay. I mentioned the World > Trade Center, and for a moment they talked about > it. But then the conversation shifted to an > earthquake in Greece that one of the men had > witnessed. It was as if the World Trade Center > itself was too big a topic. > > Everybody was cheerful. There was no sense of > disaster. > > Nobody talked about who might have done it, or > what the government might do in response, or how > life in the United States will change, or how many > people had died, or anything of that kind. > > While we talked, the plume of smoke was visible > through the train windows (we were stopped on an > elevated track). > > I reached Times Square, the heart of Manhattan. > Manhattan is an island and the mayor had closed > all the bridges and tunnels. Police everwhere. > There was no traffic on most streets, and people > were using them as pedestrian malls. It was a > beautiful day. People were strolling, smiling, > pointing into store windows, just enjoying a > beautiful day. The smoke from the burning > buildings was visible in the sky, but almost > nobody was looking at it. > > The sense of community that I anticipated did not > exist. Nobody was talking to other people. It was > like an ordinary holiday. > > Maybe people didn't realize yet how large this > event was. The world's superpower is now at war, > a war of a new kind, and large events will follow. > Maybe people realize that things have changed too > fast for their ideas to keep up, and so they keep > quiet. > > Or maybe it was because many of the people were > tourists from other countries visiting the United > States. It's hard to tell whether people are > visitors or residents because so many New York > residents come from other countries. > > I walked south toward the World Trade Center (it > was at the southern tip of the island). The mayor > had barricaded the island from west to east at > Houston Street. This in itself was incredible > because the barricade was several miles long, a > solid barrier of sawhorses and police. Now > finally I encountered other New Yorkers who had > walked or bicycled or roller-bladed to this place > to see the disaster for themselves. Houston > Street was being used as a staging area for heavy > construction equipment. Small crowds stood on the > sidewalks watching. They were quiet. There was > little or no conversation except for the police > imploring people, " Please get out of the street. > You can't stand here. " > > At almost every corner there was a police > barricade, but the police were disorganized and > didn't seem sure which way foot traffic should be > permitted to pass. By zigzagging from block to > block, taking advantage of the inconsistent rules, > I was able to walk west to the river. The largest > crowd of observers stood here staring at the plume > of smoke, which was now just a few blocks away. > Standing and staring. Nobody was talking. Many > people seemed cheerful. > > I say police, but most of these people were > students from the police academy. They wore > bulletproof vests and baseball caps. Some of > them came from relatively obscure city agencies > like the Sheriff's department. Obviously, every > possible city worker had been mobilized. > > During the whole time I walked around Manhattan, I > didn't see a single moving ambulance. Clearly, > living people were not being found. > > The most moving sight was in the large playground > at the corner of Sixth and Houston. Hundreds of > men in blue overalls sat in folding chairs. They > were gardeners, maintenance workers for one of the > large city projects. Somebody was giving them > instructions through a bullhorn. They were about > to put on face masks and drive their half-ton > trucks to the World Trade Center and search for > bodies. Yesterday, these middle-aged men were > gardeners. Today they are heroes. > > I walked north to Saint Vincent's hospital, the > closest hospital to the disaster. About a hundred > people in green surgical scrubs sat in folding > chairs in front of the entrance. I don't know if > they were workers waiting for patients or patients > who had lost their clothing. I couldn't get close > enough to ask. Nobody seemed to have any work to > do. Two ambulances were parked. They didn't have > anything to do either. > > Lots of people in various kinds of uniforms stood > around. It was apparent that they had come from > the disaster site because their shoes and pants > were covered with white dust. They had grim > facial expressions. It was clear from their faces > that they had seen something terrible but I didn't > talk to them. > > It was odd how nobody was talking. That's my > biggest impression overall. Nobody was talking. > > Nobody could donate blood because blood collection > wouldn't start the next day, even though the media > have been begging people to donate blood. Reminded > me of the old World War II joke that the army is > organized on the principle, " Hurry up and wait. " > Well, it makes sense. It's easy for an official > to say " We need blood " at a press conference, and > easy for the media to report it, but it's much > harder for the hospitals to organized a program to > collect it. > > > > > ..........INFORMATION ABOUT THIS LIST.......... > > Email addresses: > Post message: Realization > Un: Realization- > Our web address: http://www.realization.org > > By sending a message to this list, you are giving > permission to have it reproduced as a letter on > http://www.realization.org > ................................................ > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 13, 2001 Report Share Posted September 13, 2001 Hi Gelf, Thanks very much for the kind words. The closest I've come to journalism was an article I wrote for the Nation, a left-wing American political magazine, about 20 years ago. However I wrote several books and was a book editor for a while. I also wrote a bunch of other stuff including video scripts and advertising. > Maybe no one is talking because, as we know, > some things are difficult to > express in words. Yes, that makes sense. Best regards, Rob - " Carol Philo " <cphilo <Realization > Wednesday, September 12, 2001 1:41 PM Re: New York City > Thanks Rob. Excellent report. Are you a journalist? > Maybe no one is talking because, as we know, some things are difficult to > express in words. > Gelf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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