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I don't think most people considered the WTC as a symbol of anything other than tall buildings. Or at the worst, a symbol of unfettered capitalism. It seems to

I don't think most people considered the WTC as a symbol of anything other than tall buildings. Or at the worst, a symbol of unfettered capitalism. It seems to me it was made into that symbol after the fact to get everyone's feathers rustled. In 2000, if you were to ask someone what building represented the success of the US, I'd bet the majority would say Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, or Sears Tower. Maybe that answer would be different for New Yorkers though, idk. The psychology that should be noted was the government and media whipping the populace into a psychotic frenzy which made us willing to murder a quarter million people in a country that had nothing to do with the attack. The fact that this isn't brought up every time 9/11 is mentioned is a travesty.

idiotsecant 3y ago
I think you have the cause and the effect mixed up. The government didn't have to 'whip us up' we did that entirely on our own. The government was able to go places they never could because of that fervor, but they had at most a marginal role in creating it. You're wildly misremembering how much fear there was on day 0, before the government had a chance to do anything. We, as a civilization, are riding the razors edge of stability. The amount of energy required to destabilize the system, when applied in just the right way, is shockingly small.
- nyokodo 3y ago
  > We, as a civilization, are riding the razors edge of stability. This is massively overstating the impact on the west, and America specifically. Obviously it massively disrupted life and civilization in the Middle East and elsewhere, and it lead to the death of 10s of 1000s of military personnel and degraded civil liberties in America and elsewhere. But it had no substantial impact on “civilization” in the west.
  - TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
    Apart from seeding a culture of paranoia and xenophobia, and converting the Anglosphere from a mid-trust culture into a low-trust culture. See also, airport security theatre.
nyokodo 3y ago
> I don't think most people considered the WTC as a symbol of anything other than tall buildings The WTC clearly represents American economic might, but the Pentagon was attacked also and that represents American military power. The White House narrowly avoided being hit. Additionally, people don’t have to consciously understand what things symbolize for that to be make an impact on them. Plus, it wasn’t just a message to Americans but to the world, especially the Muslim world, and the WTC had been unsuccessfully attacked 8 years previously so it was a symbol of failure for them. Not afterwards!
wkat4242 3y ago
It was not so much a symbol as it was "hitting close to home". It's one thing to see the body bags of soldiers coming back. It's another to see death and destruction in your own city.
chasd00 3y ago
I think the reaction to 9/11 was the US wanting to make the point “you destroy a few office buildings, we destroy a few nations” very clear to the rest of the world.
- rad_gruchalski 3y ago
  Idk, I think it was about money. Someone must have made a ton of money out of that. And that weird connection between the president and the family of the guy who pulls that off… edit: Arbusto Energy it was called.
  - TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
    Not only. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/10/saving-the-saudis-200310 https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/10/saving-the-saudis-20...
- bongodongobob 3y ago
  That's what the terrorists were ostensibly protesting though. By fucking up Iraq we kind of proved them right.
asdff 3y ago
Just as a note for the cultural impact, for many movies after they were constructed, B roll footage showing NYC skylines seemed to often feature them over things like the Empire State Building or even the Statue of Liberty. They were apparently featured in over 1100 films. https://donnagrunewald.wixsite.com/wtcinmovies https://donnagrunewald.wixsite.com/wtcinmovies
hammyhavoc 3y ago
You've evidently forgotten the concurrent attack on the Pentagon in the same hour on 9/11.

idiotsecant 3y ago

I think you have the cause and the effect mixed up. The government didn't have to 'whip us up' we did that entirely on our own. The government was able to go places they never could because of that fervor, but they had at most a marginal role in creating it. You're wildly misremembering how much fear there was on day 0, before the government had a chance to do anything. We, as a civilization, are riding the razors edge of stability. The amount of energy required to destabilize the system, when applied in just the right way, is shockingly small.

nyokodo 3y ago
> We, as a civilization, are riding the razors edge of stability. This is massively overstating the impact on the west, and America specifically. Obviously it massively disrupted life and civilization in the Middle East and elsewhere, and it lead to the death of 10s of 1000s of military personnel and degraded civil liberties in America and elsewhere. But it had no substantial impact on “civilization” in the west.
- TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
  Apart from seeding a culture of paranoia and xenophobia, and converting the Anglosphere from a mid-trust culture into a low-trust culture. See also, airport security theatre.

nyokodo 3y ago

> I don't think most people considered the WTC as a symbol of anything other than tall buildings The WTC clearly represents American economic might, but the Pentagon was attacked also and that represents American military power. The White House narrowly avoided being hit. Additionally, people don’t have to consciously understand what things symbolize for that to be make an impact on them. Plus, it wasn’t just a message to Americans but to the world, especially the Muslim world, and the WTC had been unsuccessfully attacked 8 years previously so it was a symbol of failure for them. Not afterwards!

wkat4242 3y ago

It was not so much a symbol as it was "hitting close to home". It's one thing to see the body bags of soldiers coming back. It's another to see death and destruction in your own city.

chasd00 3y ago

I think the reaction to 9/11 was the US wanting to make the point “you destroy a few office buildings, we destroy a few nations” very clear to the rest of the world.

rad_gruchalski 3y ago
Idk, I think it was about money. Someone must have made a ton of money out of that. And that weird connection between the president and the family of the guy who pulls that off… edit: Arbusto Energy it was called.
- TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
  Not only. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/10/saving-the-saudis-200310 https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/10/saving-the-saudis-20...
bongodongobob 3y ago
That's what the terrorists were ostensibly protesting though. By fucking up Iraq we kind of proved them right.

asdff 3y ago

Just as a note for the cultural impact, for many movies after they were constructed, B roll footage showing NYC skylines seemed to often feature them over things like the Empire State Building or even the Statue of Liberty. They were apparently featured in over 1100 films. https://donnagrunewald.wixsite.com/wtcinmovies https://donnagrunewald.wixsite.com/wtcinmovies

hammyhavoc 3y ago

You've evidently forgotten the concurrent attack on the Pentagon in the same hour on 9/11.