Rosie O'Donnell and 911 Attacks
I don't usually get heated over television debates, but I have to go on the record and say that Rosie O'Donnell has no idea what she is talking about with regard to how World Trade Center Building 7 fell. I lived in New York City from 1987-2001 (with a 1 year hiatus in NJ in 1992). I was in New York City on September 11--it was my first day of teaching elementary school in Harlem, up on 109 Street.
After the towers were attacked, I had to walk from 109 Street to my apartment on 10 Street--in the East Village. I grabbed my camera an ran downtown. Yes, it was a harrowing thing to do--but seeing as the subways and trains had all stopped by that time, I was stuck in the city, I was in shock, and I needed to do something to keep my brain from thinking about what was actually going on. I never went anywhere without my camera; my camera thus being like a security blanket.
I ran downtown and made it all of the way to Houston Street around Lafayette Avenue. I bought myself a Coffee gelato from the Italian bakery on that block--yes, I really did think that I was going to die that day and I wanted to die while enjoying my favorite Italian treat. I was standing on Houston Street, eating my gelato, when the man in front of me screamed. EVERYONE DUCKED! We thought another plane was coming towards the city. However, what was happening was that Building 7 was falling. I dropped the gelato, put my camera to my eye and started shooting away. I have a ton of pictures of the dust and smoke rising as the building fell; people running up the street; and then, out of nowhere, a caravan of black dumptrucks with Army men and women aboard drove from East Houston Street to West Houston. It was the strangest thing in the world--this caravan of dumptrucks simply appeared out of nowhere.
I spent the entire night holed up in my tiny East Village apartment with my cat. My cousin Chrissy (yes--THAT Cousin Chrissy) talked to me on the phone all night: I was literally scared to death as all I could hear were fighter planes overhead and ambulance sirens soaring down 1st Avenue, right within earshot of my bedroom windows.
I went home to N.J. for a couple of days, and then went back into the city and volunteered at ground zero. I also figured out how to take a subway to City Hall (it was the only subway running down there). One time, an Arab looking man and myself were the only two people on the train. I was scared: yes, it was racial profiling, but give me a break. He was as scared of me as I was of him. It was actually quite tragic to realize that it had come to this kind of unease amongst the innocent. I would take the subway to the City Hall stop with my huge camera bags. None of the Army/Reserve soldiers ever stopped me or asked me what I was doing down there. Many of them were kind enough to pose for photographs.
I became friendly with one Army Reservist in particular. I was taking pictures of Ground Zero and realized that I was having an asthma attack. The reservist I am speaking of gave me an inhaler (most of the Army men and women were using inhalers as the air was still thick and black in most places. One of the reasons I moved out of NYC was because even a month after the towers fell, black smoke that smelled like burnt plastic--from the computers burning--was still wallowing into my bedroom windows causing me to have major breathing issues.)
I would stand next to this kind Army Reservist and he would show me all of the buildings that were being re-aligned (I can't remember the technical term) so that they wouldn't fall. Holy Christ; you can't even begin to imagine the damage that some of these buildings withstood.
The photo studio where I shot most of my commercial magazine work was four blocks north of the North Tower. The fence around the perimeter of Ground Zero was right in front of the doorway to the studio--that's how close it was. I took pictures of the buildings that had all caved in. My friend who owns the loft that I used as a photo studio said that when the airplanes hit the towers her building shook so hard that-- after the second plane hit --she was ordered to evacuate the building because it was slated to fall. It was shaking that much.
When I hook up my printer/photo scanner, I will post the pictures I took of Ground Zero. ALL of the buildings surrounding the Twin Towers were a wreck; a lot of them caved in on themselves. I know for sure that the Unemployment Building lost most of its windows and the north side of it was shredded to pieces. That was a shame because an new acquintance of mine worked in there (I never found out if he survived or not).
Hey Rosie: I was there when Building 7 fell. I listened to it fall. I tasted the air/smoke/dust as it fell. I saw the buildings around it shredded and fallen in on themselves. I took pictures. I was there. I'm not a rocket scientist, but I don't think it actually takes a rocket scientist to understand that when two fully fueled airplanes crash into the tallest buildings in New York City and cause them to fall, that the surrounding buildings just might not be able to withstand the jolting, pounding, shaking, and thundering fall of the steel buildings as they hit the ground.
I used to be benevolent to your rants and raves. I could care less; but now you've struck a nerve. You are ignorant. You owe everyone who died in the Twin Towers an apology. I was there when the buildings fell. I photographed the surrounding buildings for three days in a row: They were ALL a mess. Bits and pieces of all of the buildings were scattered all around the street. Yes, it looked like a bomb had hit, and, to be sure, two bombs did hit--in the form of two airplanes. But the Earth was also shaken like an earthquake when the Twin Towers fell. You can't even begin to believe the way the earth shook beneath me when Building 7 fell; I can only imagine how much more it shook when the towers fell.
I do think you have the right to voice your opinion--freedom of speech; but I also think that it would be wise of you to lose the air of being the authority on every subject: your ego will be your downfall. You might want to think about the power that you hold as TV personality and then ask yourself if you are really the person who should be making the aligations that 911 was a conspiracy. Are you truly the person for this job? Did you think your opinion and thoughts through before you opened your mouth and spoke? Words are sometimes the most powerful weapons we, as humans, can ever use. Choose them wisely; once you give life to them you can never take them back. Thoughts come and go: words live forever.
After the towers were attacked, I had to walk from 109 Street to my apartment on 10 Street--in the East Village. I grabbed my camera an ran downtown. Yes, it was a harrowing thing to do--but seeing as the subways and trains had all stopped by that time, I was stuck in the city, I was in shock, and I needed to do something to keep my brain from thinking about what was actually going on. I never went anywhere without my camera; my camera thus being like a security blanket.
I ran downtown and made it all of the way to Houston Street around Lafayette Avenue. I bought myself a Coffee gelato from the Italian bakery on that block--yes, I really did think that I was going to die that day and I wanted to die while enjoying my favorite Italian treat. I was standing on Houston Street, eating my gelato, when the man in front of me screamed. EVERYONE DUCKED! We thought another plane was coming towards the city. However, what was happening was that Building 7 was falling. I dropped the gelato, put my camera to my eye and started shooting away. I have a ton of pictures of the dust and smoke rising as the building fell; people running up the street; and then, out of nowhere, a caravan of black dumptrucks with Army men and women aboard drove from East Houston Street to West Houston. It was the strangest thing in the world--this caravan of dumptrucks simply appeared out of nowhere.
I spent the entire night holed up in my tiny East Village apartment with my cat. My cousin Chrissy (yes--THAT Cousin Chrissy) talked to me on the phone all night: I was literally scared to death as all I could hear were fighter planes overhead and ambulance sirens soaring down 1st Avenue, right within earshot of my bedroom windows.
I went home to N.J. for a couple of days, and then went back into the city and volunteered at ground zero. I also figured out how to take a subway to City Hall (it was the only subway running down there). One time, an Arab looking man and myself were the only two people on the train. I was scared: yes, it was racial profiling, but give me a break. He was as scared of me as I was of him. It was actually quite tragic to realize that it had come to this kind of unease amongst the innocent. I would take the subway to the City Hall stop with my huge camera bags. None of the Army/Reserve soldiers ever stopped me or asked me what I was doing down there. Many of them were kind enough to pose for photographs.
I became friendly with one Army Reservist in particular. I was taking pictures of Ground Zero and realized that I was having an asthma attack. The reservist I am speaking of gave me an inhaler (most of the Army men and women were using inhalers as the air was still thick and black in most places. One of the reasons I moved out of NYC was because even a month after the towers fell, black smoke that smelled like burnt plastic--from the computers burning--was still wallowing into my bedroom windows causing me to have major breathing issues.)
I would stand next to this kind Army Reservist and he would show me all of the buildings that were being re-aligned (I can't remember the technical term) so that they wouldn't fall. Holy Christ; you can't even begin to imagine the damage that some of these buildings withstood.
The photo studio where I shot most of my commercial magazine work was four blocks north of the North Tower. The fence around the perimeter of Ground Zero was right in front of the doorway to the studio--that's how close it was. I took pictures of the buildings that had all caved in. My friend who owns the loft that I used as a photo studio said that when the airplanes hit the towers her building shook so hard that-- after the second plane hit --she was ordered to evacuate the building because it was slated to fall. It was shaking that much.
When I hook up my printer/photo scanner, I will post the pictures I took of Ground Zero. ALL of the buildings surrounding the Twin Towers were a wreck; a lot of them caved in on themselves. I know for sure that the Unemployment Building lost most of its windows and the north side of it was shredded to pieces. That was a shame because an new acquintance of mine worked in there (I never found out if he survived or not).
Hey Rosie: I was there when Building 7 fell. I listened to it fall. I tasted the air/smoke/dust as it fell. I saw the buildings around it shredded and fallen in on themselves. I took pictures. I was there. I'm not a rocket scientist, but I don't think it actually takes a rocket scientist to understand that when two fully fueled airplanes crash into the tallest buildings in New York City and cause them to fall, that the surrounding buildings just might not be able to withstand the jolting, pounding, shaking, and thundering fall of the steel buildings as they hit the ground.
I used to be benevolent to your rants and raves. I could care less; but now you've struck a nerve. You are ignorant. You owe everyone who died in the Twin Towers an apology. I was there when the buildings fell. I photographed the surrounding buildings for three days in a row: They were ALL a mess. Bits and pieces of all of the buildings were scattered all around the street. Yes, it looked like a bomb had hit, and, to be sure, two bombs did hit--in the form of two airplanes. But the Earth was also shaken like an earthquake when the Twin Towers fell. You can't even begin to believe the way the earth shook beneath me when Building 7 fell; I can only imagine how much more it shook when the towers fell.
I do think you have the right to voice your opinion--freedom of speech; but I also think that it would be wise of you to lose the air of being the authority on every subject: your ego will be your downfall. You might want to think about the power that you hold as TV personality and then ask yourself if you are really the person who should be making the aligations that 911 was a conspiracy. Are you truly the person for this job? Did you think your opinion and thoughts through before you opened your mouth and spoke? Words are sometimes the most powerful weapons we, as humans, can ever use. Choose them wisely; once you give life to them you can never take them back. Thoughts come and go: words live forever.
Bhakti Brophy
UPDATE: Zombieslayer has found proof that Building 7 fell in on itself due to the amount of debris that fell on it when Building 1 collapsed. Click here to read an article by Popular Mechanics that recounts Rosie O'Donnell's ignoramous remarks, as well as illustrates how Building 7 fell.
tags: Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy, Rosie O'Donnell, The View, 911,
September 11, 911 Conspiracy, World Trade Center Building 7,
Labels: 911, 911 conspiracy, bhakti, Bhakti Brophy, Building 7, jaibhakti, rosie o'donnell, September 11, the View, Twin Towers
posted by Unknown at 11:56 PM
4 Comments:
I don't know what rosie said, Bhakti, so I can't speak to that. But you are correct about words and how we choose to use them.
We rode the Path train from NJ to NYC last week, and came out of the station right at Ground Zero. It is still a very sobering place. I always cry when I am there.
I'll have to look up what she said. She's known for ranting about things she thinks she knows about, but knows nothing about. I've always thought it's better to have people think you're a jackass then open your mouth and prove it. Apparently, she doesn't think that way.
black smoke that smelled like burnt plastic--from the computers burning--was still wallowing into my bedroom windows causing me to have major breathing issues.
Yikes. That is highly toxic. I hope you're okay from that. A lot of that crap are carcenogins.
Very nice rant. I had no idea you did what you did. After 9-11, I completely changed my opinion of New Yorkers. Underneath their thick shells are good people. I love how everyone seemed to stick together.
Now, I'll have to go look up what she said.
Bhakti - check this out. It's Popular Mechanics explaining how it happened and debunking what she said.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/911myths/4213805.html
You should get your lungs checked out. I heard they're still unsure about the long term health effects of that air.
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