h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As an American citizen, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to Britian, her government, and her people as well as the entire international community. At a time when America stands battered and bruised, bloodied and troubled, the UK and most of the world has stood as an unfailing allies and devoted friends close to the United States. At this time of great grief and suffering, your support means more to the people of our nation that anyone could ever now. So, to each and every one of you all, I say thank you.

Joshua H. Shook
[email protected]

Hey, it's our pleasure Joshua - we have been friends and allies for all of my lifetime. All the talk of 'war' is very scary though. My thoughts are with everyone in America, especially the families of those who have lost friends and family. I just wish there was something I could do to help.

Hear hear!

I feel that the whole of the western world has to show solidarity with our friends in the U.S.A. The people responsible for this evil act have to be made aware that they didn't just make an enemy of the U.S.A. when they carried out this attack.

It's time for all citizens of the Free world to stand together and remember that we share a common love of freedom and have common enemies in those who wish to impose their way of life on us. Was it Benjamin Franklin who said 'We must hang together or assuredly we will all hang seperately.'
Historians may look back and say that September 11th 2001 was the day that sleepin democracies woke up from a 50 year sleep and realised that democracy is worth defending.
Friends must stick together. They may not always see eye to eye but they're there in times of need.

I am an American as well, and I second Joshua's sentiments. I spent all of yesterday in front of the television, horrified and paralyzed. My sister works across the street from the WTC, and fortunately, got out and home in one piece. If you've never seen it, the immensity of the WTC and the sheer number of people who work in or travel through it every day means that dealing with this carnage will take months. It is an unbelievable horror show, and it's particularly sickening to remember that this was not a natural disaster or an act of God, but something a small group of alleged human beings did deliberately. Thousands of people simply were going to work, and their children are now orphans, their lives are erased, and for no reason at all, as far as we can tell.

One of the few sources of comfort in the midst of all this was the reaction of the Brits, particularly Tony Blair. You have been our friends and allies for generations, and in the face of something like this, it's immensely helpful to know that you stand with us at a time like this.

The United States is an immense, wealthy and powerful country, and we have been too complacent for quite some time about things like this. That's now over, and I guarantee that these animals will be tracked down, and punished for this. Think about it -- there are carrier groups already at sea, and nobody in Congress or among the electorate is going to object in the least to search-and-destroy missions against terrorists. The military has essentially been issued a hunting license, and four months of pulling mangled bodies of secretaries and office workers out of an immense heap of rubble is all the incentive they need. We do not like to fight if we can avoid it, but if we can't, we are going to operate with a vengeance.

These terrorists, and those like thave committed a classic error in judgement about us -- they do not believe we will react, that we will demonstrate any solidarity or guts, or that our political will will dissipate as we return to our SUV's and our televisions. Wrong. It is often admittedly hard to get our attention, but murdering thousands of civilians has done it, and I expect the military expeditions to begin within a few weeks. Bin Laden, or whoever did this, has his little camps, and his trucks and his alleged sophistication. We have the 82nd Airborne Division. Who would you bet on?

That being said, the friendship and support of the Brits is deeply appreciated, and we are very grateful. Thank you. We will not forget this.

Thank you, Brits, and all the rest of the free world, for your fabulous support. We Americans are just too stuck in our own world to fathom that anything like this could ever happen to us. It is just not real.

~Teenage Girl in New York

Thanks J. I've been watching everything on my trusty portable tv! By the way, you should change your nickname and add an intro to your space as I (and other ACEs) can't greet you properly. Oh, welcome to h2g2. nearly forgot .
I've noticed a huge boom of new researchers. Can you tell me why you joined right now? Not on this thread, tell me on my page.
-K
p.s. I thought we would have learned from wars in the past but some people, evidently, have not.

Absolutely. One of the politicians (I think Schroeder?) said, "Today we are all Americans". No matter what disagreements anyone has with the States, the whole of the West along with anyone else who has a shred of human decency must now stand alongside the US and give any and all support that is necessary. The fanatics who organised this atrocity must be shown that we (the civilised world) are stronger and, to put it simply, better than them and will not be bowed by acts of this nature.

There's no chance we could give blood and get it across the Atlantic in time for it to make a difference, is there?

Any of my countrymen who remember WW1 or WW2 would wish to express our deep sympathy to those affected by these atrocities. We would also hope that American citizens generally would now realise that the U.K. has had to endure similar problems from the IRA..which has been funded by some misguided individuals in the USA...we hope this will now cease, as we all realise that TERRORISM against any democracy should be resisted totally.

This evening I have been looking at a number of IRC channels - often a hot-bed of cynicism. Not once tonight has anyone made such a comment wrt the troubles in the USA.

It is pleasing to see that (at least in the areas of the Internet that I have viewed) people are putting aside their diferences. It is far too often that I have seen "US vs UK" arguments break out in IRC channels.

This has always struck me as odd. I am sure that many countries have 'pet-names'(for want of a better word) to describe other nations: e.g. The Australians use the term 'Pommes' to describe the British. - I am sure we can all think of others... But it always appears so stupid to argue for the sake of arguing.

I just hope that people will at last appreciate that we are all human and stop this petty squabling, both on the internet and more importantly in the real world. - Are we not ALL human?

My best wishes and hopes to all involved.


Greg T(A)C
--

We are supposed to be travelling to the States on Saturday for holidays;- as long as the US opens their air space we will be going. No-one but no-one will scare us from travelling this world. This world belongs to all of us and not some few imbeciles who have neither care or compassion in their battle to have their own way. We Brits have never been scared of tyrants and we are not about to start now. I think all of us share the same horror and revulsion of what happened yesterday in the States,and I know we would have the same support from them if it had been our country that was so cruelly treated. We also do not yet know how many of our countrymen and women were involved, but I am sure we all share the same resolve, we will not let them win, we will go on to make our world safer day by day, those people must not have died in vain.

Josuha,

Myself and my girlfriend have been really upset with the tradegy thats struck your country. Our deepest sympathy is with you all in America and with all the family and friends of those that lost their lives. We over here in Britain will never comprehend whats happening over there.

L & T

I had never thought to witness such an act in my lifetime. There is no point of reference for which to base my emotions. My life is forever changed and part of me will never look at life in quite the same way.

When our world seems upside down, it is a comfort that some things never seem to change, such as friends like Great Britain. God bless you all.

Joe Adair
[email protected]

I've seen a few people in London here today wearing obviously home-made lapel badges with the US flag on, obviously as a sign of sympathy and solidarity. We should all do this. I'm making mine right now.

I'd like to thank everyone who has posted words of sympathy in the aftermath of this unspeakable act of violence. I know I'm not alone in having experienced feelings of being victimized simply for being a citizen of the United States. After asking myself many times yesterday, "What did we do to make someone hate us so much?", it is heartwarming to hear that many nations and individuals are crying with us and are prepared to offer support during the tough road ahead. Thank goodness the terrorists were not successful in trying to expose our nation as an evil entity, but only created global support for our nation. We will stand tall again very soon, and appreciate your prayers!

kim
california

My catchphrase in the past has been "I hate America, not Americans.." an exaggerated expression of my rather typical feelings of distaste for many aspects of American culture or policy. I'm glad to say that this horrible event has made me realise more powerfully than before that the Americans don't deserve the 'bashing' I sometimes give them. Seeing Bush, Blair, and then the people on the streets of Manhattan on TV suddenly made America seem much closer- and I realised that the PEOPLE of our nations (and those of the democratic world,) are EXACTLY THE SAME where it matters. I only hope that this event brings together the "civilised world," in a lasting way, so co-operation between the US and the rest of the world will be improved for far longer than New York and Washington are affected. The effect of having a "common enemy" is well known. I hope Bush will be less hasty to go completely against the rest of the world's opinion on Kyoto or the "Son of Star Wars," and at the same time, we will look more favorably and with less distrust on the land which styles itself, not entirely inaccurately, "the Leader of the free world."

We thank you for your appreciation. I am a Brit, my wife American, so we doubly appreciate your sentiments.

The recent events in US are without precedent. Abhorrent to all right thinking people, whatever their religious/political alignment.

I don't think there can be a single person in the entire world who could not be affected by the dreadful events in USA.
I think it is totally abhorrent. It is not possible to get into the mind set of anyone who could conceive such atrocities.

No doubt, the people who actually perpetrated the horrific events felt that they were justified and even glorified in what they did. They are dead. So any attempt at shaming them, or even their lords and masters would be ineffective.

What worries me is this.

The actual perpetration was by a very small number of fanatics.
The best that can be done to these is retribution. NOTHING can reverse the huge loss of life, the devastation....

I have no confidence that such events could not be repeated. Anywhere in the world.

How do we defend against such attrocities ?


We are all vulnerable.........

Shirts and Mrs Shirts

There is no need for thanks the whole of Great Britain is with you.
May God help your suffering.

Thanks Joshua.

Though sometimes we bash the Americans, we are very loyal to are age old allies and friends. It is only human to offer help at this point in time, when our friends need us the most.

My respect to Tony Blair for immediately showing his full support for the Americans. He obviously looked very shaken, shocked, sad and angry at the people who did this. A leader who displays exactly what our nation feels at present.

May I also salute those who managed to crash that plane near Pittsburgh instead of the White House (which is where it has been confirmed by the FBI that it was probably heading). They sacrificed themselves to help others. Let us use those sacrifices that those people made to help cath the people responsible for this crime against humanity.

The whole of the UK is quite simply shocked, quite literally sitting and looking at the footage over and over with faces of disbelief, sorrow, and disgust. We feel desperately for you America, and are obliged to help you, no matter what. You'd do the same for us.

Teenage girl of 14 near London, UK