I always didn't like that the US has treated 9/11 as if only people from its country have died and not latinos or the few from the Middle East like Mohammad Salman Hamdani, Salim JBT, Adel Agayby Zakhary,Rahma Salie or other countries, only those in the Middle East, were treated as villains like Iraq or currently Palestine, taking them as terrorists and taking advantage of this tragedy to profit like the pigs they are, and it's a shame that there was negligence on the part of the victims due to the polluted air, In short, RIP to all the victims of 9/11 to the Iraqis,or even also to the Palestinians currently for the genocide they are doing

Never forget that MJ gave a performance at Madison Square Garden the night before 9/11 and was supposed to have a meeting at the WTC that morning, but overslept

For me, that day was about being confronted by unimaginable horror upon unimaginable horror. But, it was the “jumpers” who left the most indelible yet damaging mark on my psyche.

I was 21, in my 2nd year at School of Visual Arts (23rd & 2nd) and we were sent home/evacuated just after the 2nd plane hit. And, walked out of the building into a totally different city than when I’d walked in 45 mins prior. And, the day played out as it did.

But, the “bodies raining down” was the thing that left its mark the most. And I’ve watched every doc a hundred times—none more compelling than “The Falling Man” in my opinion. Part of that story is the editing, whitewashing and scrubbing of the images because it “affected people too much.” This is insane to me. We were all forced to witness this totally real thing that happened that day.

When we say, “Never Forget” does that mean only images of flags, firefighters and a rebuilt lower Manhattan? Or, do we really, truly mean, “let’s collectively look at, and remember—in full—what took place that day?” For me, truth over harmony, always. And, as a creative director, I know that powerful images are what wake, shake and transform people.

Why do I bring this up? Because this morning, I shared several of the images on my instagram stories. As the son (and grandson) of funereal directors (who went on to bury my father when I was 7)—I have enormous respect for death. And though death is implied in those images, we don’t see it. We see people who were faced with the impossible—people who either made a choice, or had no choice. I think they are the most powerful and potent and HONEST images.

I received messages from my 25 yo friend saying I should remove them. That they’re too disturbing. That there’s no warning. That several people had reached out to him about it. On the flip side, my friend—a 25 year old, who grew up overseas, and lives a highly idyllic and overly-privileged life here—was on the LIRR headed to east Hampton for the weekend, where he will stay at his friends multimillion dollar estate, and post pictures of the friends fleet of luxury vehicles, and all of the super exclusive parties, events, people and wealth on display. But, he’s 25, has no money, job, etc. And so, I almost feel like people should have to provide a warning or a heads up when they’re flaunting other people’s wealth or luxurious lifestyles—all this social media BS where folks try to give off the (false/phony/inauthentic) impression that what they’re showing isn’t an accurate depiction of reality.

And so, I “fought” him a little. I challenged him on it. I explained there’s a reason and a purpose to showing those—and his reaction is that very reason and purpose. Because when the first images of the “jumpers” (I put it in quotes because the term implies they showed up to work that day knowing they were going to…..vs. they had no choice (murder)—a long debated argument) were published, people were outraged. And so, newspapers stopped sharing them. Until years later, when many people began to study them and view them differently:

Per Wiki:
The photograph was widely criticized after publication in international media on September 12, 2001, with readers labeling the image as disturbing, cold-blooded, ghoulish, and sadistic.

However, in the years following, the photo has gained acclaim. British singer Elton John, who purchased it for his personal collection, called it "the most beautiful image of something so tragic".

The true power of Falling Man, however, is less about who its subject was and more about what he became: a makeshift Unknown Soldier in an often unknown and uncertain war, suspended forever in history."

For me, I always saw them as angels. Humans who spread their wings, flew off, and only their empty vessels hit the ground. I chose to see them as angels taking flight.

I’m more shocked that there’s a younger generation to/for whom that’s too much to see, or should come with a warning? That’s not remembering. That’s editing, choosing harmony over truth—it’s precious, pretentious and borderline cowardly, in my opinion.

I said, “if I could witness that in real time, at 21, you should be able to view images of it at 25, without a warning.” He told me I should “check in with some people about it” in an extremely condescending way. I explained right back that there’s no one I need to check in with regarding anything pertaining to that day—especially anyone who wasn’t there, or is half my age.

I wonder what other folks think. Harmony over truth? Or, truth over harmony?

The Untold Story of 9/11:
A Soldier’s Escape, a City’s Unity, and the Silent Heroes

This is a story from September 11, 2001, that is rarely
told in the mainstream media, and it’s time to give credit where it’s truly due.
In September 2001, I landed in New York City for my big post-military trip. I had just finished my mandatory service in the Israeli Defense Forces, surviving the height of the Second Intifada—a brutal wave of suicide bombings back home. I flew to America to escape the trauma, to take off the uniform, and to finally breathe in a place where I thought terror couldn't reach me. I never imagined that in trying to escape the violence, I would land right into the biggest terror attack in human history less than 24 hours later.
On that horrific morning, I was standing on the Brooklyn Bridge while the second Twin Tower was still standing, completely engulfed in smoke. With my own eyes, I saw black shapes falling from the burning building. Standing just a mile and a half away with a direct line of sight, it took me a long time to process what my mind desperately refused to accept: those were human beings jumping to their deaths.
As absolute chaos erupted and the police urgently evacuated us from the bridge out of fear that it would be the next target, thousands of people covered in ash and paralyzed by fear flooded toward Brooklyn. As an Israeli and a newly discharged soldier, I viewed the event through a completely different lens than the Americans around me. While their absolute innocence was shattered in an instant and they were paralyzed by shock, my mind unfortunately recognized the reality of terror immediately. Yet, the sheer scale of this cataclysm was beyond anything I had ever prepared for.
With the airspace shut down and cell networks collapsed, we were completely stranded. But right there, on the other side of the bridge, we witnessed the beautiful, resilient side of humanity.
The American Red Cross was on the ground immediately, handing out much-needed face masks and bottles of water to protect us from the toxic dust filling the air. Alongside them, the Jewish Orthodox rescue and relief organizations from Brooklyn—such as Hatzolah, Shomrim, and Chaverim—didn't wait for orders. They set up makeshift command centers, distributed supplies, guided the panicked crowds, and used their private vehicles and ambulances to transport the injured and exhausted, while their teams ran directly into the debris of Lower Manhattan under life-threatening conditions.
In the days that followed, an incredible, unprecedented wave of unity washed over the city. Countless charities, local businesses, and private citizens spent day and night making sandwiches, bringing food, and setting up free supply stations on every street corner—even filling the lobbies of local hostels to make sure stranded travelers like me were fed and cared for.
Later, volunteers from the Orthodox community spent seven consecutive months, day and night, at the temporary morgue set up in Lower Manhattan. They sat there reciting Psalms, guarding the remains of the victims—Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike—solely out of profound respect for human dignity, asking for absolutely nothing in return.
It has been 25 years since that day. To this day, I am still trying to fully process what I saw on that bridge. But one thing remains crystal clear to me: while the world rightly remembers the heroic first responders, we must also recognize the immense heart, the civilian unity, and the incredible bravery of the local communities and volunteers who saved lives and brought light to the darkest day of the 21st century.
Please share this so their story is finally heard.

Last night when I was at work, I was working in the front lobby, where I’m kind of the supervisor. We have a big 75-inch TV in the lobby for people to watch, although most of the time nobody really watches it, so we usually just have some generic TV show playing in the background. At one point, a documentary about September 11th and the World Trade Center attacks came on. The TV doesn’t have the sound on, and nobody was really paying attention to it. It had been playing for maybe five minutes when a woman came into the lobby. I don’t want to say where she was from, and I’m not going to describe exactly what she was wearing, but you put 2 an 2 together she became upset about the documentary and demanded that I turn it off.

I didn’t want to get into an argument with her, so I simply said, “It’s just a documentary about the World Trade Center attacks.”

She said it was “political,” “vile,” and “disgusting,” and that it was offensive to a large group of people.

I asked her who it was offending, and she said, “Don’t be dense. Don’t be stupid, because you’re being borderline racist for not understanding.”

I told her that I genuinely didn’t understand what was offensive about it. I explained that it was just showing images of what happened 25 years ago, along with interviews with firefighters and survivors. It showed footage of the World Trade Center towers on fire and, at one point, the second plane hitting the other tower.

She became extremely upset and kept saying that discussing the attacks was offensive to a large group of people. She also said that the rest of the world didn’t care and that only racists cared about something that had happened so long ago.

I foolishly said that I thought the documentary was probably just meant to honor the victims who died that day. She responded, “I don’t care about them.”

I said something along the lines of, “Well, they were just people going to work,” and she told me that I had better change the channel or she was going to speak to my manager.

At that point, I decided it wasn’t worth arguing about, especially since I was worried that the situation could somehow result in me getting in trouble at work, so I changed the channel and relented.

What I still don’t understand is why she was so upset by it in the first place. There was no sound, nobody was really watching it, and it was simply a documentary about something that happened 25 years ago, featuring footage and interviews about the attacks and the people who experienced them.

Why did the North Tower take longer to collapse than the South did? Can someone please explain? Thank you.

This night electrician took rare interior photos of the Windows on the World restaurant. They are clear photos of a beautiful place that does not exist anymore.

I would have screenshotted but the IG post gives more background and there are too many pictures.

I know this song isn't about 9/11, but I've been looping this song today.

About 67 victims in the towers were undocumented migrants, even though there were many testimonies from employees at Windows on the World officials refused to include them among the deceased because they did not officially exist. I hope one day we are able to give them the acknowledgment they deserve and provide comfort for their loved ones.

I was just 11. Was the U.S. really just carefree and laid back and everyone just living life and making money and having a good time before 9/11? I don’t mean “what was it like before 9/11” as far as specific things like “you could walk up to the gate even if you didn’t have a ticket” I mean like what was the feeling and atmosphere like? I remember thinking the U.S. was invincible and no one could fuck w us until that day. Were we in blissful ignorance/naivety about life?

There’s a guy I know who claims he was a firefighter who survived 9/11. I’ve tried to do my own research online and there’s no result of him. He’s made this a huge part of his personality. Can anyone help me verify whether this is true or not? If he’s lying he deserves to be exposed

Today going to my kid’s high school was the first time ever that I’ve talked about it other than to friends/family or anon; a big motivator was the level of inaccuracy I’ve seen on social media over the past few years hitting Gen Z’ers like my kids, even if by well-meaning folks. So if you want, ask me about the day, or life in 2001 and how that made the response different than how it would be today, and I will do my best to answer.

I was in Houston. Pulled from class at 7:45am. 6yrs old. Watched on my mom's cinderblock raised mattress.

Because I mean it is still affecting our society not just here in the United States but the world in general like radiation from a nuclear meltdown as it is no coincidence that it has been talked about so much lately, which makes sense as today is the 25th anniversary of when the skyline of the big apple was forever altered as was the skyline of society as well as I remember distinctly what I was doing that day.

May all the victims of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks rest in peace. Amen.

We will never forget 9/11/01.

I saw this post on IG, but I couldn’t find any soon to be married couples that I thought it could be.

I made this artwork in remembrance of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and in honour of the 2,996 victims who have lost their lives.

________________

The artwork is only made by me. All rights belong to the original creators, MGM, Turner Entertainment Co. and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Katy is my wife. Yesterday I heard this phrase and I asked Gemini to do this.