Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: event8horizon
wow, something we can agree on. what is the " post-9/11 occasions (top of the ESB during the 03 blackout and right underneath the 07 steampipe explosion" that u talk about???
Back in 03 I was up in NYC for an interview with an i-bank. After the interview I went to the empire state building, I had never been to NYC before. I was in the 2nd tier elevators, between the 84th and 85th floor when the power went out on August 14, 2003. I was in there for almost an hour with about 10 other people. After that we got to go to the observation deck and watch tens of thousands of people flood the streets.
I was supposed to be there just for the day, flew in on my own dime when I was a poor grad student. I had $300 with me, a brand new suit and shoes. I ended up calling a friend who put me up in a hotel, went to a bar, drank a few beers, came back and ended up splitting the hotel room (2 beds) with a guy I met. He turned out to be a coworker of the guy I just interviewed with.
Long story short, I blew through 3k, which I didn't think I would get back, but the bank paid it. I didn't get the job though.
Needless to say, for that 1hr, we thought the world has basically ended and AQ had hit the country with a nuke, or any other idea. Eventually we realized it was just a simple thing.
The steampipe explosion was in Aug 07. There was an old steampipe that ruptured right underneath my window. Initially we thought the building next to us was bombed, or grand central or the subways were hit, so we booked it out of the building, taking the elevator. We got down to street level and saw mud covered people everywhere. Moved away and finally got a view of a 300+ foot steam geyser in downtown manhattan.
Our building was closed for a week. Again, something that was very intense for 30min when we thought we were ground zero for a new attack.
In the end, I do not jump every time I hear a bang. I do not worry about terrorism all of the time and I love working and living in the city. I think the government has created a bunch of chickenshit ninnies because they wanted to grab more power and it's pretty sad that our ancestors fought for liberty and were brave enough to do it with guns, blood, and lives. Yet we piss our pants at the first event that happens and willingly give away freedom for little to no security.
Our increased "security" is a fucking joke. I have accidentally had a knife in my carry on bag twice was never caught. We flew from JFK to Maui in December 07 with an expired passport (me) and a drivers license with a name that didn't match the ticket name (wife's maiden name on the license). We went through 4 checkpoints. Not one TSA dipshit noticed either problem, nor did the airline people.
The *one* person who did notice my passport was expired was the Budget Rent a car person.
Our "security" is a farce and I am disgusted every time I am treated like a terrorist when I fly. Fascist pigs and underpaid/undertrained/undereducated assholes on an ego-trip run the system and waste our money on veneer security.