What was life like before 9/11?

[Yelnoc]

I just realized that for as long as I have been aware of the wider world, I have lived in the shadow of 9/11.  Sure, I can read up on the history of the 90's and whatnot, but could someone tell me what life was really like in that gap between the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the terrorist attacks?

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Better.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What do you mean by that question? It isn't as though the fundamentals of life in the 'West' changed fundamentally after 9/11.

[Paul Kemp]

Meaningless [Naso answer].

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Wild unicorns ran through the woods, farting diamonds and childrens' toys whenever candy rained from the skies. Massive street orgies were held on alternating Tuesdays, of course ending with everyone joining their hands in a circle while rolling a chocolate-scented blunt with their toes. Lollipop trees and gumdrop fruits were in every garden, and on a good day a hunter could catch a dozen gummy bears with Swedish Fish bait. The White House was made of white chocolate, only replaced by concrete and marble for protection.

[TJ in Oregon]

It was really, really easy to get on an airplane.

[KEmperor]

The main difference is that terrorist attacks weren't as big a fear to the mind of the general public in the US prior to that.

[2952-0-0]

Outside of "rich and white" countries and especially North America it's surprising how little has been changed by 9/11 (and regardless the US would still have been somehow involved in Middle East wars anyway). I shouldn't say this in public, but 9/11 is overrated.

//waiting for Naso's outburst...

[KEmperor]

Oh, and gas was about $1.00/gallon, but honestly that has very little to do with 9/11.

[Lief 🗽]

A lot more Iraqis and Afghans were still alive.

[Reaganfan]

I just realized that for as long as I have been aware of the wider world, I have lived in the shadow of 9/11.  Sure, I can read up on the history of the 90's and whatnot, but could someone tell me what life was really like in that gap between the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the terrorist attacks?

Movies where airplanes are hijacked, where terrorists strike, they all seemed fictional before 9/11. Indeed, after 9/11, several films were altered or delayed because their fictional plots were eerily reminiscent of September 11th.

Getting on airplanes was much easier. You didn't need to throw out bottles of water or take off your shoes or get your privates grabbed by TSA agents.

On September 11, 2001, the idea of a hijacking had most people (myself included) imagining the videos of planes of runways with people holding hostages, ect. Nobody could have ever imagined using the airplanes themselves as the missiles in the attacks.

The 2000 election was dominated by issues of tax cuts, education, and whether to continue the Gore years following the Clinton Era, or to start a new "fresh start" with George W. Bush. It seemed that neither Bush nor Gore really stood out from each other, and the election was pretty much on style, where believe it or not, Bush out did Gore.

[tpfkaw]

Better.

[courts]

Better.

[The Mikado]

Plane hijacking was the punchline of a Sienfeld episode.

[King]

A lot more plaid.  TVs were heavier, but the shows were a lot more interesting.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Works about future war scenarios usually involved things like Korea reigniting or a nationalist takeover in Russia. And domestic terrorists were usually portrayed as right wing militia types.

[anvi]

Well, on a personal level, I was able to go into airports and greet visitors right at their arrival gate, which was very nice.

On a professional level, there were a lot fewer anti-Muslim outbursts among classroom students, which was also nice and conducive to a lot more learning.

On a national and political level, we seemed at least a bit more reluctant to throw ourselves into near full-scale military operations that had dubious goals.  Er were also a little less paranoid.


 

[Mr. Morden]

America was obsessed with shark attacks and the disappearance of Chandra Levy.  Also, presidents gave primetime televised speeches about issues like stem cell research.

[minionofmidas]

America was obsessed with shark attacks and the disappearance of Chandra Levy.  Also, presidents gave primetime televised speeches about issues like stem cell research.

And the meaning of "is".

[Mr. Morden]

America was obsessed with shark attacks and the disappearance of Chandra Levy.  Also, presidents gave primetime televised speeches about issues like stem cell research.

And the meaning of "is".

I was only talking about life in mid-2001.  It would take too long for me to cover everything from the previous century.

[minionofmidas]

Oh, that's right. Now I remember! In most of the millennia before 9/11, your ancestors lived in caves. In Europe.

[Hash]

At least in Riyadh, the place was still fun and roaming with westerners (Canadians, Muricans, Europeans) and the school was actually multicultural instead of various shades of Arabs claiming to be from Manitoba or some random state. Teachers were good and competent. We had a large group of Canadian or French friends. I actually had real friendships with interesting people from the same horizons, and we could do fun stuff like go in the desert without fearing being shot by terrorists. And the Saudi government didn't give a rat's ass about extremists, in fact they funded them and claimed that no terrorist could be Saudi/true Muslim because they were in fact all dirty Egyptians or Yemenis because all Saudis were quite perfect.

On the other hand, I faintly recall (I was in grade 4 then) that the mutawas (CPVPV) were far more active, virulent and acted like assholes even to the whites. Internet and stuff was still tightly controlled, cost a lot and hard to get. Airport security leaving the country was a massive joke (unless you were a woman) as it always was/is; but security upon entering the country was actually quite tough but not because of stuff like bombs but rather to prevent the Crusaders from bringing forbidden movies (Lawrence of Arabia), banned books or *gasp* a film of my baptism with a *gasp* priest. Of course, in the local Saudi context, the transition date is not as much 9/11 but rather 5/12/03.

[Lief 🗽]

A lot more plaid.  TVs were heavier, but the shows were a lot more interesting.

Really? I feel like, if anything, television was one of the few things to improve after 9/11.

[phk]

Much easier. 9/11 de-assimilated a lot of people that I know.