9-11

Very good article by Rebecca Solnit on the the real stories of heroism and humanism when the Twin Towers came down.

These stories transcend the grandiose Bush-neocon response and the fear cloud that swept over the country.

People were a lot better than all of that.

Z-Net: How 9/11 Should Be Remembered - The Extraordinary Achievements of Ordinary People

Errol Anderson, a recruiter with the fire department, was caught outside in that dust storm.

"For a couple of minutes I heard nothing. I thought I was either dead and was in another world, or I was the only one alive. I became nervous and panicky, not knowing what to do, because I couldn't see... About four or five minutes later, while I was still trying to find my way around, I heard the voice of a young lady. She was crying and saying, 'Please, Lord, don't let me die. Don't let me die.' I was so happy to hear this lady's voice. I said, 'Keep talking, keep talking, I'm a firefighter, I'll find you by the response of where you are.' Eventually we met up with each other and basically we ran into each other's arms without even knowing it."

She held onto his belt and eventually several other people joined them to form a human chain. He helped get them to the Brooklyn Bridge before returning to the site of the collapsed buildings. That bridge became a pedestrian escape route for tens of thousands. For hours, a river of people poured across it. On the far side, Hasidic Jews handed out bottles of water to the refugees.