There has been a lot said about the manner in which President Bush 'reacted' to the news of the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Many people critical of his lack of reaction have asserted that he must have known about the impending attacks since he didn't immediately jump up when told.
Chet over at The American Way!? points out an amazing coincidence in how people 'react' to such horrific news.
As if jumping up and acting like a hysterical child would really have mattered....
Posted by Mad Mikey at August 6, 2004 09:56 AM | TrackBackA little maxim from crisis intervention experience. There are 3 basic reations to trauma: fight, flight, or freeze. I have on a couple of occasions had a victim display all three while I was present.
Posted by: Cait at August 6, 2004 10:42 AMBush went into fight mode; Spain, after Madrid, took flight; and John Kerry froze. I can understand not knowing exactly WHAT to do, but, jeeze, not being able to frickin' think for over half an hour?!
Posted by: Tuning Spork at August 6, 2004 05:43 PMKerry froze? What the hell are you talking about Spork?
This shit makes me as angry as the Swift Boat bullshit. What was Bush supposed to do? Duck into a phone booth and change into Superman? Nobody knows what they would have done because nobody-else was in that position at that time.
When asked what he would have done, I wish John Kerry had said, "I don't believe it's productive for me to second-guess the CIC in that situation."
The plain fact is that nobody can know what they will do until they are confronted with the same situation. Period.
d.
Posted by: deuddersun at August 7, 2004 06:22 AMI don't know what John Kerry could have done anyhow. At least he didn't run screaming out of the building. He was probably as safe in that building as he was going to be anywhere other than a bomb shelter. In fact, for most of America, the event was absolutely numbing in the first hours. We were ALL paralyzed except the poor first responders. Whatever my criticisms of Bush and Kerry, they will not include what either of them did in the minutes following the attacks. I think neither have anything to apologize for there.
Posted by: Cait at August 7, 2004 07:38 AM