Am_Fear_Liath_Mor, thank you very much for mentioning the elephant in the room.

Originally Posted By: Am_Fear_Liath_Mor
[snip]...what I still cannot fathom about that day is the garbled and sketchy but soon to be very accurate news reports reporting events before they actually happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNK1V6S2cbo



and your second post re: structural steel and fire.

Part of my mindset of being equipped is being open to the "unthinkable" as well as laws of cause and effect (whether they be psychological, social, governmental or physical).

Experience has taught me that governments and organizations can lie, deceive, withhold information or cover up information -- even in "unthinkable" ways. This is a necessary truth through which I must filter facts, rumors, lack of information, etc. when faced with a call to evacuate or to respond to an emergency. Typically, of course, such responses must be made quickly, with incomplete information and some emotional and physical turmoil.

I understand the need for community-mindedness and the efficiency of habitual compliance, but I'm working to "untrain" my indoctrinated mentality of compliance. The aftermath of 9/11 has especially helped me in this regard. Now I am loathe to relinquish my self-reliance and personal responsibility to "officials."