Maybe a tough question?

[Bonnie]

Given the attention to the release of the movie "Flight 93"
Im wondering if you were in a similar situation would you fight or not??

I would be very willing to fight with every breath in my body.

 

[mattskramer]

Given the attention to the release of the movie "Flight 93"
Im wondering if you were in a similar situation would you fight or not??

I would be very willing to fight with every breath in my body.

I mean no offence but this does not seem like a difficult question. If I thought that I was a passenger on a “suicide run”, then I would fight. It is as if the choice is (A) do nothing and get killed in an airplane crash that is under the control of terrorists (b) fight for control of the airplane and, by doing so, possibly reduce the odds of getting killed.

 

[Shattered]

Given the attention to the release of the movie "Flight 93"
Im wondering if you were in a similar situation would you fight or not??

I would be very willing to fight with every breath in my body.

Definitely fight. If you don't, you're <b>guaranteed</b> death. If you do, you have at least a 1% chance at life.

 

[Gunny]

The passengers on Flight 93 were aware of what happened with the other flights. Die like a wolf or die like a sheep.

Not a tough choice.

 

[Bonnie]

I mean no offence but this does not seem like a difficult question. If I thought that I was a passenger on a “suicide run”, then I would fight. It is as if the choice is (A) do nothing and get killed in an airplane crash that is under the control of terrorists (b) fight for control of the airplane and, by doing so, possibly reduce the odds of getting killed.

I think we would all be surprised at the number of people that would either be so frozen with fear, or think that the terrorists could be appeased somehow with reason. So probably not a tough question for us but who knows?

 

[Gunny]

I think we would all be surprised at the number of people that would either be so frozen with fear, or think that the terrorists could be appeased somehow with reason. So probably not a tough question for us but who knows?

While I would not be surprised at all, I hardly expect anyone to come right out and admit it.

 

[Semper Fi]

I would be scared shitless. But I quote John Wayne, "Courage is being scared shitless but saddling up anyway." Enough said.

 

[insein]

I would be scared shitless. But I quote John Wayne, "Courage is being scared shitless but saddling up anyway." Enough said.

About what i'd be thinking. Then id' weigh my options. They probably dont have guns since its an airline. Im going to die anyway but more people on the ground might die and it might be someone i know. Adrenaline would take over and i'd have to do something.

 

[Bonnie]

About what i'd be thinking. Then id' weigh my options. They probably dont have guns since its an airline. Im going to die anyway but more people on the ground might die and it might be someone i know. Adrenaline would take over and i'd have to do something.

See that's the thing, if enough people on the plane had the guts to stick together, they could overtake the terrorists. Its fight or die...

 

[CSM]

I would call the United Nations and ask them to assemble the UN Security Council so that a very stern warning could be issued to the terrorists hijacking the plane. If that didn't work, I would wait for the UN to place sanctions against the terrorist's home nations. Barring any of that, I would call the ACLU and ask them to file a suit. I would then contact Every European nation and ask them how to negotiate with the terrorists because, as we all know, violence is never the answer.









Then there is the REAL me who would get out of his seat and do his damndest to cram whatever weapon the terrorists have up their butts sideways, and then make every effort to ensure those same terrorists get a jump on meeting Allah and those 72 virgins they are expecting by testing the laws of gravity from 10,000 feet. I suspect that they would still apply.

 

[Bonnie]

I would call the United Nations and ask them to assemble the UN Security Council so that a very stern warning could be issued to the terrorists hijacking the plane. If that didn't work, I would wait for the UN to place sanctions against the terrorist's home nations. Barring any of that, I would call the ACLU and ask them to file a suit. I would then contact Every European nation and ask them how to negotiate with the terrorists because, as we all know, violence is never the answer.

Then there is the REAL me who would get out of his seat and do his damndest to cram whatever weapon the terrorists have up their butts sideways, and then make every effort to ensure those same terrorists get a jump on meeting Allah and those 72 virgins they are expecting by testing the laws of gravity from 10,000 feet. I suspect that they would still apply

.

Now your talking

 

[Hobbit]

It is not up to me to judge the actions of a few fanatical terrorists. I mean, maybe they grew up in a bad environment. Maybe they were oppressed. Maybe they've been brainwashed. Maybe they are mentally ill and don't know what they're doing, so it's really not my place to judge them. That job belongs to God. However, I do consider it my civic duty to arrange the meeting, by means of a 30,000 foot drop-kick.

 

[Annie]

I have to agree with Jeremy Glick. Links at site:

http://www.keshertalk.com/archives/2006/04/flight93heroes.php

April 04, 2006
An army of Davids: Flight 93

I cross-posted about the Flight 93 movie at Winds of Change; I said in the comments:

I have a feeling this movie will quietly "separate the men from the boys," as it were. It will make the moonbats more moonbatty, and it will strengthen the resolve of those inclined that way. It will draw a line in the sand. It will do medium boxoffice and medium DVD sales but become kind of a "cult classic" in that it will be a cultural identifier for the group of people who want to win this war and feel surrounded by those who are hostile or indifferent. So it will be a quiet steady propaganda/morale booster for our side.

That's my prediction - we'll see if it comes true.

​

Tom Holsinger quoted from an article at Strategypage:

... the American people themselves engaged the enemy before their government did, aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. The effects of this remain unclear but certainly something immense began.

Students of American character should pay close attention to Flight 93. A random sample of American adults was subjected to the highest possible stress and organized themselves in a terribly brief period, without benefit of training or group tradition other than their inherent national consciousness, to foil a well planned and executed terrorist attack. Recordings show the passengers and cabin crew of Flight 93 - ordinary Americans all - exemplified the virtues Americans hold most dear.

Certain death came for them by surprise but they did not panic and instead immediately organized, fought and robbed terror of its victory. They died but were not defeated. Ordinary Americans confronted by enemies behaved exactly like the citizen-soldiers eulogized in Victor Davis Hanson's Carnage and Culture.

Herman Wouk called the heroic sacrifice of the USS Enterprise's Torpedo 8 squadron at the Battle of Midway "... the soul of America in action." Flight 93 was the soul of America, and the American people know it. They spontaneously created a shrine at the crash site to express what is in their hearts and minds but not their mouths. They are waiting for a poet. Normally a President fills this role.

But Americans feel it now. They don't need a government or leader for that, and didn't to guide their actions on Flight 93, because they really are America. Go to the crash shrine and talk to people there. Something significant resonates through them which is different from, and possibly greater than, the shock of suffering a Pearl Harbor attack at home.

Pearl Harbor remains a useful analogy given Admiral Isokoru Yamamoto's statement on December 7, 1941 - "I fear we have woken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."

They were giants on Flight 93.​

Welcome Instapundit readers! If you are new to this blog, there are links to some highlights from the early years on your left, and if you scroll down you'll find our list of categories, which group news and cultural issues we cover often.

PS. This is a Jewish blog, so I hope you will excuse a bit of particularism: Jeremy Glick's widow recounts her last conversation with her husband. (From a large supplement to the NY Jewish Week, commemorating 9-11. Many moving interviews and stories.)

. . . . he told me he thought he was going to die; he said he would respect any decisions I made. He didn’t sound panicked, he didn’t sound angry. He just sounded very, very sad. . . . Then he went into a planning mode. He said there were three guys as big as him-- – Jeremy was a large guy, a little over six feet and 220 pounds; in 1993 he was the NCAA judo champion for his weight class -- and they were thinking of jumping the hijacker with the bomb. Did I think it was a good idea?

I hesitated, then I said, 'Honey, you need to do it.'

He was thinking of what he could use as a weapon, besides his hands. He said, 'I have my butter knife from breakfast.' Which is like Jeremy; he always made a light comment when things were stressful.

He said, 'OK, we’re going to go do it. I’m going to put the phone down. I’ll be right back.'

I just handed the phone to my Dad. My Dad said he heard screaming and then there was nothing. A few minutes went by and then there was more screaming and noise. Then there was nothing. . . .​

 

[mattskramer]

I think we would all be surprised at the number of people that would either be so frozen with fear, or think that the terrorists could be appeased somehow with reason. So probably not a tough question for us but who knows?

Okay. Good point. I wasn’t there and I don’t know all of the facts. Yet, if I hear that other terrorists had flown planes into buildings and that our plane is probably next, I would think that there would be no reasoning with them at that point. I think that I would come to terms with the notion that it is “my time to go” but I would go down fighting.