Would you have jumped?

Strange how the 1970's featured such apocalyptic and disaster movies.

a reply to: fusiondoe

the heat drives you out of your mind to a point where you will do anything to get away from IMO

This is the one aspect of 9/11 that disturbs me the most. Out of everything that is so disturbing about the whole thing, my mind just shuts down when I try to fathom what those people went through.

Never went to the WTC as a tourist or anything but have seen videos and I hate heights anyway. Just to see how high it was on video makes my head spin and my whole body sweat.

I don't think they chose to jump. No. These were people with good lives.I think the conditions inside must have been unbearable to the point to where they couldn't stand it. Whether that was heat or smoke or both or possibly other things. They probably didn't know the buildings would collapse (and even if they did they'd have likely held out hope to the end if something else wasn't going on that was making it impossible).

Just terrible to think about really.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
This is the one aspect of 9/11 that disturbs me the most. Out of everything that is so disturbing about the whole thing, my mind just shuts down when I try to fathom what those people went through.

Never went to the WTC as a tourist or anything but have seen videos and I hate heights anyway. Just to see how high it was on video makes my head spin and my whole body sweat.

I don't think they chose to jump. No. These were people with good lives.I think the conditions inside must have been unbearable to the point to where they couldn't stand it. Whether that was heat or smoke or both or possibly other things. They probably didn't know the buildings would collapse (and even if they did they'd have likely held out hope to the end if something else wasn't going on that was making it impossible).

Just terrible to think about really.

This 100%

Imagine being faced with that choice - Makes me feel physically sick. I don’t think anybody can even comprehend what they must have been thinking at the time.

Imagine they woke up, had breakfast, kissed their partner and kiss goodbye, went to work and then suddenly within a very short time they were stood at a window choosing how they would die.

Beyond upsetting

originally posted by: ConfusedBrit

On a side note, a horribly moving aspect was some groups of victims deciding to jump together. The 2011 FOIA releases of multiple footage from various sources thankfully did not include surviving CCTV close-ups, and what WAS eventually shown was incredibly emotional as anonymous people seemed to fall in their droves at certain points like ants - a spectacle dropped from initial news broadcasts. It's an aspect I'd regard as crucial (so long as the victims are unidentifiable and impacts are not shown) to completing the Human story rather than repeating footage of collapsing towers - which some news stations played on a loop as if 'excited' at the disaster movie-style imagery. Which I found quite offensive after a while.

Sorry, I went off on a slight tangent there.

Interesting how multiple camera/videos, and angles come out with people falling to their death, but only one angle from the pentagon from hundreds of cameras, on the premises at the Pentagon. Go figure.

a reply to: fusiondoe
I've never been so disturbed by seeing those poor people falling to their deaths.
I'm terrified of heights, I imagine I'd have burned, or hopefully smoke inhalation unconscious first.
Terrible terrible tragedy, I watched it on live TV at work, conspiracy theories aside, many people were murdered on that day.

a reply to: fusiondoe

Everyone who lives/works in a tall building should keep a portable parachute handy. I think they're really compact now and will keep you from hitting the ground too hard, even as low as 20 floors up?

This wasn't a choice for some of the jumpers as you and I understand it. All animals (including humans) have an instinctive response to retreat from fire or intense heat. Now of course humans can overcome that fear with reason, if we're standing around a campfire at a safe distance, we don't feel an urge to flee. But if you're trapped in a fire you are going to have an overwhelming urge to get away from it, even if your only escape route is out a 90th floor window.

On the other hand, some jumpers will have weighed their options and made a conscious decision to jump before the fire got close enough for them to experience this. But I have no doubt some were near the windows in hopes of being rescued with no intention of jumping. Once the fire got near enough though, it was an impulse more than a decision.

ETA: As several have noted, this is one of those things where you really can't predict how you would act until you were faced with it.

a reply to: face23785

I wonder if the jumpers felt relief during their fall?

I can safely say that for me, that was the worst sight of the day. That was probably the images that hit me the most. Because its so hard to put yourself in that situation and try to imagine the hopelessness of it. In that moment, you KNOW you are going to die, and you have to decide which way will be less worse.

I think I would have jumped. I would be scared that I would not pass out from the smoke in time, and I would be scared the building would fall and I would be crushed slowly. The only sure way to die immediately and painless in that situation in my mind would be to jump. Although I think some people probably thought they could scale the building down. I remember seeing some people trying to keep a hold of the edge, slide down, or even climb down. So whatever the sight and feeling was inside those offices had to be pretty bad for you to decide to try and attempt scaling or climbing down the building.

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: face23785

I wonder if the jumpers felt relief during their fall?

I just cannot comprehend it, the situation for those people goes way past my psyche zone of experience or emotions.
Deeply sad and terrifying end to people's lives.

originally posted by: CornishCeltGuy

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: face23785

I wonder if the jumpers felt relief during their fall?

I just cannot comprehend it, the situation for those people goes way past my psyche zone of experience or emotions.
Deeply sad and terrifying end to people's lives.

Same here. Just the heat from Roasting marsh-mellows over a campfire is sometimes overwhelming, if the wood flares up suddenly.

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: face23785

I wonder if the jumpers felt relief during their fall?

Maybe a few that had time to consider their options and reconcile their fate before they jumped. The ones who jumped on impulse, I doubt it. The entire experience was likely traumatic and terrifying. You're in a mixture of shock, fight-or-flight, and terror.

While I don't approve of attacking all Muslims over the actions of a few, this is why I don't get too concerned when there's 9/11 remembrance events and there's always some asshole who has to say we should be worried about offending Muslims. Compared to what the 9/11 victims went through, I really don't care if a few Muslims have their feelings hurt. Sorry.

I would jump, I have fallen from a high distance before and was knocked unconscious. As I was falling I thought to myself this is gonna hurt. In reality everything just went black and no pain. Fortunately I had a helmet on and didn't die.

a reply to: carewemust
I can never really answer the OP question because I'd have to be in such a wretched choice to know.
I am terrified of heights, but us humans have that latent fear of fire, which would lose the day for me I have no idea.
...but the images of people falling I will never erase from my mind, no matter how much I try to put them in a brain drawer, I just can't comprehend such terror, really can't.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

The couple holding hands on the way to their deaths was very touching. Makes one realize what's really important in life, when we think we're having a hard time with something.

a reply to: carewemust
Heck yeah!
Honestly, I just can't imagine the terror and despair, I can't, it's level 10 worst choice situation to be in.
The footage deeply affected me, the pointlessness of it all, same around the world though, I don't have a TV anymore, I know if something terrible happens then it will be posted on ATS and I can read about it instead of seeing it live.
...I can get all the UK channels live on my laptop but I tend to linger on ATS instead.

I would stand on the seat of an office chair and jump.
Right before it hit the ground I would jump off and land unscratched.

a reply to: skunkape23

You might be on to something.....
Please do a test demo and let us know if this works.

a reply to: skunkape23

If I am picturing this correctly. You are going to hold onto the office chair the entire way down, and right before it hits the ground, jump off said office chair? What happens if you end up upside down? If you were upright still, wouldn't you still be falling at such a speed that jumping off would still kill you? I have a lot of questions.