Can't shake dread of terrorism

[Anonymous]

We live in Bethesda and I think of this all the time also. You aren't the only one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again--okay, these replies are not helping at all! They are mostly just reinforcing that we should move away. (And indeed, we probably should.) Anyone want to share their strategies for living here without the constant dread?

OP, I'm not trying to diminish your fears but imagine if you had moved to Oklahoma City to get away from the possibility of terrorism in DC and you ended up working in the federal building when Timothy McVeigh bombed it. True, you're probably safe from terrorism in Oklahoma City overall but what I'm trying to point out is that there is only so much you can control.

[Anonymous]

Or you could move away, get new jobs, and then get RIFfed in a budget cutback and be unemployed for a year or more in this economic climate.

No, not as bad as being hit by a nuclear bomb, true.... but much more likely IMO.

[Anonymous]

I think your fear is irrational and that you should seek a little therapy because it is interfering with the quality of your daily life. Seriously. Not to say that a terrorist attack can't happen, but there are so many dangers in this world that are much more likely to come to pass. You are statistically far more likely to die in a car accident or get cancer or have heart disease or whatever. Do you worry yourself sick every time you eat a bowl of artery-clogging ice cream? Do you refuse to ride in a car? Do you wake up every morning oppressed by the thought that today is the day that you may find a lump on your breast in the shower? I think it is normal for the dangers of the world to cross your mind from time to time, but when it gets to the point of constant dread, it is a not normal.

Also, why do you assume that DC will be ground zero? New York, LA, Chicago, those are all likely targets too. A huge hurricane hit New Orleans. Oklahoma City was the site of the worst incident of domestic terrorism ever (who would have predicted that). Crazy teenagers shot a bunch of innocent kids in a peaceful Colorado suburban high school. People vacationing on the beautiful beaches of Phuket got swallowed up in a tsunami. Life is risky and unpredictable, and yet, irrationally it seems, we worry least about the MOST risky things (like eating too much and not exercising enough) and instead choose to focus on risks that have what I'd characterize as a high "horror" quotient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think your fear is irrational and that you should seek a little therapy because it is interfering with the quality of your daily life. Seriously. Not to say that a terrorist attack can't happen, but there are so many dangers in this world that are much more likely to come to pass. You are statistically far more likely to die in a car accident or get cancer or have heart disease or whatever. Do you worry yourself sick every time you eat a bowl of artery-clogging ice cream? Do you refuse to ride in a car? Do you wake up every morning oppressed by the thought that today is the day that you may find a lump on your breast in the shower? I think it is normal for the dangers of the world to cross your mind from time to time, but when it gets to the point of constant dread, it is a not normal.

Also, why do you assume that DC will be ground zero? New York, LA, Chicago, those are all likely targets too. A huge hurricane hit New Orleans. Oklahoma City was the site of the worst incident of domestic terrorism ever (who would have predicted that). Crazy teenagers shot a bunch of innocent kids in a peaceful Colorado suburban high school. People vacationing on the beautiful beaches of Phuket got swallowed up in a tsunami. Life is risky and unpredictable, and yet, irrationally it seems, we worry least about the MOST risky things (like eating too much and not exercising enough) and instead choose to focus on risks that have what I'd characterize as a high "horror" quotient.

OP again. According to the aforementioned report, DC and NY are the most likely venues, so that is what I am basing my information on; seems a reasonable source to me. Similarly, odds of greater than 50% over the next 5 years seems much higher than the odds of my imminent dying of heart disease, car crashes, etc. And while I don't worry myself sick over those other "more likely" dangers, I do, in fact, take appropriate precautions for them.

And to some degree the warnings about Katrina, Oklahoma City, etc., are beside the point for the following reason: of course, we can't control everything and no one could have predicted Oklahoma City, Columbine, etc. But that is not the point--the point is that we DO KNOW that it is extremely likely that DC will be hit with terrorism. So I am talking of a known, somewhat-quantifiable risk, not a "well-we-can't-control-everything" sort of thing.

I don't mean to be critical or to suggest that your comments aren't valid thoughts, but they aren't really addressing the issue I raised, is all.

[Anonymous]

I disagree with a PP. I think your fear is COMPLETELY rational!

It's just that, there's not much you can do about it, unless you really want to move, which it sounds like you don't.

So you have to make a choice -- Am I going to dwell on this? Am I going to ignore it?

Or am I going to inform myself with facts, prepare prudently for known hazards as best I reasonably can, and then get on with my life?

BTW -- from the David Shenk article -- my favorite paragraphs:

I know that most of you would sooner shop for your own casket than stock up on post-nuclear groceries. The great paradox of surviving nuclear terrorism is that probably the most excruciating part is confronting it emotionally, tearing your psyche away from the much more comfortable (and widely assumed) scenario of annihilation. Ask any New Yorker about a nuclear attack and the first thing you'll hear is, "Why dwell on it? I'll be dead." No one wants to hear the muckier truth of likely survival. If confronted, people jerk back with the response, "I'd kill myself." But you wouldn't. A few survivors might, but that's just not what humans do in the face of catastrophe. Ask Elie Wiesel or Viktor Frankl. We've got this annoying survival instinct. You would want to live. You would want to help your family. You would want to help others. You would want to rebuild your life.

Why not face that reality now, in advance? Yes, it's uncomfortable. But an hour or two of preparation might mean the difference between complete misery and relative safety. No one is suggesting a life-altering obsession—Lord knows I'm looking forward to thinking about something else—only that you spend about as much time preparing for this awful unlikelihood as you already have for other awful unlikelihoods. None of us expect to get cancer or watch our house burn to cinders, but we buy health, life, and home insurance just in case. We prepare for the worst and then forget about it. Why not apply that same principle to acts of God or Bin Laden?

http://www.slate.com/id/2148772/entry/2148774

[Anonymous]

OP again! Many thanks to the two PPs who referenced the Slate article--I just read it.

Thanks also for the validation that my fears are rational. That's just it--I feel like my fears are rational, but they get dismissed, so I begin to think that either everyone else is in denial, or I am crazy, and honestly, I think it is the former.

[Anonymous]

OP, our feelings are designed to help us survive. Fear and anxiety are supposed to help us because we ACT to avert whatever we are worried about.

Now it would be one thing if you had an irrational fear, a groundless, unrealistic fear. But nowadays, fear of a terrorist attack in DC is not irrational. Indeed, it may just be a question of when, not if.

If you are a parent, and you seriously have these misgivings, I think you owe it to yourself and your family to move far enough away that you feel comfortable.

For the sake of my kids, I wouldn't even want to work there anymore. They need their mom. But I would consider it as long as the kids were out here in school in the 'burbs. But exposing them to what I consider to be a strong possibility of disaster? No way.

I do everything I can to minimize risks to my kids. Childproofing, careful supervision, go to the doctor when in doubt, teach about stranger safety, etc etc - even though it's very unlikely that they will encounter a real threat. Of course I would minimize, to a reasonable degree, the danger of WHERE they live.

But that's just me...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I
Also, why do you assume that DC will be ground zero? New York, LA, Chicago, those are all likely targets too. A huge hurricane hit New Orleans. Oklahoma City was the site of the worst incident of domestic terrorism ever (who would have predicted that). Crazy teenagers shot a bunch of innocent kids in a peaceful Colorado suburban high school. People vacationing on the beautiful beaches of Phuket got swallowed up in a tsunami. Life is risky and unpredictable, and yet, irrationally it seems, we worry least about the MOST risky things (like eating too much and not exercising enough) and instead choose to focus on risks that have what I'd characterize as a high "horror" quotient.

While many incidents have occurred around the nation as well as other countries, DC is ground zero. That aside, to address OP's question, yes, I too think many people are naive and seem to forget. Whenever we have family or friends visit from the west coast, they are surprised by all the security - museums, fed buildings, etc. One of our guests asked - why are there so many police and barriers in front of the White House and why can't we drive by it? My DH, who specializes in this field, just shook his head.

[Anonymous]

This thread is one of the most pathetic I have read for some time.

Firstly you clearly have no real idea of the relative risk of, for instance, car crashes vs. terrorism. Moving out to the far burbs means you are far more likely to die in a car crash than if you take public transport, and your risk of dying in a car crash is many many times greater than dying in a terrorist attack.

But having said that, I don't want to deter anyone from moving. This place would be better off if all the spineless cowards scuttled away to their bunkers in the mountains.

Run away! Run away!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is one of the most pathetic I have read for some time.

Firstly you clearly have no real idea of the relative risk of, for instance, car crashes vs. terrorism. Moving out to the far burbs means you are far more likely to die in a car crash than if you take public transport, and your risk of dying in a car crash is many many times greater than dying in a terrorist attack.

But having said that, I don't want to deter anyone from moving. This place would be better off if all the spineless cowards scuttled away to their bunkers in the mountains.

Run away! Run away!

In fact, it is your response above that is "pathetic." "Spineless cowards"? Are you always this hate-filled or do you save it for anonymous boards? OP, ignore this troll.

[Anonymous]

"Appointment in Samarra," people.

You can't avoid anything when it's your time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Firstly you clearly have no real idea of the relative risk of, for instance, car crashes vs. terrorism. Moving out to the far burbs means you are far more likely to die in a car crash than if you take public transport, and your risk of dying in a car crash is many many times greater than dying in a terrorist attack.

I think OP's concern is real but OP should also consider that not only is there a danger of car crashes but those long drives into work could just make your overall life miserable, you'd get less exercise, and maybe eat too much junk food and get a heart condition and maybe you'd die a couple years earlier from being overweight.

Okay, I'd still rather face that than a nuclear warhead but it's another thing to consider!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think your fear is irrational and that you should seek a little therapy because it is interfering with the quality of your daily life. Seriously. Not to say that a terrorist attack can't happen, but there are so many dangers in this world that are much more likely to come to pass.

Completely agree with this. Worry about driving around here -- that's a real danger.

[Anonymous]

I've lived in this area my whole life and was downtown on 9/11 and was quite freaked out for a good couple of years after that. But I let it go. I hate flying because I am always convinced that the plane is going to crash, but I travel for work all the time and just suck it up. I'm not in denial, I just deal with it. Your fears may be rational, but you don't have to let them control you. I second the therapy suggestion. If you are unable, through therapy (or even anti-anxiety meds) to find some calm, maybe you should in fact consider moving away. Your peace of mind is worth it.