Your 3 main reasons

[iamatheist]

I understand, in a way - there were some people who had neither family in those areas nor lived there themselves who become unnecessarily hysterical.

But at the same time, I would hope you understand that some of the emotional outbursts would be from empathy, and I acknowledge that a lot of it was fear.

My father framed the next day's Washington Post's front page and has it tucked away in his office. The headlines and pictures still produce a gut-wrenching reaction.

I went to a high school where about half (and that's low-balling) of our parents worked in and around DC. It was like an electrical current running through the entire building even before the vice-principle announced what had happened. I can't imagine multiplying that terror by 1000 by living in NY.

This isn't about nationalities or ideologies or religions. Purely from a human standpoint, the sight of rampant hateful destruction ought to cause at least some sort of emotional response.

Yeah I'd like to whole-heartedly agree with you, I'm not sure where it came into this debating whether or not 9/11 affected us.. I'm a UK citizen and my heart stopped for those involved on that day. Regardless of religion a large loss of life on that scale is an entirely human issue and "not-caring" is an entirely inhuman thought.. I hope that Aerzia has a point to be made from that post..

Reverendjeremiah, you seem to have hit the nail on the head! I wish I had the foresight to say that's why I asked the question. We seem to be caught up in factual ideas and 'proof' on either part when in reality no proof shall come. Atheism is a 'rational' standpoint (rational to the best a human can comprehend) whereas (unfortunately) the choice of belief is an emotional one
However, my point is also that it shouldn't be.. People who believe and think that they are not hurting anyone I simply point you in the direction of a couple of dawkins and hitchins speeches (Dawkins at TED on militant atheism and Hitchins when asked "why fight religion") for my argument put alot more eloquently than I could