I've been reading transcripts and listening to edited tapes of the calls to 911 on September 11.
The overwhelming feeling I've noticed is compassion. It would be easy to get angry at the frustrating delays. The first time I heard the Hanley tape the other day, I was infuriated by the fact it took the fire dispatch eight rings to pick up, until I realized what was going on. On reading these, it sounds harsh, cruel even, the way the dispatch operators are speaking to people, almost condescendingly.
And yet, maybe it's my acting training, but the panic apparent in those people's words (never mind their voices) speaks to the freezing unknown of that day. As we were all stricken with paralysis and shock, so too were these people, inundated with phone calls of people about to die, who knew, just knew, they were about to die, and were looking for some reassurance.
More here: http://simplyleftbehind.blogspot.com/...