Another real piece from buzzfeed. This one pulled out a confused, sad anger I haven't felt in a while.
- I think now of every war memorial I ever yawned through on a class trip, how someone else’s past horror was my vacant diversion and maybe I learned something but I didn’t feel anything. Everyone should have a museum dedicated to the worst day of their life and be forced to attend it with a bunch of tourists from Denmark. Annotated divorce papers blown up and mounted, interactive exhibits detailing how your mom’s last round of chemo didn’t take, souvenir T-shirts emblazoned with your best friend’s last words before the car crash. And you should have to see for yourself how little your pain matters to a family of five who need to get some food before the kids melt down. Or maybe worse, watch it be co-opted by people who want, for whatever reason, to feel that connection so acutely.
Ouch.
flagamuffin - another one for the books.
That was a great read, and while some people may see her response as perhaps cynical, or even unfeeling, to me it seems absolutely rational and grounded in a reality that seems very healthy. One of my favorite national monuments is the Lincoln Memorial. It's a fantastic site, but what really makes it special is the reflecting pool. The idea that Lincoln is sitting there reflecting, and that we should do the same. Perhaps that's the sort of thing that should have existed as a monument for September 11th? -But no gift shop.
Did you see this? There's what Norway did, and then there's "vulgarity with the noblest intentions." Which I question. I read this the other day and it bothered me too much to post. Actually I don't think I managed to finish it. The last time I was in NYC, construction was going on at the site of the new tower, though nothing much was yet built. Across the street was a church with a cemetery and a small, free museum. One tiny room, a few displays, a timeline of the events in case you were too young to remember. Some pictures, but nothing needlessly hurtful or shocking. I don't have any clue if it's still there, but I hope so.
There are a few very distinct differences between the Norway proposal, other war memorials, and the 9/11 memorial: the inclusion of nature and the exclusion of paying. There is a openness and the ability to wander, explore, remember, think, breath, and cry. With the 9/11 one, these are obvious challenges due to the nature of New York City, but challenges that could have been overcome with some creative design. The fact that the memorial is closed off, entry is barred by TSA style search and a need to pay, is what turns a memorial into a gimmicky, money hungry, corporate bullshit. The little things - like what they chose to include - are also striking. Recording booths? Projectors? Audio playing? These are gimmicky uses of technology that belong in a children's science museum, not where someone legitimately goes to remember lost ones. In fact, the entire thing sounds much more like a museum than a memorial, right down to the overpriced, tacky gift shop. Don't call a memorial a museum. Or vise versa. The Lincoln Memorial (and all the memorials in DC) have turned into a bit of a tourist destination. You walk around, you snap selfies with your iPhone, etc. But even then you have time to sit and reflect and think. You walk up these steps and are struck by the enormity of Lincoln. You take photos. And then you sit. It isn't time to leave yet. You aren't forced to by guided by one room to another. You aren't forced to look at videos or listen to audio. You have a space to yourself dedicated to those that have been lost. You have air. All these are missing from this museum/memorial/corporate bullshit. ps: I really, really like that Norway proposal.
I think it was Hunter S. Thompson, maybe, who pointed out that al Qaeda won the day we erected TSA barriers at every airport in America ... and I think they won again when we started screening all visitors to the 9/11 museum. I'll never go, to the museum or the Freedom Tower -- fuck -- or any of it. Oh well. PS, sorry about Duke. I've been following that via your facebook. It was fucking cool your brother threw a shutout though.
Agreed 100% PS: Thanks. It was so close. We hit that homer in the bottom 9th to tie it up and we actually had a fucking shot. Bottom 12th, runners on 1st and 3rd to tie it up again and a called 3rd strike to end it. Apparently, those watching the TV said it wasn't a strike. The biggest bummer was the pitching change we made. We assumed the guy we put in (a top dog) would be better than our closer. But our close was on fire and our starter was prepared to start Sunday if necessary and let that homer get hit. Oh well. Doesn't look like we'll make NCAA either. Good run. Drafts on the 5th. Cross your fingers, we're looking at round 5-8, yanks, most likely.
Definitely make a post or give us an update on draft day! As a Yankees fan I'd be stoked if they grab your brother, based on the stats I've seen when you've been posting about him on Twitter. Good luck to him with the draft.
Thanks. Yeah I'll keep you all posted, don't worry! I'm getting really excited. He'll probably play minors for a few years before you'll have a chance of seeing him on tv and he gets his yellow lambo, though.
Ah, I see that your brother is taking after Verlander with the lambo thing. Hey, if he gets drafted by the Yanks and makes it to Triple-A (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) there's a chance I'd see him! Go to their games every so often when they play in NY.
He got a lot of attention after summer ball last year due to his microscopic era. The sox made an offer and the Yankees promised to match it. He wanted to play senior year and finish college though but has stayed in contact. I don't really know how it all works but he does. He's not only a crazy good baseball player but a crazy good at math and stats and analyzing stuff. When he wants to know how stuff works he studies his ass off. He can list how the drafts turn out and signing bonuses for college senior pitchers like him for the last 20 years. Problem with being a senior is you don't have leverage. You either get drafted or get a job. As a junior you can choose which means more options. We'll take whatever we can get and I'm already so proud of him. If you had told me 6 years ago that he'd be playing d1 college ball I wouldn't have believed you. If you had told me 2 weeks ago that he'd throw a CG shutout against one of the top hitting teams during the ACC tourney, I would've laughed in your face. It's been a crazy amazing ride (and made for a much needed 6 day vacation for me!)
I think it's a matter of spectacle above all else. Yes, our monuments in DC are tourist attractions as well, but it's not their primary function. They exist independently, and are larger, existentially, than the attraction they have. They don't have any excess to them, they're purely for respect of who or what they depict (except maybe the WWII memorial. I fucking hate that thing.) The same goes for the Norway memorial. It's a symbol. The 9/11 one is a cheap, highway side-show museum. "Wonders and Oddities of A Unique Event!" It's like the Buzzfeed/HuffPo of memorials. "10 Crazy Things From 9/11 You Won't Believe!" It's disingenuous at best, but really, it's what capitalism is at its worst.