9-11 Firefighter's Memorial

AKA2D '91 · #1 01-16-2002, 10:04 PM

CNN reported that a PROPOSED memorial to the NY firefighters was unveiled. The memorial which is depicted from an actual photo is comprised of a White man, a Hispanic man, and an African American man. However, the photo only includes 3 white men.

It was reported that "some" firefighters said to create the memorial EXACTLY like the photo or do not create the memorial AT all. There are opponents who say, that the memorial should represent EVERYONE.

What do you think?

AKAtude · #2 01-16-2002, 10:58 PM

Well, tell them to make their own memorial. IMO, it doesn't make any difference who is depicted. I probably couldn't tell the difference anyway. I think a more fitting memorial would be something similar to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with the names of those who lost their lives.

kitten03 · #3 01-16-2002, 11:16 PM

I understand the need to recognize the heroism of these police officers and firefighters. But can't we have one monument/memorial. I mean we dont have memorials for every branch of the military that served in every war i.e Army memorial for WWII, Navy memorial for WWII etc. So why should there be multiple memorials for this tragic event. I think with one memorial comes a sense ofunity especially because police and firefighters have been arguing over various things. So let's unite them and the country with one memorial to the service workers who work and died along with or near where a memorial could be for the victims of 911. Sorry for the length....

CkretCrush8 · #4 01-16-2002, 11:52 PM

My question would be how can you tell what race the memoral is going to be once it is done in whatever type of material that statutes/materials are made up of.

However, I have to agree that there should justs be a wall listing those who lost their lives.

ENDROAD · #5 01-17-2002, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by CkretCrush8
My question would be how can you tell what race the memoral is going to be once it is done in whatever type of material that statutes/materials are made up of.

However, I have to agree that there should justs be a wall listing those who lost their lives.

I completely agree. However, because our country is so focused on race and ethnicity the features of the statues would indeed give way to their nationality.
I see a wall with a list of names more befitting this tragedy because three men standing could not reflect the horror we all witnessed as Men, Women, Children, Mothers Fathers, Sons, Daughters, Sisters, Brothers, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins were lost never to be seen ALIVE again. Lost Lives and such a tragedy. How do you pay homage? ..........The Best We Can.
Have we learned anything?

Eastcoast Sunshine · #6 01-17-2002, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ENDROAD

I completely agree. However, because our country is so focused on race and ethnicity the features of the statues would indeed give way to their nationality.
I see a wall with a list of names more befitting this tragedy because three men standing could not reflect the horror we all witnessed as Men, Women, Children, Mothers Fathers, Sons, Daughters, Sisters, Brothers, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins were lost never to be seen ALIVE again. Lost Lives and such a tragedy. How do you pay homage? ..........The Best We Can.
Have we learned anything?

I agree as well. There should be a monument to serve as a tribute to all of the heroes, not just the firemen, but the numerous police, EMT/EMS, and everyday people who risked their lives to help out a co-worker or anyone in need.

Sept. 11th produced many heores, and they should all be recognized.

A wall w/an eternal flame or waterfall of some kind would be a nice memorial to honor the lives of those lost

Jody · #7 01-17-2002, 07:40 PM

At the risk of being politically incorrect, I think the memorial should be EXACTLY like the photo if they are the using the photo as a guide. Those men were three United States citizens who raised the flag to show their patriotism, they weren't posing for a picture.

For the people who say a memorial should show diversity, I think they should stop promoting their agenda. What's next, are we not going to have a Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday and change it to a "Civil Rights Day" so that white people who lost their life during the struggle won't feel left out? (Yes, for all you uninformed people alot of white people died during the civil rights struggle)

Steeltrap · #8 01-17-2002, 07:47 PM

I will take the politically incorrect AND properly journalistic route -- you don't mess with true stories.

The sculpture should reflect the actual firefighters. Someone should have thought of a memorial wall that could have names as well as generic Black, Latino, Asian and white facial figures to represent Americans.

The one thing I hate about all of this is that it took Fox News, a network which represents some of the worst about television journalism, to make this public.

AKA2D '91 · #9 01-17-2002, 07:52 PM

I thought I saw it on CNN

last night. Maybe it was Fox, because there was a segment where this "brotha", an attorney and this other dude were debating with this host. It could have been Fox.

Steeltrap · #10 01-17-2002, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AKA2D '91
I thought I saw it on CNN last night. Maybe it was Fox, because there was a segment where this "brotha", an attorney and this other dude were debating with this host. It could have been Fox.

I think Fox started out with it, and the other networks picked up on it. Someone in the Chit Chat room mentioned that he saw it on Fox.

ClassyLady · #11 01-17-2002, 09:51 PM

Personally, I think that a wall or eternal flame would be a much better memorial than a statue. Like someone said, there were more heroes associated with the attacks of September 11 than just firefighters and police officers. Any memorial should be in remembrance of all of the innocent lives that were lost during this tragedy in honor of everyone who helped that day, from the firefighters to the doctors and nurses. They are all heroes.

Honestly, I would rather see a statue depicting the janitor who cleaned toilets to put his son through college or the secretary who cared for her sick mother. I have much respect for all of the firefighters who risked their lives to help other people. But, I would rather see something in honor of the every day man or woman who was senselessly killed on that day.

straightBOS · #12 01-17-2002, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jody

For the people who say a memorial should show diversity, I think they should stop promoting their agenda. What's next, are we not going to have a Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday and change it to a "Civil Rights Day" so that white people who lost their life during the struggle won't feel left out? (Yes, for all you uninformed people alot of white people died during the civil rights struggle)

BTW, in some places it is called Civil Rights Day.

Also, it should be noted that none of the "represented races" were consulted before this decision was handed down. It was the decision of the Higher Ups in the Fire Department as well as the people commissioned to do the statute. So no one asked them to change it from the picture.

The sad part is the actual lack of true diversity in the department would have made it a rare occasion for firemen of three different races to be photographed side-by-side.

And truly, I think the re-imaging is the real politically incorrect thing. It turns a blind eye to the real lack of diversity and trivializes it.

The re-imaging is indeed a bad idea. The question is, what are they going to do now with a "realistic"

statue that skews reality.

Its a dark day when this passes for racial "sensitivity" and honoring heroes.