Exit through the 9/11 Museum gift shop

[FindingNamo]

Yeah, I think that's one of the things we've talked about here about how there's nothing left *to do* in this country but buy things. (Addison, I'm glad you rested up and came back to this thread.) I think for me, it goes back to those antennae the woman from the Holocaust Memorial Council talked about. I think whoever picked the endless supply of tchotchkes for sale here seemed to be all over the place. I mean, I love dogs. But I recognize the "Honor the dogs of 9-11" buttons to be a cynical tie-in to the humongous market for all things dog in the US of today. It's just like, somebody should have said "Stop! Let's go slow!".

[CarlosAlberto]

I don't object to the gift shop idea per se, it's just that some of the items chosen are questionable and really not in good taste.

[Addison D.]

Hmmm...I'm going to have to go away again and meditate on your clarification, Jane.

So many of the things that right-minded (i.e.--those whose values are precisely aligned with my own) people find grotesque and tragic about our world are, arguably, the result of abdicating responsible decision-making to a purely market-driven philosophy--politicians who pander to the basest prejudices and selfish desires of the voters get elected, resulting in a Congress (and, increasingly a Senate) that is a nightmare of partisan BS. Our insane (lack of) gun policy is the result of the fact that a majority of voters repeatedly demonstrate that they want it this way. People periodically bemoan the celebrity-worship culture, but vote to perpetuate it by buying all the magazines.

Isn't a purely market-driven filter the best way to reflect the values of the greatest number of people? Isn't that the best possible expression of our participatory democracy? Or should we yearn for a return to a time when an elite made all the decisions for the great, unwashed masses?

[Jane2]

I understand the supply and demand philosophy. And I understand that this country is all about money. And that's fine, but in the case of a monumental tragedy (pun intended) I'd prefer a more upscale and serious array of gifts than the cheap ones on display.

[FindingNamo]

I think you nailed it Addison. I don't think this is a good thing, but this is indeed where we are as a country: "Isn't a purely market-driven filter the best way to reflect the values of the greatest number of people? Isn't that the best possible expression of our participatory democracy?"

[ArtMan]

While in the process of booking a ticket to the museum for my June visit, I stumbled upon an interview on GMA. I did not know that the museum hold the remains of unidentified loved ones. So this is indeed a cemetery. Makes it even more crass to have a gift shop. Another issue I have is how people conduct themselves at such memorials. Aushwitz was mentioned earlier. When I visited Dachau, people were actually posing for pictures and smiling in front of the crematoriums.. When I visited the Holocaust Museum, there were school groups screaming and laughing, their teachers doing nothing to control their conduct. I finally said something to the employees who then warned the kids about their behavior.

[morosco]

One of the most powerful memorials we have is also one of the most simple in design.

[Jane2]

They've already had a huge upscale party there. People reveling, laughing, taking selfies, etc.

[Everlast85]

When I was at the memorial, there were tons of people running around, screaming, taking smiling photos. It was very strange, nothing can be done about it (there are signs) but I wish people would show more respect.

The museum was a lot more somber, and my friend who lost a brother in the attacks visited yesterday, said it was comforting to go into the reflection room and stare at the cabinets of remains because some of his brother might be there, and he can always go there and visit. He walked right past the gift store, though.

[Addison D.]

Ah--yes. Maya Lin's brilliant, paradigm-changing, typology-creating work of pure, heartfelt Genius. The Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC.

Brilliant. Moving. Deeply, profoundly complex and symbolic yet utterly simple. If it doesn't move you to tears, you are--in my opinion--dead inside.

Oh--except, of course, for the legions of folks who found it so utterly "offensive" and "disrespectful" that a "traditional" sculpture was added.

[SNAFU]

I think most of the outrage came from Maya's ethnicity. At least that is what I remembered when the memorial opened.

[FindingNamo]

I think we've all agreed that you can't please everybody.

It's still not a 9-11 doggie vest for sale on top of a cemetery.

[Addison D.]

I guess that's the crux of the thing, Namo. IS it not a 9-11 doggie vest for sale on top of a cemetery?

Why? Where's the line? Who decides?

My objection to everybody's objections is just that they seem to be--as so much public discourse is these days--about mistaking a capacity for expressing Moral Outrage with actual Morality. Andrea Peyser finds some 9/11 family member who is sincerely offended by the gift shop and whips the proletariat into a frenzy over some straw man argument about "respect".

Respect is in the heart and mind of each individual person and how they approach the events and consequences of 9/11. The person who buys a doggie vest and takes a moment to say a deeply heartfelt prayer for the dead and their loved ones every time they put it on their dog is no less "respectful", I say, than someone who feels that the very existence of the vest is an insult.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

IS it not a 9-11 doggie vest for sale on top of a cemetery?

I'ma say no? I think it would probably kill a dog if you tried to make him wear that statue.

Who in this thread takes their marching orders from Andrea Peyser?

[morosco]

When I was at the memorial, there were tons of people running around, screaming, taking smiling photos. It was very strange, nothing can be done about it (there are signs) but I wish people would show more respect.


It is requested that everyone maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.

[Sutton Ross]

God, I WISH that guy existed at EVERY memorial and Broadway show!

[tazber]

Maybe cemeteries should have gift shops too. They could sell black lace panty/veil combo packs, novelty headstones, even "God hates fags" signs in case the Phleps' decide to visit.

[Jane2]

yup, the 911 memorial concessionaires aren't daring to take the high road. They're marching in lockstep to the values of the majority (as you say, Addison) and provide what they want.

[FindingNamo]

My objection to everybody's objections is just that they seem to be--as so much public discourse is these days--about mistaking a capacity for expressing Moral Outrage with actual Morality.

I see what you're saying. But haven't we entered the era where "playing the ________ card" is a way to discredit the very idea of discussing things that people might legitimately have concerns about? I mean, it seems to me we really are at this end stage capitalism place where ONLY the market decides things and all feedback is suspect unless it is "support," ie spending money on rubber bracelets, earrings, bookmarks, plushies, what have you.

[Sutton Ross]

Now people can sit down with their key chains and have a meal! Gross.
The Pavilion Cafe

[Addison D.]

"Playing the ____card" or--conversely--accusing someone else of doing so is just another lazy rhetorical device.

My exhaustion stems from the hyperactive moral certainty that seems to pervade public discourse. What makes an effective fund-raising letter to the faithful--"Look at what those evil Republicans/Democrats are up to now" doesn't make for thoughtful or productive civic dialogue. The hyperbole isn't restricted to politics. People don't seem to be willing or interested in agreeing on common values while disagreeing on specific points.

It seems as though everybody--Republicans, Democrats, gays, straights, meat eaters, citi-bikers--is "evil" An idiot. A menace. In fact, it is possible to vote for a Republican candidate and be a decent person. It is possible to ride a bicycle in Manhattan and not be a careless a$$hole. You can visit a gift shop at Ground Zero and still have a heart full of respect and love for those most personally affected by 9/11.

No-one--neither the politicians nor the electorate--seems capable of thoughtful analysis and measured compromise. Or maybe I'm just getting old.

[PalJoey]

Here's more on the Conde Nast party, from the Daily News.




NY DAILY NEWS: 9/11 Museum, which sits on unidentified remains of attack victims, hosts alcohol-fueled party night before opening

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Please let the record state that the only person who has used the word evil in this entire thread is Addison.

[Addison D.]

PRS-- Is that true?

Maybe it IS all in my head.

I hope so--I'd be less pessimistic about the future if I could believe it was just me.

[Kad]

PalJoey- your link leads to a photo of On the Town.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I mean, I don't know what's going on in your head or why you can't control-F four pages to see for yourself, but yeah, what I said is accurate.