Ground Zero people piss me off!

[billyjoejimbob]

Just came back from the city. Went to see the new exhibition on dresses at the National Museum of the American Indian.

We parked in newark at my company an left from Penn Station to WTC in NYC.

The place is such a mess that you have to walk twice as far to get anywhere around there still....SOMEONE (Cruz) is milking the contract.

The museum was great, saw Emil Her Many Horses and BSed a while.

On the way back to WTC, I started getting pissed at the people selling WTC stuff and even more at eh people taking photos of the "attraction". Im in SO MANY photos because I just kept walking in front of these photographers.

So my gripe is....why is WTC such an attraction? I couldnt even bare to look towards that hole in the ground. I felt so uneasy the whole time I was around it. Thousands of people were killed there and all these assholes are taking photos with their kids.

Now I have been to Wounded Knee a bunch of years ago AND i took photos. After I did that, I felt really ****ty because I was trying to get that "good shot" of a massacre site.

Maybe all these assholes in NYC will feel as ****ty as I do in a few years after they start looking at those photos and thinking about what really happened there.

I even yelled at one guy and his 2 kids because theye were blocking the stairway, along with abotu 10 other people. I didnt stop or slow down, I just barrelled thru while saying rather loudly "Its a fu**ing stairway!" My wife even strong armed her way thru. I seriously wanted to say something to his kids. Something like, "make sure you get a good shot because you might be able to see someones bones still".

Im so ****ing sick right now. Im remembering the smell of the cloud of smoke that drifted thru NJ the next day. Burnt cement, steel, paper, plastic and people. And I was 10 miles away. Multiply that by 100 for the people actually THERE. ****, multiply my hatred by 100 also. If I was there that day, survived, and was walking thru that crowd, there would be some hurting people in my tracks.

Maybe they will get to smell that one day.

****ing arsholes. Worse than the terrorists in my book.

[waienhawi]

Unhealthy Anger

First of all, take a deep breath & relax. Nothing should get you that angry & you should not be treating people with the disrespect that you did. The mass destruction happened several years ago & it affected everyone to a degree. But for you to continually hold that much anger towards what happened & also towards the general population that go to view the site is extremely unhealthy & scary. Before you do something you'd regret later, I would suggest that you talk to someone in your family/community to help you heal.

As for your question of "why do people treat the area as an attraction"? There are many reasons why & many which we may never understand. People go there to "heal", to pray, to just "be" around their loved ones & also to appease their curiosity & see the area where the atrocities were committed to the unfortunate people who were in the area at the time. When you were plowing through people, did you ever step back to see who you were plowing through? Maybe, tucked in-between the tourists, there was a parent, sibling, best friend, cousin, etc there to visit, but regardless of who was there, they all became victims of your anger & disrespect.

Something you may have done which would have been more productive to you, if you really were interested in learning why people go to Ground Zero, would have been to pose your questions to the tourists you encountered, without anger or malice, and choose to understand rather than judge their decision to be there. Then you could have continued to enjoy your walk in peace. Maybe next time....

[50cal]

Just came back from the city. Went to see the new exhibition on dresses at the National Museum of the American Indian.

We parked in newark at my company an left from Penn Station to WTC in NYC.

The place is such a mess that you have to walk twice as far to get anywhere around there still....SOMEONE (Cruz) is milking the contract.

The museum was great, saw Emil Her Many Horses and BSed a while.

On the way back to WTC, I started getting pissed at the people selling WTC stuff and even more at eh people taking photos of the "attraction". Im in SO MANY photos because I just kept walking in front of these photographers.

So my gripe is....why is WTC such an attraction? I couldnt even bare to look towards that hole in the ground. I felt so uneasy the whole time I was around it. Thousands of people were killed there and all these assholes are taking photos with their kids.

Now I have been to Wounded Knee a bunch of years ago AND i took photos. After I did that, I felt really ****ty because I was trying to get that "good shot" of a massacre site.

Maybe all these assholes in NYC will feel as ****ty as I do in a few years after they start looking at those photos and thinking about what really happened there.

I even yelled at one guy and his 2 kids because theye were blocking the stairway, along with abotu 10 other people. I didnt stop or slow down, I just barrelled thru while saying rather loudly "Its a fu**ing stairway!" My wife even strong armed her way thru. I seriously wanted to say something to his kids. Something like, "make sure you get a good shot because you might be able to see someones bones still".

Im so ****ing sick right now. Im remembering the smell of the cloud of smoke that drifted thru NJ the next day. Burnt cement, steel, paper, plastic and people. And I was 10 miles away. Multiply that by 100 for the people actually THERE. ****, multiply my hatred by 100 also. If I was there that day, survived, and was walking thru that crowd, there would be some hurting people in my tracks.

Maybe they will get to smell that one day.

****ing arsholes. Worse than the terrorists in my book.

..........sound slike someone needs a hug.....Group Hug everyone!!!!!!!!

[Annie Fawn]

A lady used to bowl, Maria lost her brother at ground zero, he was a New York Firefighter. She went to counseling and her therapist told her she needed to visit Ground Zero to help her heal and to find closeure. Maria was appalled by the tourist when she got there. She finally reached the area that she was looking for to lay a red rose and as she finished quietly said goodbye, a lady touched her arm and laid another red rose next to Maria's, the lady was crying like Maria was and never said a word to her, just hugged her and left. Maria came back to Ga. from that trip more at peace and she said among all the chaos and the tourists, she found some small amount of peace from a stranger who had to loss someone they loved that day to.
Always remember that no matter how many tourist are there, someone there was there to honor a loved one. Maybe the tourist pictures will remind them of the horrors of that day and keep it in their memories. Oh and yes Maria took some pictures too, so she can show her grandchildren where their great uncle died and explain to them why he died and how.

[WocusWoman]

I think I can understand where Billyjoejimbob is coming from. Its not that he does not have empathy, its rather that these "tourists" are treating that area as a tourist attraction. It should not be that way either. You don't go to a burial ground and behave this way do you? I would have to show constraint if I had a loved one who had died there and then witnessed the current "tourist" like behaviors BJJB has observed.

[billyjoejimbob]

Believe me, I didnt plow thru any 'relatives'. Just idots with cameras with that look in their eyes like they are trying to see who is walking down the red carpet thru the crowd of people.

waienhawi - So 7 years is all the time it takes to shake off a few thousand dead people is basically what you are saying? Im not holding anger towards what happened there, Im holding anger towards what IS HAPPENING there. In America you can capitalize on anything. I can kill my grandmother, write a book and make millions.

We are just becomming more and more disconnected as people. There is so much crap in the world that we are all becoming immune and numb to it.

There is no cure needed for something you are immune to, but it is still there and becomes stronger because no one is trying to find a cure.

[waienhawi]

waienhawi - So 7 years is all the time it takes to shake off a few thousand dead people is basically what you are saying? Im not holding anger towards what happened there, Im holding anger towards what IS HAPPENING there. In America you can capitalize on anything. I can kill my grandmother, write a book and make millions.

.

Never, anywhere in my posting did I say that it takes only 7 years to "shake off a few thousand dead people". I read your original post (& your response) & your anger just seethes and this is something that you can't keep justifying.

[LOVEBUG87]

Why do people flock to Gettysburg, PA where the bloodiest battle of the Civil War was? They take photos there. Why do people flock to see the USS Arizona lying in the bottom of Pearl Harbor? They take photos there....and if my memory serves me right there are still servicemen entombed in part of the ship. It's part of history.

I'm not condoning people acting like it's a party place or anything. I have been there. I have taken photos. I absolutley love the city of New York. I'd been to the WTC many times growing up. And when I saw them fall on 9/11/01, I was devastated. My birthday is on 9/11, and that will never be the same. To the point where I really don't like to celebrate it on it's actual day, out of respect for those innocent people that lost there lives in DC, NYC and PA.

So not everyone that goes there is a fanatic disrespectful tourist.

[LISA IRONMAKER]

Aww thats funny ur in soo many photos......sorry but I had to laugh at that one.

You need a hug,,,,,,,

[Black Eyes]

People will try to make a buck anyway they can...even selling t-shirts etc...about 9/11 and the WTC, in the name of patriotism..its a shame...Same thing in NO after Katrina..people pay $20 to tour the path of the storm. They ride a bus throughout the city qawking at the people living in the crappy FEMA trailers...and guess what..surprise surprise - the residents never see a dime of that money. It would be different if they were using that money to help the people, but they are just padding their pockets. Bless you for not buying into the hype. I don't know how people can take pictures and "tour" the remains...its a scene of death. It bothers us b/c we care...we are blessed and cursed.

[50cal]

Believe I can kill my grandmother, write a book and make millions.

wow, sounds like someone needs to go check up on your grandma......and soon..........

[CandaePrincess]

Random post. Feel free to bash if it makes you feel better.


dude...who cares, it's just a place. If that wasn't the case, shouldn't the entire effin country be a huge memorial for all the natives the US gov't killed? Yet as natives, we're supposed to "get over it" b/c it happened so long ago.....(yeah...sooooo long ago).
It's a sad thing that happened, just like the OKC bombing...it's a sad thing that happened. But the memorial doesn't make it any more sad or bring those peeps back. And if someone's making a buck off of it....it's b/c someone's buying the chit.

I cried when 9/11 happened. But it's not like it was just a huge shock. I mean, seriously??? We've been lucky to have gone that long without an attack. I mean...we're the most superficial country in the world. Why?? B/C we have the military that puts their azz on the line to make sure we can be as superficial as we want. We just expect it. It's not like anyone got more religious, more compassionate, more politically involved after 9/11. Nope, not in our country....we just got more mad, more racist and more suspicious. So why should it be a real shock that people show complete disrespect for a memorial? I mean, isn't having a memorial commercializing what happened as it is? Just a thought.

[50cal]

Random post. Feel free to bash if it makes you feel better.


dude...who cares, it's just a place. If that wasn't the case, shouldn't the entire effin country be a huge memorial for all the natives the US gov't killed? Yet as natives, we're supposed to "get over it" b/c it happened so long ago.....(yeah...sooooo long ago).
It's a sad thing that happened, just like the OKC bombing...it's a sad thing that happened. But the memorial doesn't make it any more sad or bring those peeps back. And if someone's making a buck off of it....it's b/c someone's buying the chit.

I cried when 9/11 happened. But it's not like it was just a huge shock. I mean, seriously??? We've been lucky to have gone that long without an attack. I mean...we're the most superficial country in the world. Why?? B/C we have the military that puts their azz on the line to make sure we can be as superficial as we want. We just expect it. It's not like anyone got more religious, more compassionate, more politically involved after 9/11. Nope, not in our country....we just got more mad, more racist and more suspicious. So why should it be a real shock that people show complete disrespect for a memorial? I mean, isn't having a memorial commercializing what happened as it is? Just a thought.

Cool......C, sometimes you have your moments when you inspire me....not being sarcastic either, fyi.....LOL!!!

[Singing Eagle]

It is a shame that this site has become an attraction and that many vistors are behaving as tourists.

I had always hoped to visit to pay my respects - now I am reluctant.

[CandaePrincess]

Cool......C, sometimes you have your moments when you inspire me....not being sarcastic either, fyi.....LOL!!!

yeah, I like to think I've inspired you in other aspects as well.