By Kaeli Van CottSTAFF WRITER
After this year’s media hype of Sept. 11 died down, I visited the National September 11 Memorial & Museum with my parents, who are two retired New York Police Department officers. I knew that it was going to be difficult because of how the attack affected my family, especially my dad, who was a first responder. What I didn’t know is the blatant disrespect the museum’s existence is to those who have survived or have lost a loved one.
Please, don’t get me wrong. The museum did a fantastic job of explaining the details of the event, including what al-Qaida is and associating names and faces with the victims. In some aspects, the museum was a testament to the misfortune of that day in 2001. What struck me, though, was the underlying motivation for the memorial: tourism.
As I walked through the museum with my parents, we cried and reopened the old wound caused by 9/11. When I looked around, though, it felt as if people were touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art, not the Sept. 11 memorial.
Tourists taking selfies and smiling surrounded the reflecting pools outside, which hold the names of each and every victim. There is a lack of respect here and that needs to change. When I’ve visited other memorials like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., I didn’t encounter these problems. What’s the difference here?
What is meant to be a place of reflection and reverence has turned into another moneymaker for New York City.
What is sickening about the memorial is the gift shop that sells t-shirts and memorabilia. All of the proceeds from Twin Towers t-shirts and snow globes go directly to the museum. What about the countless organizations and nonprofits dedicated to 9/11? Why not donate money to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation or MyGoodDeed? Why is the museum not supporting those who gave everything?
Of course, a museum needs income to run successfully. That is a given. But why not just use the admission costs to provide for funding? There are thousands of people that enter those doors daily, and I’m sure that the money that the museum is receiving could fund a considerable amount of the necessary costs.
I am lucky. Both my parents survived the attack, but watching their discomfort and utter hurt at what they saw at the 9/11 Memorial was heartbreaking. I could only imagine how the families and friends of 9/11 victims must feel there. This museum is exactly that – a museum. It is not a memorial. Memorials require an amount of respect that this one seems to lack.
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