Althouse: "Here is essentially our tomb of the unknown. To sell baubles I find quite shocking and repugnant."

१९ मे, २०१४

"Here is essentially our tomb of the unknown. To sell baubles I find quite shocking and repugnant."

"I think it’s a money-making venture to support inflated salaries, and they’re willing to do it over my son’s dead body."

Related: "Man Feeling Guilty About Chowing Down At 9/11 Museum Café."

२३ टिप्पण्या:

cassandra lite म्हणाले...: For years I've been expecting the Auschwitz Café, and have so far been delighted by its absence. Something either is or isn't hallowed ground.; १९/५/१४, ५:४६ PM
The Crack Emcee म्हणाले...: They're right - it's sick and repugnant.; १९/५/१४, ५:४८ PM
Fandor म्हणाले...: The word sordid comes to mind.

The horror! The horror!; १९/५/१४, ५:५९ PM
Gahrie म्हणाले...: It is a museum, not a cemetary. It's not hallowed ground, it's a business park.; १९/५/१४, ६:३५ PM
Irene म्हणाले...: Stalin World: if it takes amusement park rides, glasses with tyrants' images, or an interesting menu to draw people and remind them of what happened, then so be it.; १९/५/१४, ६:५२ PM
jimbino म्हणाले...: Religious folks keep on trying to foist their "hallowed" and "sacred" nonsense on the rest of us.

They have holy water, bless their cars, pollute the planet with cemeteries and maintain all sorts of superstitious activities.

We non-believers cannot desecrate with gift shops or anything else that which was never sacred in the first place. Let the superstitious maintain their sacred sites in their own churches, where they belong, and stop inflicting their religion on the rest of us.; १९/५/१४, ७:०२ PM
अनामित म्हणाले...: Unless the names of the dishes are puns about the attack I have no problem with being able to buy food at a public place. I sometimes need to keep my blood sugar up even if I go to a museum. Creating employment and perhaps helping pay the expenses of the museum by providing a service people will pay for are worthy ideas, too.; १९/५/१४, ७:०६ PM
Ann Althouse म्हणाले...: I'm more offended that it costs $24 to get into the museum.; १९/५/१४, ७:१३ PM
cassandra lite म्हणाले...: @jimbino said: "We non-believers cannot desecrate with gift shops or anything else that which was never sacred in the first place. Let the superstitious maintain their sacred sites in their own churches, where they belong, and stop inflicting their religion on the rest of us."

So you're good with the Auschwitz Café?; १९/५/१४, ७:४१ PM
Jane the Actuary म्हणाले...: I agree with you, Ann. What kind of bells and whistles, or million-dollar administrators, do you get for that price?; १९/५/१४, ७:५७ PM
m stone म्हणाले...: This is not a religious exercise jim. Far from it. It is a secular altar, nothing less.

Christian altars point to God, only to God.; १९/५/१४, ७:५७ PM
Illuninati म्हणाले...: I one of those who can't get worked up because the museum is selling a few trinkets as souvenirs.; १९/५/१४, ८:४३ PM
MadisonMan म्हणाले...: $80 for a family of 4 to visit. And for what?

I wonder what the yelp reviews will show.; १९/५/१४, ८:५० PM
Bayoneteer म्हणाले...: I imagine that the family's of all those buried in the military cementary along my daily commute probably feel the same or worse. The young vets I see at the VA likely feel used and used up too, but they're mostly too classy to say a word. But this America where honor, a sense of duty, are looked upon as the traits of saps and dumbasses who's lives and limbs are a commodity for profit and political advantage.; १९/५/१४, ९:१४ PM
JAFC म्हणाले...: Full disclosure: I am a volunteer at the museum. Years before the memorial opened on 9/11/11, there was a gift shop at the memorial preview site. Once the memorial opened, there was a gift shop for the memorial at 90 West Street. This is not new. You may like it or not, but you cannot say it just happened.

The museum will cost $60,000,000 a year to run. Admission fees are expected to cover 2/3 of that. If you have a plan to cover the costs going forward, by all means bring them forward and detail your plans to implement them. Otherwise you're just complaining, and nobody likes a complainer.; १९/५/१४, १०:०० PM
CWJ म्हणाले...: JAFC wrote -

"The museum will cost $60,000,000 a year to run. Admission fees are expected to cover 2/3 of that. If you have a plan to cover the costs going forward, by all means bring them forward and detail your plans to implement them."

If you've got an itemized justification for the $60,000,000 figure, by all means bring it forward. We can talk about revenue schemes afterward.; २०/५/१४, १२:३४ AM
FleetUSA म्हणाले...: Mausoleums don't offer a food court and tourist shop. This is offensive, but I guess it is "New York, baby".; २०/५/१४, ५:१८ AM
Chris म्हणाले...: Ann Althouse said: "I'm more offended that it costs $24 to get into the museum."

You are right, they should have charged $9.11; २०/५/१४, ६:२६ AM
CStanley म्हणाले...: I think it's tacky, but it's interesting to consider that even in secular culture people can understand the need to carve out sacred spaces.

If this were an instance of religious people taking offense at the profane, wouldn't we hear the argument that "If you don't like this, then don't do it?" If you don't think it's appropriate to buy 9/11 chatzkis, then don't buy them, right?

But of course refraining personally doesn't address the environment of sacrilege.

On a separate note, a $60M operating budget sounds rather high, but why didn't the deal with developers include covering most or all of those expenses? And since that apparently didn't happen, it's still hard to believe that those ticket prices won't cover it. They don't expect over 3 million visitors per year, really?; २०/५/१४, ६:३४ AM
Ann Althouse म्हणाले...: "If you've got an itemized justification for the $60,000,000 figure, by all means bring it forward."

Maybe it's security. The place is such an obvious terrorism target.; २०/५/१४, ७:१० AM
Nichevo म्हणाले...: The whole sacralizing (is that the wird?) of the site as was done should never have happened. They should have built right atop what was, with plaques and maybe a statue or such. Giving up that much New York downtown real estate to commemorate the handiwork of Neolithic savages was the biggest victory the terrorists will ever win.; २०/५/१४, ७:५७ AM
CWJ म्हणाले...: Althouse wrote -

"Maybe it's security."

That's a good guess. But ground zero generally is an obvious terrorism target. So I'm not sure how much of that cost can be legitimately allocated to the museum alone.

Actually, the point of my coment was not so much to get a direct answer as to challenge the earlier commenter's cost-plus mindset.; २०/५/१४, ८:३२ AM
Xmas म्हणाले...: Just thinking about the Museums-of-Terrible-Things I've visited.

The Holocaust Museum in D.C. does not have a gift shop. Though, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg does have a gift shop. Oddly enough, they sell T-shirts emblazoned with the Apartheid-era "Whites Only" signs...

I was a bit gobsmacked at that one.; २०/५/१४, १:५० PM