On May 10th we went into the city with some friends who were visiting - Sarah, Nigel & their baby, Grace. Had a great time walking around Central Park and going to the Central Park Zoos. We also took the time to head downtown to Ground Zero. And, frankly, it was all a little disappointing.
There were clearly a lot of people headed that way, judging by the metro and how busy that stop was. However, once we got above ground there's really nothing to see. I know it's a long while after the event. And I know that there are plans for a permanent memorial to go with the new building. Anyway, I took a few pictures of what is essentially a building site. But there's no temporary memorial of any kind, or if there is then it's not immediately obvious. And it sure is clear that a lot of people (particularly tourists) were wanting to stop by to pay their respects; I know I did.
It's just that there is nothing there at all. I don't want it to become some kind of morbid shrine, but there were almost as many casualties at 9/11 as there have been US casualties in Iraq since 2003. It really would have been nice to have something, however temporary, at which to make some acknowledgment for those who died.
What was more annoying was that although there wasn't some memorial, there were plenty of conspiracy theorist nutters handing out pamphlets about the evils of "the machine" and how there was some huge conspiracy. Most galling given that I'd tripped down there with Steph, Joe & Hannah, and Sarah, Nigel & Grace to add our thoughts. Some geezer even had the temerity, once he realised we were British, to suggest that we take a look into 7/7 as well. Don't these people have something better to be worrying about?!
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