September 11 in T-Shirts and Posters

Published in El Espectador
(Colombia) on 23 May 2014
by Nicolás Rodriguez (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Kyle Moore. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
In addition to promising to educate visitors with information about what occurred on Sept. 11, the New York museum also includes among its cultural offers a gift shop where customers can obtain miniature twin towers, firefighter figurines and mugs.

The memory of a traumatic experience turned into a souvenir. Perfect for sticking on the refrigerator.

The families of the victims were not happy about the pain of their losses being turned into economic profit. Detractors request that the directors of the museum reconsider, while the directors quite calmly argue that they have to make a living. Although provocative, this is not a new conflict. Memory is no longer that sacred place from which a personal experience comes to us. Memories are shared, but they are also marketed. Among all other things macabre, there are key chains with a picture of a tender Pinochet.

What is new is the police presence that was deployed since the opening of the new towers and their impressive pools. Anyone interested in entering must endure the same machines, lines and orders that were observed in airports following the terrorist attack on Sept. 11. The attraction said “under construction,” but what they had to offer was already on display outside the museum. Unfounded fear, paranoia and sweaty palms in front of the Yankee police are a necessary part of what the museum must include.

After all, the experience of Sept. 11 cannot be summed up with a firehouse dog. If the task at hand is to traffic memories, they should request a stamp with a Guantanamo detainee, a bin Laden that can be taken apart (in his respective rat trap), Play-Doh drones, buckets for torturing in pastel colors, some edible maps of Iraq, a Bush with no gun, or even the simple passport of any citizen that appears to be Muslim.


El 11 de septiembre en camisetas y estampados

Además de prometer que educarán a sus visitantes con información sobre lo sucedido el 11 de septiembre, el museo de Nueva York incluyó entre sus ofertas culturales una tienda de regalos en la que el visitante puede adquirir torres gemelas miniatura, figurines de bomberos y pocillos.
Por: Nicolás Rodriguez
El recuerdo de una experiencia traumática hecho souvenir. Como para pegar en la nevera.
A los familiares de las víctimas no les gustó que se le sacara provecho económico al dolor de sus muertos. Los detractores piden que las directivas reconsideren y estas, muy tranquilas, argumentan que de algo tienen que vivir. Aunque provocativa, la discusión no es nueva. La memoria ya no es ese lugar sagrado desde el que nos llega una vivencia personal. La memoria se comparte pero también se mercadea. Con todo y lo macabro, hay llaveros con la foto de un tierno Pinochet.
Lo que sí era nuevo es el control policivo que le fue instalado al memorial desde que habilitaron la entrada a las dos nuevas torres y sus impactantes piscinas. Todo interesado en ingresar debía pasar por las máquinas, sus filas y las órdenes que le siguieron a los ataques terroristas en los aeropuertos después del 11 de septiembre. El turístico lugar decía “en obra” pero lo que tenían para enseñar ya estaba ahí, a las afueras del museo. El miedo infundado, la paranoia y el sudor en las manos ante el policía gringo ya eran parte de lo que debía ir en el museo.
Pues la experiencia del 11 de septiembre no se agota en un perro bombero. Si de traficar con memorias se trata habría que solicitar la estampillita con el preso en Guantánamo, el Bin Laden de desarmar (en su respectiva ratonera), los drones de plastilina, el balde para tortura en color pastel, algunos mapamundis comestibles de Irak, un Bush sin pistola y hasta el simple pasaporte de cualquier ciudadano que parezca musulmán.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Canada: It’s Not Worth a Trade War To Save Ontario’s Foreign-Owned Car Plants

Canada: Mark Carney Embraces Protectionism amid Fight with Donald Trump

Taiwan: A US Able To Withdraw at Any Moment Spells a New Reality for a Volatile Asia-Pacific

South Africa: US Social Security Shortfall Offers Warning for South Africa

South Africa: The Bond Market Is Beginning To Revolt against America

Topics

India: Sanctions, Strikes, Stalemate: Trump Tightens the Noose, Iran Refuses to Blink

Saudi Arabia: Trump, Putin and Exiting the War

South Africa: US Social Security Shortfall Offers Warning for South Africa

Germany: Sabotage and Attacks: War Without A Declaration of War

United States of America: North Korea, China and Taiwan: What Game Is Trump Playing?

Austria: Trump Is Holding the Iranian People Responsible for His Failure

Mexico: Bessent’s Futile Sanctions Crumble in the Face of the Shanghai Group’s Multipolar World Order

Spain: To the Barricades

Related Articles

Spain: US Interference in Colombia*

Mexico: Proxies

Colombia: Donald Trump’s Unacceptable Interference in Colombia

Spain: Trump Raises the Tone against Maduro: ‘If He Plays Tough, It’ll Be the Last Time He’ll Ever Be Able To’

Colombia: Petro and His Mistake of Underestimating Trump