The 9/11 Memorial Museum has decided that Coronavirus presents too much of a risk this year to display the iconic memorial lights, which require a large crew to operate.
This is in the same city that has been the scene of large, ongoing protests for weeks.
Kenneth Garger reports at the New York Post:
9/11 ‘Tribute in Light’ memorial in NYC canceled amid COVID-19 concernsThe iconic Lower Manhattan 9/11 memorial display that features twin beams of light to honor victims of the terror attacks will not shine this year over coronavirus concerns, organizers said Thursday.The annual “Tribute in Light” display requires a large crew to pull off, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum said on its website, posing health risks this year that “were far too great.”The museum said it was an “incredibly difficult decision” to nix the lights, but announced an alternative citywide initiative to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.The new plan, dubbed the “Tribute in Lights,” will feature buildings across the city lighting up their facades and spires in blue on 9/11.
I’m sorry, but I’m just not buying it. I think this is completely political.
A few years ago, Rush Limbaugh talked about a study on his show, which found that celebrations of July 4th made voters more likely to vote Republican.
This strikes me as something similar. After 9/11, America was more unified and unashamedly patriotic. It may sound deeply cynical, but I believe 9/11 is being canceled this year because of the election.
You know who agrees with me? Geraldo Rivera:
Funny, fears of Coronavirus didn’t stop Bill de Blasio from helping activists to paint a BLM banner on the street in front of Trump Tower.
It’s worth noting that the board of the 9/11 Memorial Museum includes known Trump-haters Michael Bloomberg and actor Robert De Niro.
David Marcus writes at The Federalist:
The reason given for cancelling this display, an annual prayer and tender opportunity for reflection, is absurd and cynical. Like everything in our locked down lives the coronavirus is to blame. How, the non-profit museum wonders, could the lights be assembled without creating a super spreader event? Nevermind that grocery stores, pharmacies, bodegas, and yes, don’t forget protests go on apace. No, there is just no way that lighting can be assembled without risking a new outbreak. It is ridiculous on its face.Michael Bloomberg, the worrywart former mayor of Gotham, is the Chairman of the museum’s board, which also includes Robert De Niro and Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon. Maybe the latter explains this dumb decision-making. As Staten Island City Councilman Joe Borelli put it, “This was the wrong call by the museum’s board. They have the opportunity to be leaders and live up to the museum’s mission, but I suppose some, like Robert De Niro, would prefer to just keep lecturing us on everything else.”
A Giuliani-linked charity is trying to step in and make the memorial lights happen.
The National Pulse reports:
As De Blasio’s NYC Dumps 9/11 Towers Of Light Memorial, Giuliani-Linked Charity Steps InThe city’s regular and iconic light tribute in memory of those who lost their lives in the September 11th terror attacks in 2011 was cancelled because of the CCP-virus pandemic, officials announced on Thursday.“This incredibly difficult decision was reached in consultation with our partners after concluding the health risks during the pandemic were far too great for the large crew required,” the 9/11 Museum website read.Now, a charity founded to assist 9/11 victims and their families as well as U.S. combat veterans is stepping up to ensure the memorial continues.Tunnel to Towers announced Friday that they will hold a special memorial ceremony in lower Manhattan in a bid to keep the 9/11 commemorations uninterrupted.“The twin beams of light that shine over lower Manhattan in silent tribute to those lost on 9/11 are an iconic symbol of hope visibly showing that light will always triumph over darkness,” said Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.He added: “We will do everything that is humanly possible to make sure that on September 11, the night sky at Ground Zero will be illuminated with our Towers of Light tribute.”
I hope it happens but if it doesn’t, the reasons seem obvious.
If we remember 9/11, we might remember we live in a great country that has overcome tremendous adversity. We might remember that police are not the bad guys. We might remember the country we were living in just eight months ago.
And we can’t have that.
Featured image via YouTube.
UPDATE
The decision has been reversed.
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