***WARNING***
Good
day. Since so much of our site’s content is lost in other designs,
hampered by ad code messing with the pages, or surrounded by gas and
low on evil, I’m going to start reprinting them for new eyes. You’ll
see classic Smilin’ Jack Ruby, stuff from me when I was relevant, early
Devin, and if there’s a God… some Brian Koukol. So, look for the CHUD
Rerun branding and enjoy. It’s nice revisiting some of this stuff. –
Nick
***END OF WARNING***
Republished from September 12, 2001
Before
I get to business, I want to thank
the numerous folks on our message
boards who kept thousands of people
informed as news sites were impossible
to log onto. It was really by and
large a heartfelt and visceral way
to share information and for once
we all seemed to get along on a unified
front that was so much more than just
talking about Harry Potter and Star
Wars. My hats off to the Chewers…
The
unfortunate side effect (in addition
to our site being hosted out of Manhattan)
was that our bandwidth was expended
shortly after. The site was killed
for a full day’s time, which really
threw me into a bizarre state of numbness.
The horror of NYC without the readers
to bounce off of sent me in front
of the TV to face it and there was
a time yesterday when nothing seemed
impossible to me. As each consecutive
event unfolded, I waited for planes
or bombs to hit bridges, financial
centers, and other symbols of this
country’s heritage. I even toyed with
going to my inherited gun collection
and keeping one handy in case the
faceless enemy appeared in parachutes
on my lawn ala ‘Red Dawn’.
I’ve
decided to use an untainted photo
of the towers in their glory because
it’s so much better than seeing a
gaping hole in the best skyline in
the world. They’ll always be there
to me, and while I don’t think they
should be rebuilt (a park with a memorial
would be the smart thing), I think
there’s no shame in reminding folks
of what once was.
Which
brings me to part two of this editorial…
I’ve
been asked by Sony’s legal department
to send the remaining posters I have
of the Spidey teaser because of the
WTC’s appearance there and while I’m
honoring, I’m upset at the decision.
We’re
hearing about the release shuffling
of ‘Sidewalks of New York’, ‘Collateral
Damage’ and more films either due
to the financial implications of opening
at a time where people don’t want
to go to the movies or because of
similarities in the subject matter
and the crisis, and while I understand
it, I’m upset at the decision.
The
World Trade Center is gone, but does
it dishonor anyone by seeing it romantically
gleamed in the reflection of Spidey’s
eye? If anything, to me it makes the
poster even more poignant. It is a
capsule of what is now a time that
has passed. An era of a sort of innocence
(and I hate using that term after
923 people said something similar
on TV yesterday). Does it make Sony
malicious? NO.
The
film was shot when the buildings and
its inhabitants were unbroken and
even though the film is to be released
AFTER the debris and bodies have long
since swept away, it only makes any
references, shots, or involvment of
the WTC that more rich. Just like
we have romantic memories of the old
Empire State Building from when King
Kong straddled it with Fay Wray, or
more aptly when we see pictures of
Aaliyah, Princess Di, or any of the
other souls who were taken away by
fate… we remember them with a renewed
warmth because of how we know they’ll
never be the same again…
Is
Tom Clancy’s ‘The Sum of All Fears’
at fault because a terrorist acted
in a way similar to his fictional
depiction? Is it more precient? I
don’t think so. It’s just an unfortunate
coincidence. Because a couple of kids
opened fire in a high school, does
it need to make us fragile to the
point that we can’t see such events
portrayed in a fictional realm? I
don’t think so, it just shows how
real life will kick the ass of fiction
10 times out of 10 in terms of stark
brutality and inhuman behaviour.
I
agree we’re all a little more vulnerable
today than we were on September 10th,
but it’s how we react to these times
that define us. If it means shunning
all memory of an intact and majestic
WTC, then you can count me out. I’m
a big boy and while I’ve been feeling
the same numbness as when I lost my
father a few years ago… I long for
the sight of those two towers rising
above the city like a lighthouse for
ships in the night. Does the image
above offend you? It shouldn’t. While
the acts those terrorists did should
incense us, these images may remind
us of a shattering day of violence,
it doesn’t disrespect those who died
yesterday.
No,
erasing references to the WTC and
walking on eggshells about the subject…
THAT, is the sacrelige.