Posted on 07/19/2006 3:52:36 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
July 19, 2006 - 06:41
Remember as a kid trying to build the tallest building you could with Legos, or whatever it was in your day? Derrick Jackson doesn't. Judging by his column - High and Mighty - in today's Boston Globe, young Derrick built one-story affordable units, maybe even buried them underground in his backyard - just to be safe. Jackson's op-ed is a condemnation of proposals to build or rebuild towers in major cities, including his own Boston.
Jackson's anti-tower argument is four-fold:
Tall buildings taunt terrorists.
Towers are a cruel reminder of class differences.
Contrary to what politicians claim, there is no symbolism or inspiration to be had in a tall building.
It's a disgrace to spend money on big buildings while not everyone has healthcare and other goodies from the state. Excerpts:
"Terrorists knock our tallest buildings down, and we plan to stick even taller ones back up in brazen machismo."
"In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, many architects urged caution about how much ego should be poured into iconic towers. Eric Darton, author of a history of the World Trade Center, told National Public Radio that he hoped whatever replaced the twin towers would have an architecture that would build bridges between people."
"Most towers merely accentuate the disconnect between big business and ultra-wealthy condo dwellers and the rest of us."
"What exactly do their leaders mean when they say a single building inhabited by the entitled makes [a city] great?"
"Putting . . . ego into a building may only make it an even bigger bull's-eye."
You know, come to think of it, Derrick, maybe if we built modest, affordable housing and invited the terrorists to come live in them, perhaps sweetening the deal with free healthcare, we could solve this whole mess that capitalism has brought about!
Boston Globe/NewsBusters ping to Today show list.
Is the commercial space needed? If so, build 'em. If not, don't.
I would let the free market answer the question.
Taipei 101 ..... Petronas Tower ...... hmmm.
Taipei is OK. Malaysia, on the other hand, is a Muslim country, so they're hypocrites.
Here's a link to the Jackson column:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/07/19/high_and_mighty/
I couldn't afford Legos when I was a kid. If I could, I would build towers. Remember when you did build something with blocks, or sand, or whatever, and someone - usually a jerk brother or sister - would come around and smack it down. What did you do? You got mad and then started building again. Usually something big. I do not understand these types of people. They are dangerous. By the way, I liked your line about burying the Legos underground - just to be safe! 8-)
Exactly. The man has a defeatist appeasement mentality. If life had been left to people like him, we'd still be in the trees, crawling around on all fours. Another thing people don't think about is that a building is a machine. It makes the land more valuble and usable for people. His straw man arguement about health care doesn't fly. If we wait around for the perfect utopia to just happen, then it never will. People have to build the perfect world, starting with what we have. Of course, people like him never build or do anything that is useful. They just sit on the sidelines and complain, and then take advantage of the hard work of better people than his ilk.
Hmmmm...according to his line of reasoning then, we should all just live underground with the rabbits and the woodchucks...
Derrick Jackson is just another socialist, america-hating ass... with a big mouth and less brains that God gave a golf ball.
How many terrorists have tall towers?
and the moles and voles don't forget about them.
Using Jackson's logic we should not built Christian Churches as they are "targets" for Islamoterrorists.
So does that monstosity Bill and Melinda Gates own, but I don't see you whinging about that.
We also shouldn't write articles or draw cartoons that might offend and anger the terrorists. In fact, we shouldn't even call them terrorists, but rather, freedom fighters. According to Jackson, self-censorship is better than government censorship. God help us if idiots like this become the majority in this country.
I understand where this fellow is coming from, and he should go live with worms.
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