Posted on 01/17/2002 7:36:44 AM PST by Jeff Head
... and continuing.
Let's keep the pressure on!
Anyway, my idea is that an economic boycott be organized against Forest City Ratner and any other Ratner businesses we find out about.
rundy, btw, I hope you don't mind me borrowing your pic
This petition should be taken up at CPAC in a couple of weeks.
There will be many live computors on hand there. There should also be hard copies avaiable for signature at the many booths.
Some advice for FDNY Thursday, January 17, 2002
By MIKE KELLY Record Columnist
Small cracks now run through the wall of stubbornness erected by New York City's Fire Department to defend its memorial to the firefighters killed at the World Trade Center. Can a workable solution be next? Let's hope so.
In supporting a politically correct statue of three firefighters raising the Stars and Stripes above the Trade Center rubble, the department risks dividing its 11,300 members -- and, no exaggeration, a nation in need of unity.
What's wrong with the statue? First, the FDNY tried to rewrite history, replacing the three ordinary-looking white firefighters who actually raised the flag Sept. 11 with a hunky, multicultural ensemble of models who posed for the sculptor.
Of course, America knows the real truth of that flag-raising, thanks to a photograph by The Record's Thomas E. Franklin. The widely published photo became a unifying icon, reminding our wounded nation of a profoundly simple truth -- that despite hardships, Americans can pull together.
Such a photo -- indeed, such a historic moment -- should never be tampered with. The FDNY's ham-handed revision of history threatens to pull us apart. America is drawn to the reality of the photo, not manipulated diversity in the name of artistry. The real flag-raising transcends skin color. The statue draws attention to it.
Faced with criticism over the replacement of the all-white, all-real trio with white, black, and Hispanic models, the department dug in its heels. It refused to listen to critics, suggesting that anyone who opposed such diversity was racist.
But the issue is not race; it's historical accuracy, the subtle glue that strengthens our common values. Now the department is reportedly looking for a way out of the mess. Or as one official notes: "We have to react."
I have a solution.
First, let's all acknowledge that the Fire Department and the sculptor meant no real harm in trying to portray a variety of groups in a memorial statue. Their key mistake was in naively trying to do too much with too little.
My suggestion: Keep the statue, but make it historically accurate -- right down to the beer guts, wrinkles, sweaty T-shirts, and the dusty smudges on the arms and uniforms of the three ordinary firefighters. Following the lead of the the sculptor of the historically accurate U.S. Marines' Iwo Jima statue, the sculptor of the flag-raising should ask the three real firefighters to pose.
And if the sculptor wants to base the statue on Franklin's photograph, then he ought to pay attention to the subtle nuances of that wondrous image. The clay rendition of the statue -- unveiled in haste just before the departure of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani -- includes all manner of changes that make no sense. One firefighter's arms were raised higher than in the photo. Another's beer gut was gone. All three were standing differently. Even the flag unfurled differently than in the photograph of the real event.
And then there was race. At ground zero, victims and rescuers came from all races, sexes, and religions. So why honor only men who are white, black, and Hispanic in a statue? What about women? Or Asians?
To honor more, you need more statues. My solution: How about a whole sculpture garden that depicts a panorama at ground zero?
Keep the flag-raising as the centerpiece, but place it amid statues of firefighters on bucket brigades, firefighters with hoses, firefighters carrying the injured to safety. Include men and women, hardened vets and fresh-faced rookies, stout firefighters who lifted debris and skinny guys who crawled underneath. From every race. The real stuff is the right stuff.
Right now, even if they do not respond (which in this case I think we will witness the desired response) we are educating and stirring to activity thousands of our fellow Americans. That is a good thing, whichever way the crucible falls.
sounds reasonable to me.
Total right at 16,000.
It is an amazing response. FR, Petitononline and a LOT of dedicated, liberty loving activists have made it possible. The Fire Departments around the country are really kicking in to this too.
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