9/11 Remembrance: Should the media avoid the "Falling Man" photo?

[wvjules]

That is just my opinion and desire. I am not talking about a national holiday with celebrations at all. I just mean a national remembrance day. I don't think we should ever forget that day.

Does a person need a day off to remember September 11th? What if the 11th were a Sunday, would we now get off the 12th? Kinda defeats the purpose and it just becomes another 3 day weekend.

BTW, I'm not picking on you. I'm curious as to why people think it should be a day off?

 

[SplshMtn99]

I would be sad to see a holiday or day of rememberance become just another day to have off from school or work to go to the beach or to hit the sales at the mall.

 

[JunieJay]

Speaking of an exploitative media, 9/11 always makes me think of one of our more upstanding members of the media, the late Peter Jennings. I remember how human he seemed, and how reassuring he was. He only reported the facts, not the wild rumors or speculation, but "here is what we know" or "here is what we can verify". God, I miss that man. The news has not been the same for me since his death.

I'd be o.k. with declaring 9/11 a national holiday. Even though my own life was changed irrevocably after that day, what with my own husband being on the scene at the Pentagon mere minutes after it was attacked, but oddly enough I almost never think of that day. The yearly reminder is good for me, good for all of America, I think. Today I thought about the brave firefighters who went into those burning buildings. I thought about those who are now sick as a result of 9/11. I also remember the deadly eerie silence of the skies. That to me stands out so vividly, how quiet the skies were. All the chaos and terror of that day is more or less a blur to me, its important that I try to remember how I felt so I'm never again complacent about terrorism and how it felt to be the ones attacked. Its nice to say "never forget" but the reality is, life does go on. Having an official day of rememberance would honor the victims and ensure we never do forget.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I would be sad to see a holiday or day of rememberance become just another day to have off from school or work to go to the beach or to hit the sales at the mall.

Eventually, that is exactly what it would become. A day where we pause for a minute to remember and then celebrate because we don't have to go to work.

Honestly, how many of us spend all day on Memorial Day memorializing and how many of us plan a picnic or head to the beach?

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

The series "The World At War" gave a thorough, no holds barred account of World War Two. There were no sides taken, no patriotic leanings. It really was just the facts. The "Holocaust" edition showed footage of the people inside Belsen & Auschwitz both dead and alive, but the hardest hitting piece showed bulldozers shoving the corpses of hundreds of dead men, women and children into a large pit for a mass burial. It wasn't nice to watch, but it's there as a stark reminder of what evil certain members of the human race are capable of. I'm glad I've seen it, and my children, when old enough, will see it too. That's why I believe that the footage of what happened in New York that day should be frank and unedited. These pictures, as with the "holocaust" ones tell the story better than any words that can be written.


With regards to a national day, on a calender I picked up in the US they have today down as "Patriot Day".

 

[Jennasis]

Yes, today is called Patriot DAy on my calendar.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Isn't Patriot Day some holiday celebrated up in New England? It isn't celebrated here in Maryland.

Patriot Day is not at all related to 9/11.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Isn't Patriot Day some holiday celebrated up in New England? It isn't celebrated here in Maryland.

Patriot Day is not at all related to 9/11.

It's celebrated in Mass every April or May.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Yes, today is called Patriot DAy on my calendar.

Huh, I just noticed that too.

Odd thing is in MA we already have a state holiday called Patriots Day. Its in April.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Eventually, that is exactly what it would become. A day where we pause for a minute to remember and then celebrate because we don't have to go to work.

Exactly.

We already have a Remembrance Day, a Memorial Day and a Patriot's Day. Most people don't care enough to use those days...and most wouldn't care enough to use another if we had another.

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

Isn't Patriot Day some holiday celebrated up in New England? It isn't celebrated here in Maryland.

Patriot Day is not at all related to 9/11.

Patriots Day is the third monday in April.

Apparently since 2001 it was passed that today is to be known as Patriot Day.

 

[wvjules]

My calendar says "Patriot Day: Anniversary of 2001 Attack"

 

[Cool-Beans]

So we now have 2 Patriot days?

If we get attacked again, will we have three?

Seems a little silly to me. Besides, patriotism isn't what I remember today. It's much happier than remembering what actually happened, but I don't think it is really appropriate. Just MHO.

 

[tedhowe]

My calendar says "Patriot Day: Anniversary of 2001 Attack"

I hadn't heard of this. Something about it really rubs me the wrong way.

It seems to cheapen what happened that day to tie it to the loaded word "patriot".

Maybe it reminds me too much of the idiocy of "patriot fries"

 

[mrFDNY]

I'd liike to get the reaction of members of this forum regarding the famous (infamous) "Falling Man" photograph of one of the people who jumped/fell from the World Trade Center.

This photo was run on September 12th in papers around the country and around the world and elicited lots of very strong emotion.

Because of the reaction, most newspapers and broadcast media have never run the photo again (even while video of the second plane was played over and over).

Many people felt that it was disrespectful of the person depicted in that photo because he was about to die and it was somehow and "invasion" of his privacy.

I can understand that reaction, but I feel that it is at least somewhat disingenuous. There was no such universal outcry about the video of the second plan crashing into the WTC - and that moment represents the nearly instantaneous death of tens or hundreds of people. I think that intellectually there is no difference between the two, but that emotionally, the ability to see a human form is much more jarring.

I'm not saying that anyone should be "forced" to see picture or that people should be expected to be look at the picture, but I think that it is not the media's responsibility to keep that image from us.

It may have been too soon in the first days or first couple of years for that photograph to be run multiple times, but I believe it should be part of the collective consciousness and remembrance of that day.

I'm in the group that says we dishonor those who died this way if we try to forget about this part of the horror of that day.

I'd like to know what you all think.

FYI if anyone is interested in seeing the photo, there is a copy in the Wikipedia article on this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falling_man

There is also a link to an excellent article from Esqiure magazine that was written about 2 years after 9/11 regarding the photo and its legacy.

Ted

Hi all,
The picture does not do itself any justice for me. You see i work for the FDNY and watched person after person jump to thier death live, not on t.v. but with my own eyes while operating at the trade center attacks on sept 11. Once you see something like that with your own eyes, no picture can match that magnitude. Still that is someones, brother, father, cousin, neighbor. Those things that i saw down there still haunt my dreams, night after night. Like i said the picture does not bother me at all, but i would imagine it brings raw emotions to some. I think it should be left up to your own choice. There should be be a "graphic warning" you would have to click on, before you could download the pic or view it on your Computer. Trust me that picture does not even top the cake of some of the horror's we found and saw down there.

As for the day off. No you should not get the day off. Those who lost love ones should. The FDNY, NYPD, EMS and other nyc first responder agencys are always open, they don't get today off or any other holiday's off, even after all we been thru on sept 11. Even if it was a federal holiday, we in the FDNY would still have to go into work anyhow. Only those who lost loves ones should have the day off, to grieve.


So it's been 6 long years, this morning i awoke at 7 am. Put on my offical FDNY Cermony suit and went to ground zero. You would think that after 6 years it would get better or easier, but it only get's harder. I lost many friends on sept 11 and miss them very much. I have watched as thier kids have grown from toddlers or preschoolers to pre teens and teenagers. I have watched familys struggle, with thier deaths. I even had one FDNY guy from my fire house, after long hours at ground zero one nov morning, go home put a shot gun in his mouth abd pull the trigger. Danny was 29 and will be so missed. My eyes have wittnessed much more horror, then my heart could hold.


I'm not telling you all this to make you sad or depressed or sound like some hero, cause i'm no hero. If this one event has taught me one thing in life, It's live for now! Enjoy life and be happy. Cause really you never know. So i hope all of you listen to this. Casue you see, all that petty non sense does not really matter now. Live life, be happy and enjoy it.


In loving memory and god bless all we lost.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I hadn't heard of this. Something about it really rubs me the wrong way.

It seems to cheapen what happened that day to tie it to the loaded word "patriot".

ITA. This is the first I've heard of it. Patriot Day makes it sound like the 3000 people who died sacrificed themselves willingly for a cause.

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

ITA. This is the first I've heard of it. Patriot Day makes it sound like the 3000 people who died sacrificed themselves willingly for a cause.

Part of you wishes that the day was an idea brought up by someone with good intentions, but you can't help but feel that this idea has more of a political agenda to it.

 

[tropical depression]

Hi all,
The picture does not do itself any justice for me. You see i work for the FDNY and watched person after person jump to thier death live, not on t.v. but with my own eyes while operating at the trade center attacks on sept 11. Once you see something like that with your own eyes, no picture can match that magnitude. Still that is someones, brother, father, cousin, neighbor. Those things that i saw down there still haunt my dreams, night after night. Like i said the picture does not bother me at all, but i would imagine it brings raw emotions to some. I think it should be left up to your own choice. There should be be a "graphic warning" you would have to click on, before you could download the pic or view it on your Computer. Trust me that picture does not even top the cake of some of the horror's we found and saw down there.

As for the day off. No you should not get the day off. Those who lost love ones should. The FDNY, NYPD, EMS and other nyc first responder agencys are always open, they don't get today off or any other holiday's off, even after all we been thru on sept 11. Even if it was a federal holiday, we in the FDNY would still have to go into work anyhow. Only those who lost loves ones should have the day off, to grieve.


So it's been 6 long years, this morning i awoke at 7 am. Put on my offical FDNY Cermony suit and went to ground zero. You would think that after 6 years it would get better or easier, but it only get's harder. I lost many friends on sept 11 and miss them very much. I have watched as thier kids have grown from toddlers or preschoolers to pre teens and teenagers. I have watched familys struggle, with thier deaths. I even had one FDNY guy from my fire house, after long hours at ground zero one nov morning, go home put a shot gun in his mouth abd pull the trigger. Danny was 29 and will be so missed. My eyes have wittnessed much more horror, then my heart could hold.


I'm not telling you all this to make you sad or depressed or sound like some hero, cause i'm no hero. If this one event has taught me one thing in life, It's live for now! Enjoy life and be happy. Cause really you never know. So i hope all of you listen to this. Casue you see, all that petty non sense does not really matter now. Live life, be happy and enjoy it.


In loving memory and god bless all we lost.

this needs to be the official end to this thread. no more bickering about a National holiday or what the media has rights to show.

well written, mrFDNY.

 

[ksumn1]

I hope that you can get through today with a few good memories of the ones you served with and loved, as well as the painful ones mrFDNY. God Bless you, and I hope we all take a moment today to reflect upon the impact 9-11 had on out lives and to remember all those who lost loved ones, friends or family. We all, as a nation, lost so much that day. For me, it was a loss of my "innocence" much as many describe the assination of JKF, Jr for their generation.

 

[RickinNYC]

I've been avoiding threads like this all day but I had to coment.

Like mrFDNY, I don't need to see that picture or others like it just to serve as a reminder of that day. I wasn't in Manhattan that day, but my partner was. And the wait for him to finally get home that night was the longest day of our lives. While I waited for Joe, I spent the bulk of the time pacing the apartment, trying to call my friends' numbers to see if they were ok. I was near the screaming point on more than one occasion, if not on the verge of rage, just trying and trying and trying to see who was alright or not.

Joe made it home. We hugged the longest hug we've ever managed, and we cried for an ever longer time. And we were each scarred. He saw the planes hit up close and personal. He saw little things falling from the towers. I learned that my friends weren't ok that day, not even close. Joe sees that picture of the falling man and it brings back what he saw with his own eyes. I look at that picture and wonder who it is and whether I was having a beer with him the Thursday previous, "Is that Mike?"

If you think we need to remember, and I agree wholeheartedly that we do, perhaps we can do something else in order to keep those memories clear. But looking at a picture of one man who went to work that morning on a beatiful crystal clear September morning, only to end it in a moment of absolute and utter heart freezing terror, plummeting through the sky, to smash into the streets of the financial district is not the best way to think back. His life shouldn't be reduced down to one single screen grab.

Want to remember? Then share your stories, hug your loved ones, smile a little, bring some happiness into someone else's life, remember September 11, 2001 as a day that changed all of us.