# The new WTC - Rebuild the damn towers! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 22, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155 "2002-07-22T01:51:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/41 "2002-07-28T13:55:14Z")
Oops. I forgot to post the thread, sorry. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=124028](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=124028) Here’s what I said then: [quote] [ul][li]The vote in favour remains 82% for, 18% against - just as it was a month ago when Yahoo! reported on it.[/li][li]The guy who designed it said it came to him in a vision. That would be why the accompanying text is mindless bollocks, then. And it might explain the ‘soundwave’ security.[/li][li]He’s not even American - he’s a New Zealander [irrelevant in hindsight].[/li][li]It’s not on the judging shortlist for new entries.[/li][li]He’s admitted to having absolutely zero experience as a developer.[/li][li]He’s demanding the US government declare Manhattan a no-fly zone to enable his new weapon.[/li][li]He speaks about himself in the third person and quotes from the bible about his foresight: “’‘A city built on the hill cannot be hid,’’ he said in a telephone interview, reading from the Book of Matthew. He added: ‘The pharaohs created a structure much beyond their time. I’m saying in the 25th Century, people will look back to the 21st Century and say those who supported Mr. Turner’s dream were much beyond their time.’”[/ul][/li][/quote] ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/42 "2002-07-28T15:32:47Z")
My first reaction in September was that _of course_ the towers should be rebuilt, ASAP. But now I’m not so sure - whatever goes there will be there for generations, and any decisions made in excessive haste and passion will be regretted. Yes, it’s too soon to decide - appropriateness of memorials to other events and persons have usually taken _generations_, and even then aren’t always well thought out. Economically, the towers may have been needed in the Sixties, but communications technology may have made them obsolete by now anyway. The companies that were there have adjusted already, and there is still empty office space in lower Manhattan, isn’t there? Other than restoring the transportation links that NYC needs through there, for now I’m ready to say that the simple, empty foundations are memorial enough for a while. The hole in the skyline is enough of a reminder of what happened. Maybe that’s “waving the bloody shirt”, or maybe it’s simple respect for the dead. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/43 "2002-07-28T17:18:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by alibey \* > \*\*They rebuilt Pearl Harbor after that attack so why not the WTC? \*\* The U.S.S. _Arizona_, where the largest loss of life occurred, was left in place under the waters of the harbor, with a memorial built on top. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/44 "2002-07-28T17:30:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crusoe \* > \*\*One idea that quite appealed to me was allegedly proposed by Salman Rushdie, and then championed by another person. It involves building two towers on the site, taller than the previous ones, and open to business. The memorial would be formed by making the top forty or so floors on each building giant glass atriums. \*\* I would imagine that the last thing survivors of this horrific attack would want to have to do, when going to pay respects to their lost co-workers, is have to take an elevator to the top floors of _any_ building. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/45 "2002-07-28T20:07:10Z")
The problem is that (no offense to my friends in NYC - don’t forget I’m in Jersey) New Yorkers think everything that happens to them is unique and special. Just like Americans only more so. We see Israel getting bombed on an almost daily basis, but nobody really cares until it happens here. There’s nothing “sacred” about the WTC site. It’s a place where there were some really cool buildings, and where some bad stuff happened. Bad stuff happens all the time, even if not on that scale. But let’s not fool ourselves into the PC lunacy about its being sacred and our needing ‘a place to cry’. Cry wherever the heck you want, but Please, let’s not show the world what a bunch of fucking babies we are, even if it’s true. I say the only way to proceed is to rebuild it. And bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/46 "2002-07-28T21:06:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SuaSponte \* > \*\*Read your link, **Lord Ashtar.** > \*\* What exactly makes you think I didn’t? ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/47 "2002-07-28T21:32:49Z")
::Blink:: Where did that come from, **Lord Ashtar**? Where did I say or even imply that you hadn’t read the link. Hint - “read” is also used in the _past_ tense. Sua ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/48 "2002-07-28T22:07:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe\_Cool \* > \*\*The problem is that (no offense to my friends in NYC - don’t forget I’m in Jersey) New Yorkers think everything that happens to them is unique and special. Just like Americans only more so. \*\* HUH??? What the hell does that even mean? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/49 "2002-07-28T22:21:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SuaSponte \* > \*\*::Blink:: Where did that come from, **Lord Ashtar**? Where did I say or even imply that you hadn’t read the link. > Hint - “read” is also used in the _past_ tense. > > Sua \*\* Okay, that was my fault. I missunderstood you. My apoligies. I thought you were implying that I posted a link without having read (past tense) through it. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/50 "2002-07-28T22:35:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SuaSponte \* > **::Blink:: Where did that come from, Lord Ashtar? Where did I say or even imply that you hadn’t read the link. > Hint - “read” is also used in the _past_ tense.** If you meant “I read your link,” you should have said so. English isn’t Spanish, which allows you to leave off subject pronouns. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/51 "2002-07-28T22:43:33Z")
Read **chula** ’s post. Thought it over. Read it again. Noted that his statement was not entirely true. Decided not to get involved. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/52 "2002-07-28T23:20:02Z")
Can’t we just leave it alone for awhile? Why is there such a rush? I think we should let some more time pass before deciding what to do with the site. Leaving it barren for awhile, with just the footprints of the towers, is compelling in its rawness. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/53 "2002-07-28T23:31:29Z")
**Ashtar,** _de nada._ English “allows” you to do whatever the hell you want, **Chula.** 😃 The “I understood” rule has taken its place beside the “you understood” rule in English. Certainly, in written English, what I wrote was open to two interpretations. In spoken English, the misunderstanding would not have arisen, as the present and past tenses have different pronunciations. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/54 "2002-07-29T00:12:32Z")
I think we should build a giant mosque where the towers used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/55 "2002-07-29T00:57:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > \*\* > > HUH??? > > What the hell does that even mean? \*\* It means that New Yorkers think that New York is the world. If it hasn’t happened in New York, then it either hasn’t happened, or it doesn’t matter. Nobody is clamoring to tear down the section of the Pentagon where hundreds of people died and replace it with a memorial. Why? Because it wasn’t New York. People in big cities generally want global solutions to local problems (gun control, for example), and New York is the worst one for that type of outlook. Get my meaning now? ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/56 "2002-07-29T02:02:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe\_Cool \* > \*\* > > It means that New Yorkers think that New York is the world. If it hasn’t happened in New York, then it either hasn’t happened, or it doesn’t matter. > > Get my meaning now? \*\* The only meaning I get is that you are a complete and utter moron. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/57 "2002-07-29T04:37:19Z")
I don’t know why you’re calling **Joe\_Cool** an idiot, **Lola**. That’s an accurate characterization of most New Yorkers. Although with respect to 9/11, New York did seem to be the center of the world. **Sua** , I still think that statement was grammatically incorrect, but that’s a topic for another thread. Back to the original topic, I think they need to wait until they find a decent plan. Those six suggestions are really awful. No design is going to please everyone, but at least it should be something that _someone_ likes. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/58 "2002-07-29T05:45:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > \*\* > > The only meaning I get is that you are a complete and utter moron. \*\* Do you live in New York or the surrounding area? How well do you know the area and the people in it? Or are you just talking out your ass? From my home I can see the Empire State Building and the WTC site. I spend a great deal of time there, including having worked in Manhattan during the weeks following Sept 11. I think I know the people that surround me. So piss off. Unless you can cite an article quoting New Yorkers as insisting that the destroyed shopping malls in Jerusalem remain unbuilt, and calling for a memorial to those killed in the bombings instead… Didn’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/59 "2002-07-29T12:37:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by chula \* > **I don’t know why you’re calling Joe\_Cool an idiot, Lola.** \*\*Chula: \*\*This doesn’t sound like the stupidest comment ever made to you? > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Joe\_Cool_ > The problem is that (no offense to my friends in NYC - don’t forget I’m in Jersey) New Yorkers think everything that happens to them is unique and special. Just like Americans only more so. Well, it does to me. And **Joe\_Cool,** > [@](#): > > Do you live in New York or the surrounding area? How well do you know the area and the people in it? Or are you just talking out your ass? I live in NYC, you assnozzle, and of _course_ anything that happens to us is unique and special _to us!_ I was working in midtown on 9-11, and have a number of friends who worked in the WTC and the surrounding area. > [@](#): > > Unless you can cite an article quoting New Yorkers as insisting that the destroyed shopping malls in Jerusalem remain unbuilt, and calling for a memorial to those killed in the bombings instead… We have no business telling Jerusalem how to memorialize their dead. I’m sure they think their situation “unique and special” _to them._ And we certainly shouldn’t have any say in how they choose to rebuild! Why the hell are you even bringing Jerusalem into this??? The OP clearly states this is about how NEW YORKERS and how we choose to rebuild OUR skyline. You don’t even pay taxes here!! Since you don’t live in NYC, you really are better off keeping your opinions to yourself. You really do sound incredibly foolish. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155/60 "2002-07-29T17:30:45Z")
**Lola** , I live in Queens and work in Manhattan (the World Financial Center when not on client calls, where I was the morning of the attacks and as I write this), and I think that there is more than a grain of truth in **Joe\_Cool** ’s statement. This is a native NYer talking, not a transplant either. Different people see things differently; **JC** and I are on the same wavelength on this. As for rebuilding, I don’t think we need to build new targets. I do think that getting top floors in an ultra-high complex rented would be insanely difficult. I believe we need a memorial, but I’m of the opinion that the footprints do not necessarily have to be preserved. I believe that more commercial space downtown is needed to revive the lost commerce in this region. It’s hard to predict how much office space will be needed when it becomes available, but NY needs to attract business back downtown, so we can get around to paying police and fire personnel competitive salaries (competitive as compared to surrounding areas as opposed to the nation as a whole). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-wtc-rebuild-the-damn-towers/120155.md?page=4)