Introduction:
William Langewiesche, author of “American Ground: Unbuilding the World Trade Center” is taking some heat from the NYFD now that his book tour has come to Gotham.
Having full and unfettered access to ground zero after the 9/11 attack, Langewiesche penned a very realistic and very human account of the goings on at the WTC site. Before hitting bookshelves, it was excerpted in the Atlantic Monthly in 3 parts[ul][li]7-8/2002: The Inner World []9/2002: The Rush to Recovery and []10/2002: Dance of the Dinosaurs[/ul][/li]I haven’t read the book yet, but it’s queued up & I’m looking forward to it.
To be honest, I’m a bit perplexed as to the flak the author is getting. Some accounts in the book reveal the darker side of humanity. The passages which (unfortunately) are getting the most press revolve around rampant looting by the NYFD, NYPD, et al. One account tells of a Ladder Company #4 fire truck, pulled from the rubble that was stacked with dozens of folded and tagged jeans from the Gap.
My advice to NYFD Spokespeople:
Sometimes spin works, other times it doesn’t.
The people of this country understand the hit the NYFD took that tragic day. You lost over 320 comrades in day. No one expects perfection. To sound clichéd, they realize there are a few bad apples in every bunch. If you and your members kept quiet for a day or two, this would all blow over.
By organizing protests and shouting down the author with “Lies, Lies, Lies” sloganeering, you’re doing nothing to help your cause.
You can either:
- Refute the author’s account by getting the construction worker eyewitnesses he quotes to rescind their story
or - You can shut up about it and wait for the story to go away.
Even though the distraught widow angle appears to scoring you a few PR points, you lost them all with this doozy…
as was asserted today in the NY Post.
This doesn’t rise to the level of scandal, so don’t treat it as such.