Ira PilgrimIRA'S CORNERFilename:N-program

February 13, 2003 (Ira Pilgrim)

The World Trade Center

Each plan ascends into the atmosphere with iconic structures --structures that once fully designed would become among the most recognizable buildings in the world.

John Whitehead(2003) Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.

The destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11/01 left a large area of lower Manhattan unoccupied, which is considered unacceptable in New York City. Before the debris had all been cleared, plans were being made to fill that space. A committee (The Lower Manhattan Development Corp.) was organized to determine how best to fill it. They have now narrowed the field to two plans submitted by architects. In addition to the above statement, the committee's chairman said that "Both plans would, in fact, create the tallest structure on earth, a symbol of humanity's unbreakable unity and undiminished optimism." I would like to add "and incredible stupidity!"

When I first saw the World Trade Center, I thought that it was the ugliest building that I had ever seen. It was BIG. BIG, BIG. It was big in the same sense that you might consider an elephant's turd to be big.

The great tragedy of the destruction of the World Trade Center was the people who were killed. The destruction of the building itself might be considered a blessing. Now they plan to rebuild it.

The founders of New York City had the remarkable foresight to set aside some parts of the city for parks. In the middle of Manhattan is Central Park. Periodically, developers have wanted to get their hands on that land, as well as land in the other parks in the city. Fortunately, the parks are surrounded by very expensive apartment buildings, whose residents are mostly wealthy and, as a consequence, have a good deal of clout. Central Park, and the other parks, will probably remain as parks for the foreseeable future.

Now the powers that be have decided to build another World Trade Center, only bigger. It will stand as a monument to the incredible idiocy of those who make such decisions. In doing what they are planning, they are creating a target for anyone who wishes to embarrass the United States. It will be the equivalent of painting an immense bulls eye on each of the towers at their points of maximum vulnerability. The temptation to any terrorist organization would be irresistible.

I assume that they are also planning to have an army of guards at the base and inside the building as well as a small armada of fighter aircraft continually circling the skies above it in perpetuity, or until some ingenious terrorist gets past the guards , as they have done twice before.

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