Ground Zero: September 11, 2008
The troofers are coming..! The troofers are coming..!
I went to the memorial services at Ground Zero this morning. The streets surrounding the old World Trade Center site were completely sealed off to pedestrian traffic. It was very crowded so I worked my way around taking as many photos as I could.
This guy had a pretty interesting sign. 
This troofer fellow wearing an Obama button didn't seem to like it one bit.
Undaunted and dead serious.On a lighter note, there were lots of other people out there today like these firemen.
This dapper shoe shine man. 
A cheerful if not eccentric NYC patriot.
I got a strange feeling from this woman. Then I zoomed in on what she was wearing around her neck.
A sign of Satan? Or just Paganism? Sorry for the ugly photo, folks.
The Mennonites were out in force!
and..
and..
A study in contrasts...
This woman was crying and bowing.
This was her schtick. The Bowing Project. Ya hear that, Zawahiri? She's bowing!
Okay, now for the real nuts...
The troofers were lamentably encamped around the edges of Trinity church cemetery.
The troofers were lamentably encamped around the edges of Trinity church cemetery.
The troofer 'media.'
* * *
Now for the heroes!
Now for the heroes!
Real US Soldiers! Shook their hands and said, 'Thanks!'At the very end, as I headed back towards the subway I was happy to be able to catch this group of firefighters marching toward the Brooklyn Bridge. I love the sound of the bagpipes and drums.
And off they went over the Brooklyn Bridge. Which is right were I started today.
posted by Urban Infidel at 10:37 AM
15 Comments:
Thanks for that. We probably crossed paths sometime this morning and never realized it (I was walking to work and had to pass the 9/11 troofers and Iraq "veterans" against the war types.
I have many pagan friends, none of whom are evil, & all of whom hate bin Laden, & wish he were dead. Did you even ask this woman if that's what she meant by her sign, or did you judge her by your own narrow reaction to her necklace? I, too, would like to know where he is, & why we haven't bombed him into oblivion.
iron chef kosher-
Okay. I changed it. Maybe it wasn't a sign of Satanism. I didn't ask her because she was giving off a bad feeling and I tend to not engage so much with demonstrators. My experiences have shown me that their state of mind isn't always stable.
Osama bin laden. I'd like his head on a pike in Times Square. He might even be dead as is speculated.
UI,
Excellent photos and commentary as usual. I have to agree with the head on a pike thing also!
Great Work!
DanNY
Great stuff, UI!! I just knew you would be there and bring back the best and worst of the displays. Here's yet another "atta-girl" from your fellow infidel in the north woods. Thanks so much for doing what you do so well!!
Blessings to you.
The silliest of the nutjobs was the "Inquiring Minds Know 9/11 Was A Neocon Job". If you already have a foregone conclusion then you're not inquiring minds.
-aengus
Most excellent girl..I was there too as u know..Blessings and huge NY hugss!!!
You folks just don't get it. Your judgment is way way out there. You think this is your country. Get over it. America is so much more than you are willing to admit because you have enjoyed the chief seat for so long and drowned out all voices in the dialogue. You are the ones that have destroyed the moral fabric of our country with your fake Christianity.
I wanted to go with a big sign saying "MUSLIMS DID IT!", but my wife didn't want me to vanish or die.
I want to go to the UN when dinnerjacket shows up again, with a big sign saying "DIE ALREADY, EVIL SCUM"... but somehow I think I'll get thwarted on that one too...
Funny how the loons come out when the weather is nice. They really spoil the day though.
I know many pagans (including some who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan). They want to treat Osama bin Laden (and Barack Obama) to the old Pagan death sentence. Shove him in a large open weave iron basket, suspend it over a bonfire, and watch him roast.
We could do it during the Christmas season and have it on TV instead of the traditional Yule Log that is shown.
It's easy to understand that Muslims caused the 9/11 tragedy because only Muslims commit suicide in order to murder innocent people.
.
Great tribute UI, amazing photos, you take amazing shots and give some great commentary. You are a brave one to wade into all that emotional humanity with a camera. That one Troofer gave you a real Stalin type 'HALT!' with his hand.
Keep being careful out there.
Now, for my flashback: I was getting ready to get ready for work; Howard was on the radio, the TV's sound was muted.
I finally looked up and saw the tower with smoke pouring out of it and said "what the...", and then turned the sound on and just then my sister called and we watched and talked about it for a few minutes until the 2nd plane hit.
We were both "Oh my God..."
For the next week or more my nabes was like a demilitarized zone or something, only official traffic allowed. Lots of firetrucks and buses filled with fireman and rescue workers streamed through the neighborhood on their way down to Ground Zero.
Thankfully I lost no one, but know many people who did, including a friend at work who had joined us from Cantor Fitzgerald after being there for 10 years. He lost over 100 friends and acquaintances, including 3 of his best friends who I had met at a birthday party at a club about 6-12 months before.
They loved the nickname I had given him.
A friend of mine called his wife at home and said "Go and get a few hundred dollars out of an ATM, quick!" She finally had to go way uptown to find one that still had cash in it. But on the way back to their apartment she ran into many upper-class Mommies out on the streets (with their husbands still on their way home from work, hopefully) with their little kids and no way to get cash, and all of them crying and scared, and so little by little she gave away all her money to these scared and crying young Mothers.
So many stories, maybe I'll recount more next year.
We must not let people forget, and we must never refuse to recognize evil.
:(
.
we will NOT forget
you 9/11 victims
will get justice
.
painful truth -
9/11 should be our
wakeup call
.
get Bin Laden -
we just need big SWAT team
and search warrant
.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
there is no good or evil
every thing's relative
don't judge a terrorist
.
All real freedom starts with freedom of speech. Without freedom of speech there can be no real freedom.
.
Philosophy of Liberty Cartoon
.
Help Halt Terrorism Today!
.
We will NEVER forget!
:)
.
Not really too sure about the Wiccans, but I believe they refer to themselves as witches, in spite of their seeming moral neutrality. But you were right not to engage. A few months back I tried to talk to "Cardboard Burqa Man" who stands vigil outside the White House in DC, and he became quite unstable in his rants.
Excellent photo shoot, UI! You are the first I turn to for photo essays when things are happening. You always seem to be there when things happen, and you capture the contrasts of heroism on one side and lunacy on the other.
Thanks St. Blogustine!
I try to be there were I can.
My favorite part in this report was the marching firemen at the end. So glad I happened to be there right at that moment.
I liked your photo report as well. You got pretty close to the ceremonies.
Everybody, go see St Blogustine's report now!
http://stblogustine.blogspot.com/2008/09/new-york-citys-september-11th.html
I bow to your superior camera skills
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