Posted on 09/25/2011 3:08:07 PM PDT by Starman417
Alec Rawls, who has been working with Tom Burnett Sr. to stop the Crescent of Embrace memorial to Flight 93, explains the circumstances (related by Mr. Burnett in 2008, but not published until now).
Mr. Burnett had been telling his fellow design competition jurors that the crescent is a well known Islamic symbol. In addition to the giant central crescent (now called a broken circle) Tom also objected to the minaret-like Tower of Voices. "I made a point at that meeting," says Mr. Burnett, "to tell people that we have an Islamist design here that can't go forward, please, stay with me."
One of the left-wing design professionals on the jury, Tom Sokolowski (then director of Pittsburg's Andy Warhol Museum) thought that objecting to the crescent shape, just because it happens to be used by Muslims, was anti-Muslim bigotry. In a rude attempt to shut down criticism, Sokolowski actually called Mr. Burnett "asinine" for objecting to the huge Islamic-shaped Crescent. (Sokolowski would later repeat this performance to the press, calling a local preacher "asinine," "small minded," "bigoted," "repellant," and "disgusting" for protesting the Crescent design.)
It was in this atmosphere, charged with universal awareness amongst the jurors that the giant crescent was indeed a well-known Islamic symbol shape, but also charged with uncertainty as to whether people would be allowed to mention this fact, that another family member, Sandra Felt, started to explain what she liked about the Crescent design. She liked the "embracing" nature of it, says Mr. Burnett. She liked the way it "reached out..."
At which point another family member "lost it" (Mr. Burnett's description), screaming in agony: "I don't want to reach out to those people! THEY MURDERED MY DAUGHTER!"
The Park Service claims it "lost" the minutes
This extreme level of conflict on the jury over perceived Islamic symbolism should have come out years ago. The jury included a designated, non-voting, minutes taker. This was not supposed to be a private deliberation. These were volunteer citizens, doing the people's business, and the jury minutes were supposed to be made available to the public.
The Memorial Project and the Park Service claim that the minutes were "lost." No doubt, but that doesn't mean the loss was accidental, and defenders of the Crescent design had good reason to make the minutes go away. Any faithful record would have been explosive, revealing these fierce objections from multiple Flight 93 family members to the blatant Islamic symbolism in the Crescent design.
The ballot wasn't supposed to be secret either, but the Park Service refuses to account for what they claim was a 9 to 6 tally in favor of the Crescent design. What does 9 to 6 even mean on what was a ranked vote amongst three designs? Did every ballot that did not rank the Crescent last get counted as a vote in favor?
The whole thing is fishy, and there is one most obvious reason why the defenders of the Crescent might want to keep the vote details hidden. The seven family members on the jury were outnumbered by eight academics and design professionals. Thus all six of the votes against the Crescent could have come from the kin, with only Sandra Felt voting for it. This is more than just possible. It is likely.
Another mother of the murdered said only that she agreed with Mr. Burnett, and he thought that the other two men amongst the family members (Gerald Bingham and Ed Root) were on his side as well, though both have since spoken out against his ongoing effort to rescind the chosen design. Bingham and Root are angry at the anguish that the families are still being put through over the memorial design, but could such men have voted for the Crescent in the first place, in the face of that mother's anguished cry?
A vicious left-wing ideologue like Sokolowski, yes, but it seems almost inconceivable that family members could vote for a design that other family members saw as a tribute to the terrorists, or at the very least, as reaching out to Islam. Since Bingham and Root are willing to speak out, can they please tell us whether they voted for the Crescent? If they didn't, then the vote amongst the family members was at least 5 to 2 against.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
Almost the minute 9-11 happened the left tripped over themselves to become dhimmi’s.
I would ask why this woman didn’t contact the press, but she very possibly did.
Most people don’t know of the conservative press that’s out there, and the only one they do know is Fox News, which is no better than CNN. Their own expert proclaimed Bummer’s BC a fraud, and they just flat-out lied and said otherwise.
Probably people contact Fox News every day and their story is squashed.
Fox News is preaching only to the choir - they make sure of that. They achieve nothing.
They should build a Shinto temple over the Arizona in Pearl Harbor.
That would be reeeching out.
The family member's feelings are justified. I am one who does not wish to "reach out" to those people either. It would be double-so if one of my family members was on that plane.
To wish to employ an islamic symbol in memorial of that tragedy kow-tows to islam and is hateful and deragatory to the loss this country, and those families suffered.
The country is infested with enemies of Western civilization. Much like termites, they are eating away the foundation and pillars of the US and one day, it will collapse unless we soon hire pest controllers who can tent the whole house.
Disgusting. It is an insult to America, as well as to the dead and to their families.
Who on earth chose someone from the Andy Warhol Institute, of all things, to get involved with this? If you wanted a memorial for dead heroes, would you go to the Andy Warhol Institute for advice?
I suspect that the families were railroaded by the “experts,” who told them they were a bunch of bigots who didn’t understand the first thing about Modren Art.
“Shut up and do what we say!”
Its the first time I’ve seen them admit the design was islamic on purpose. I thought they were denying it.
Can you imagine the outrage if the memorial was in the shape of a cross?
“Just because it’s in the shape of a cross doesn’t mean that it’s a religious symbol.”
Let someone make that remark and see how well it flies!
At least in the movie Red Dawn they were honest enough to admit it was an attack.
Now we have the Red Crescent Dawn. Only the attackers act like they are Arab Ozzie and Harrietts.
At least in the movie Red Dawn they were honest enough to admit it was an attack.
Now we have the Red Crescent Dawn. Only the attackers act like they are Arab Ozzie and Harrietts.
Once we have been silenced by our government; we will speak out when it is least expected.
I said to a friend once in regard to the design of this memorial that if it were to be built as designed I’d go out to Shanksville, rent a back-hoe and destroy the hideous thing myself.
This is sickening beyond belief. It’s hard to comprehend how so many ‘enlightened’ Americans can be so stupid and gullible.
Pig fat is the only appropriate anointment to be poured on this vile travesty.
....the left-wing design professionals on the jury.....
Are some—or all—of these people open homosexuals?
The “design profession” is infested with left-wing screaming homosexuals, who can’t be trusted to handle an assignment such as a Flight 93 memorial!!!!
You'd be surprised what a spray bottle of roundup will do!
Pam Geller’s been on this:
...and...
http://errortheory.blogspot.com/2011/09/muslim-consultants-lied-to-park-service.html
Yes. All of ‘em. Because, sorry, I do not believe in the peaceful muslim.
They need to be gone.
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