It’s sad to think that it wasn’t until I read David Harvey’s, Cracks in the Edifice of the Empire State, that I considered the actual reason the World Trade Center was attacked other than its size and significance in the New York City skyline. I was so young when 9/11 occurred and have sadly become so desensitized by the memory that it has become that, merely a blurred memory. It’s harsh, but true. Why was the World Trade Center chosen? If it had to do with denying our freedom, why not the Statue of Liberty? Or the Empire State Building? It’s easy for one to forget arbitrary things like the fact that the World Trade Center was attacked because it was the World Trade Center.
New York City is the definition of a global city and the World Trade Center was one of the first infrastructural symbols that enforced that title during the neoliberalism globalization era. It’s no secret that New York City is the hub for all things diverse and is the “sanctuary” for the global success of a global economy. However, its also a city that fiercely represents a global, capitalist society where affluence is encouraged and ignorance is essential. It was mentioned that after the 9/11 attacks, people came together to help each other and forgot about the trivial lives that so clouded their realities. And, yes, that did occur. But, it only took several years later for people to go on with their lives as if nothing happened and continue the lives they had before. In a global city, the people are so consumed by consumption and only realize they are not invisible until something tragic happens. But, they soon go on with their lives.
You can see this with how New Yorkers dealt with Hurricane Sandy in late October of 2012: many people were tragically affected by the storm, which wasn’t even considered a Category 1 storm, and there were many who volunteered to help those in need, but only a few months later its almost forgotten. This brings up an important issue of globalization and the nature/society binary, which explains how humans have now completely separated themselves from “nature” and commercialized everything to the point that now even air is a commodification. Yes, air! Now, I won’t go off into an environmental rant, I’ll save that for later, but its something to consider. What happens to a global city where the people are so consumed with consumption that they are incapable of understanding their role as a part of nature?
