When I think back to September 11th it seems like it wasn’t so long ago that I felt the overwhelming fear I had as a little girl knowing that both my mom and dad worked in Lower Manhattan. Now knowing whether my mom was safe or not was the scariest part; I didn’t know until later in the afternoon that she was safe. What was even crazier was finding out that my dad and uncle (both electrical technicians for the same company) were supposed to be working at the World Trade Center that day, but took the day off. That’s what I remember of that dreadful day alongside the constant images of the two towers falling incessantly as if mocking every single person that watched. Memories like that don’t just go away and the recent Hurricane Sandy is another example of a tragedy that will instilled in many peoples’ memories.
Why did I go off about my September 11th experience? It was to show that for many people, the tragedy of the lives lost and the terrorism behind the attack was the most important and still remains the most remembered. Although the economy took a terrible hit because of the attacks, it was not really noticed for people who still had stable jobs in Manhattan. Although I lived in Manhattan, I was still blind to the continued effects of the attack that were not so blatantly obvious. Of course, I was only in 3rd grade so, I guess that’s not much of a surprise. This ties into the “branding” of New York City that Bloomberg enacted when he became the first CEO mayor. Essentially, New York needed to be revitalized as a powerful city again, especially after businesses were leaving due to the fear of the vulnerable location. People stopped flying places and definitely to New York City where fear was still in the minds of every person living there. Bloomberg was successful in his “branding” of New York by making it a place that people wanted to visit again.
Everything was marketed, even Ground Zero! I remember as a little girl seeing so many tourists visiting the gravesite as if it were another landmark. I guess, the World Trade Center was one, but it was still confusing to me that people outside of New York City wanted to see it. It seemed like it should almost be private. But, then again what did I know as a young girl. One thing’s for sure, New York City has reached a point where unemployment has really affected people tremendously and I can think of one reason why that is… Consumerism at its finest. No one wants to be the person to do the dirty job, and everyone wants to consume as much as they please. That’s our issue. As long as we are all full-time consumers, we will forever be the full-time unemployed.
