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Atheists Sue Over "9/11 Cross" At WTC Memorial
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 27, 2011
Modified Jul 27, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 27, 2011
Modified Jul 27, 2011
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Poor atheists, is there anything 9/11-related that doesn't offend them? First they made a big stink when the city changed a Red Hook street sign to honor 9/11 firefighters, now they're filing a lawsuit because the famous September 11 Cross has been included as part of the memorial at the World Trade Center site. The cross consists of intersecting steel beams found in the rubble of buildings destroyed in the attacks.
"The WTC cross has become a Christian icon. It has been blessed by so-called holy men and presented as a reminder that their god, who couldn't be bothered to stop the Muslim terrorists or prevent 3,000 people from being killed in his name, cared only enough to bestow upon us some rubble that resembles a cross," the group's president, Dave Silverman, said in a statement. "It's a truly ridiculous assertion. It will just be a Christian icon, in the middle of OUR museum. This will not happen without a fight."
The cross was installed at the site on Saturday, and 9/11 Memorial president Joe Daniels tells The Christian Post the cross is "an important part of our commitment to bring back the authentic physical reminders that tell the history of 9/11 in a way nothing else could. It's return is a symbol of the progress on the Memorial and Museum that we feel rather than see, reminding us that commemoration is at the heart of our mission."
Tagged
9/11
atheists
ground zero
world trade center site
wtc
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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