Who Gets Included?
Memorial to 9/11 preaches vengeance and tolerance
Matthew Salenger etched 54 phrases in a circular piece of steel, building Arizona’s Sept. 11 memorial one story at a time. He wanted everyone’s story to be told.
Phrases like “10:28 a.m. WTC North Tower Collapses” stated undisputed facts. Then there was “Must Bomb Back” and its polar opposite: “You Don’t Win Battles of Terrorism With More Battles.” Gary Bird, a businessman and Arizona’s sole Sept. 11 victim, was listed. So was a Sikh who was killed in a hate crime outside Phoenix, four days later.
Salenger thought that all of those thoughts could coexist peacefully on a public memorial. He was wrong