I am aware that the blogosphere has been awash with commentary on 9-11 and I do not have the expertise to add to the debate except for in one area which I hope will be of interest.
As some of you will be aware I am not a full-time ordinand - I have a day job which involves advising clients on how to interact with the media. So here's a PR man's thesis on 9-11 which I haven't seen written anywhere else.
The 9-11 attacks were clearly meticulously planned. I have long held the view that PR was part of this planning process. Put simply, I believe two things:
- The delay between the two 'planes hitting the towers was deliberate. It allowed time for the TV cameras, and therefore the eyes of the world to be filming the first tower and therefore ensured that video footage of the second plane crashing was captured
- The timing of the attack, early in the morning, ensured that the entire horrific episode could be captured clearly on film in daylight as it played out during the morning
Which leads me on to the 10th anniversary commemorations last week. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that the horrific events on that New York morning should be commemorated. What I object to is the ghoulish replaying of that television footage, including film and photographs of people jumping to their deaths, as part of the commemoration. Doesn't this recreate the terror we all felt at the time? More importantly, it has introduced a whole new generation - including my teenage children - to that terror as well. Yes, they should know about 9-11 because they need to understand its hugely significant effect on the world since then. But do they really need to see people dying as part of this?
Every time we see that film, the terrorists' desire - to spread fear and horror across the world is fulfilled. I for one don't think we should be playing into their hands.