On Halloween, two British students, Amber Langford and Annie Collinge, dressed up as the 9/11 Twin Towers. And to make matters worse, they dressed up as the burning Twin Towers. If that isn't bad enough, they entered a costume contest....and won.
How. Absolutely. Disrespectful.
Now, I'm all about freedom of expression (granted these girls aren't from the US) and I think too many people get offended over very minor things, BUT there are lines that should never be crossed. Dressing up as an icon from a horrific event where thousands of people lost their lives and forever changed the United States is definitely one of those lines. Especially on a holiday known for skimpy, gory, bloody, and humorous costumes.
What was going through these girls' heads is beyond me. They released a statement apologizing after all the backlash stating their intent was to "depict a modern day horror that happened in our lifetime and not intended as a joke" but in my opinion, they went too far. Why would you want to depict a modern day horror anyway? Why couldn't they just dress up in normal costumes like everyone else? A serial killer, a zombie, sailor, movie character, etc. I mean I understand wanting to stand out and win but there are better, more tasteful ways to do that.
THOUSANDS of peoples' lives were forever changed inside those towers and to dress up and mock the towers is mocking those people as well. Almost like adding salt to a wound that's been slowly healing but now ripped back open.
The nightclub, Rosie's, not only let the girls in like that, but also awarded them the first place prize, also got a lot of backlash from this. The company that runs the nightclub had to issue an apology and launch an investigation. From reading some angry people's tweets, it seems the bouncers had denied people entry for a lot less but had no problem allowing the girls to enter dressed in that manner.
I get it. It wasn't their country attacked and their civilians killed, but it was still a major historic event that should be respected. You don't see Americans dressing up as Jews in concentration camps, Mexican drug cartels, or Lord's Resistance Army members from Africa. So why would it be okay to dress up as buildings that were attacked by terrorists, collapsed, and killed so many people? And who was the Einstein that allowed them to WIN a costume contest dressed like that?!
The girls aren't the only "bad guys" here. Everyone involved with the contest is at fault too, just in a different way. I hope these girls realize the extent of their disrespect.
In reality, they viewed this as something innocent until people got angry at them. It was only then that they were sorry. I'm sure they weren't that sorry after winning money.
Let this be a lesson learned ladies.
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