Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Buildings Don't Matter?


              The editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stan Wischnowski, was recently forced to resign over outrage that he allowed an article with the headline “Buildings Matter, Too,” to appear in the newspaper. The article was a straightforward chronicle of the thousands of businesses that have been damaged or destroyed by violent rioters in recent weeks, and the heartbreaking impact this has had on many, including many minorities. The buildings that were burned down or smashed to smithereens held the dreams of countless people working to provide for their families and their communities. But this didn’t matter to the baying leftist mobs and opportunistic anarchists, whose insane vitriol caused the paper to issue an apology: "The Philadelphia Inquirer published a headline in Tuesday's edition that was deeply offensive. We should not have printed it. We're sorry, and regret that we did. We also know that an apology on its own is not sufficient." Stating an obvious truth is “Deeply offensive” and warrants an apology?

              Obviously, buildings matter. Try living without them. Architecture is an expression of humans need to create, overcome, elevate and endure. As Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” It is a grim indication of the state of society that vandals are defacing statues of Churchill and buildings.

 Obviously, all lives matter. And other things, such as buildings, as well. Assuming that saying “buildings matter, too” or “all lives matter” means black lives don’t matter is preposterous, insane. Words mean things. If a person refuses to say all lives matter, they are saying either that they don’t believe all lives matter or that they don’t believe blacks think all lives matter. That is—or should be—a monstrous assumption, stunningly ugly and itself racist on its face. Were it true, it would be incomparably sad…but still no reason for others to parrot such a literally inhuman utterance.  


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