RoR: Forum

Post 0

Monday, June 16, 2008 - 9:36am

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Mr. Butziger,

I signed the petition with pleasure. It would be a tragedy if this impressive building were not constructed because certain individuals who are uncomfortable with the unapologetic sight of grandeur block its construction on account of its being “too tall.”

Here is what I wrote to accompany my signature:

“The building of this skyscraper will be a tremendous human achievement, and we ask nothing except that it be *permitted* to happen. No reasonable person should stand in the way of such a noble aspiration. To say that this skyscraper is ‘too tall’ is also to suggest that certain things are ‘too good’ for human beings to enjoy. This is neither a humane nor a civilized sentiment.”

I will also promote this petition tomorrow on The Progress of Liberty.

Sincerely,
Gennady Stolyarov II
Editor-in-Chief, The Rational Argumentator: http://rationalargumentator.com
Writer, Associated Content: http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/46796/g_stolyarov_ii.html
Author, The Best Self-Help is Free: http://rationalargumentator.com/selfhelpfree.html
Author, The Progress of Liberty Blog: http://progressofliberty.today.com/

Post 1

Monday, June 16, 2008 - 10:40am

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Who is bitching about this building? I should hope it’s not the folks at the MOMA. They would do well to pay more attention to the garbage inside their building.

Post 2

Sunday, June 22, 2008 - 12:46pm

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Thanks again to everyone who signed and to everyone who spread the word.

As for the MoMA, they do want the tower for extra gallery space. It's the other neighbors who claim the tower is "out of scale with the neighborhood" and who worry about congestion on the relatively narrow cross street caused first by construction equipment and then by tenants.

But I have a hunch those neighbors would find excuses to oppose the tower even if it did front an avenue. They hate everything that's "out of scale," that stands out, that stands apart without relations to anybody or anything else. To them, individuals and entities are nothing, but relations are everything. Anything that stands alone reproaches them for and reminds them of their own zeroness.