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Yes, the Newly Unveiled 9/11 Memorial Actually Has a Gift Shop: 'Crassest, Most Insensitive Thing
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: The National September 11 Memorial Museum stands beyond the north reflecting pool during the opening ceremony for the museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. The museum spans seven stories, mostly underground, and contains artifacts from the attack on the World Trade Center Towers on September 11, 2001 that include the 80 ft high tridents, the so-called 'Ground Zero Cross,' the destroyed remains of Company 21's New York Fire Department Engine as well as smaller items such as letter that fell from the hijacked plane and posters of missing loved ones projected onto the wall of the museum. The museum will open to the public on May 21. (Pool/Getty Images)

Yes, the Newly Unveiled 9/11 Memorial Actually Has a Gift Shop: 'Crassest, Most Insensitive Thing

“I think it’s a money-making venture to support inflated salaries, and they’re willing to do it over my son’s dead body."

A gift shop at the newly unveiled National September 11 Memorial and Museum is stirring controversy, being denounced as "shocking and repugnant" by the families of 9/11 victims.

“To me, it’s the crassest, most insensitive thing to have a commercial enterprise at the place where my son died,” Diane Horning told the New York Post.

[sharequote align="center"]“...the crassest, most insensitive thing to have a commercial enterprise at the place where my son died."[/sharequote]

On Sunday, the Post published a story taking individuals "inside the 9/11 museum's offensive gift shop." According to the New York paper, individuals can purchase a wide variety of souvenirs when visiting the memorial. Options include jewelry, mugs and t-shirts — all emblazoned with images of the Twin Towers.

The Post detailed some of these items in further detail:

- A black and white “Darkness Hoodie” printed with an image of the Twin Towers. The pullover, like other “Darkness” items, bears the words “In Darkness We Shine Brightest.” Price: $39.

- Silk scarves printed with 1986 photos by Paula Barr, including a panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline. Another depicts “lunchtime on the WTC Plaza.” They go for $95 each.

- “Survivor Tree” earrings, named after a pear tree that stood in the World Trade Center plaza and survived 9/11. Made of bronze and freshwater pearls, a pair costs $64. A leaf ornament molded from the swamp white oaks at the memorial is said to change from amber to dark brown “and sometimes pink around the time of the 9/11 anniversary.”

- Heart-shaped rocks inscribed with slogans such as “United in Hope” and “Honor.” One rock bears a quote by Virgil that is emblazoned on a massive blue-tiled wall in the museum: “No day shall erase you from the memory of time.” It costs $39.

The gift shop sits near the location where roughly 8,000 unidentified body parts are stored in a "remains repository."

“Here is essentially our tomb of the unknown. To sell baubles I find quite shocking and repugnant,” Horning told the Post.

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: The National September 11 Memorial Museum stands beyond the north reflecting pool during the opening ceremony for the museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. The museum will open to the public on May 21. (Pool/Getty Images)</p><br /></a> </p><p>“I think it’s a money-making venture to support inflated salaries, and they’re willing to do it over my son’s dead body,

The gift shop claims in a posted notice, "All net proceeds from our sales are dedicated to developing and sustaining" the museum. It adds, “Thank you for helping to build a lasting place for remembrance, reflection, and learning for years to come.”

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Oliver Darcy

Oliver Darcy

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