Patriot Announcement...who's going?

PETA is in the Sh*t house with me right now as they are trying to do away with the Fighting Gamecocks as a mascot for that poor Carolina school.

However I agree about the hotdogs. :)

For those of you complaining about cheap food, drinks and admission as being disrespectful or "like selling souvenirs at a funeral" would you rather they drape the park in black and have Kleenex boxes everywhere so you can mourn? Guys it is time to move on and celebrate the lives of those who passed away. I know that I would rather be celebrated when I pass away then cried about for years and years after

No, they don't have to mourn it. But they also don't have to say come join us in our Sept 11th party either. That is basically what they are doing.

it is just coincidence that they are the same weekend

The lingo in their advertisement is the problem. If they just marketed discounts or an announcement for that weekend, it would be a coincidence. When they say come join us in a moment of silence and buy our hotdogs and hear us announce "The Patriot"; that seems like they are trying to make money off of a tragic event. No one is saying everyone has to not have any fun on any Sept 11th from now on. No one is even saying you cannot make any money or have any events on or around that day either. But when you tie in the terrorist attacts in a specific marketing campaign just for that day or weekend, that makes it look like you are trying to capitalize on it.

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RavenTTD said:
I guess the commercialization of any special day inevitable but this does seem a little soon.

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What specific event is Memorial Day for? Veterans Day? If there is a specific event, did it happen 4 years ago?

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We showed you already how what you said was viable but in this case not applicable please stop now

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If you don't agree or don't understand the difference, that's fine. But don't cop an attitude and assume you've got the only correct opinion.

If this was Cedar Point, the fanboy card would have already been played. :)

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Swoosh said:
PETA is in the Sh*t house with me right now as they are trying to do away with the Fighting Gamecocks as a mascot for that poor Carolina school.

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You trying to score points with Homey or somethin'? LOL, he may have Spurrier, but they still have Holtz's *leftover "talent"*...;)

Maybe hold off on the "official annoncement" until Veteran's Day...that's like early-mid November, right? Just a thought...

'Loosing' says who? There are people here who think it's no big deal and people who think it's in poor taste. Read this through again.

The difference between Patriot Day and the other two holidays are as follows, in case you missed it:

- Patriot Day specifically commemorates blood lost on American soil only four years ago. The other ones don't.

- You don't have to have a dead family member to be affected by 9/11 or US engagement in Afghanistan or Iraq to be affected. You can simply be wondering when you're live one's coming back home, or if they'll do so in one piece.

- Folks with dead kids are camping out near the President's ranch, staking out his appearances and basically yelling at each other in the headlines as we speak

It's very current, it's very controversial and it's very real for a great many people. Don't believe me? Crack open a newspaper. And you have to know for a fact many if not most of these Patriot Day observances will be politically charged rallies for or against current military operations.

As such, would WoF really want to ruffle any feathers? Doesn't it only takes one angry, bereaved war mother or war spouse to make bucketloads of the wrong kinda press? Haven't we seen that already?

The smartest thing WoF can do is send press releases and animations early (i.e. Labor Day) and further details that weekend. 'Announcing' it in advance allows them to deflect fallout from those it might offend.

-'Playa

*** Edited 8/24/2005 3:30:23 PM UTC by CoastaPlaya***

Maybe they should rename the coaster Tsunami. :)

At least THAT didn't happen on American soil...

"Leave it to Gonchar"... ;)

...and Jerry Mathers as "The Gonch" :)

Guess who I am:

Dead people? Yeah, whatever. I got cool hair.
*Lights up a ginormous water pipe* :)

-'Playa

Oooh, oooh! Mr. Playa, I know, I know!

Woody Harrelson?

What--does he have a big 'Male' following, too? ;)

Take the love wherever you can find it.

Semi-related note: Castles N Coasters opened Desert Storm the year after the Gulf War.

But during Desert Storm I, people were watching explosions over Baghdad from the comfort of their home. Not New York City. See the difference?

-'Playa

So people (including americans) dying in Bagdad = ok, but people (including americans) dying in New York = bad?

Mr. Playa, I'd like to talk to my guidance counselor about changing classes. I'm not sure I'm cut out for ths class. Maybe I can get a tutor or something?

Apparently in the eyes of the general american public, the answer is YES. Same reason a busload of Iraqi policeman can be rounded up and massacred and it doesn't raise as many eyebrows in the States as a half-dozen American soldiers. Same reason the tsunami isn't a hot topic in the States, despite the fact that a roughly a thousand people died for every one of the Twin Towers deaths and in many instances the survivors have to rebuild their entire infrastructure and economy from scratch. Do people place a higher value on things that affect them personally than they do the plight of others? You bet. Do I subscribe to it? Obviously not. Do others? Sure!

But even from a practical and totally economic point of view--push all the 'humanity' issues aside--it doesn't make sense to associate your happy-fun-time ride with a topic people are already yelling at each other about every day. Yelling, posturing, happy time. They just don't mix well.

-'Playa

Good points. :)

However, if the two don't mix well then the backlash is inevitable. Things have a way of righting themselves like that.

As far as I know it's currently limited to a handful of people on an enthusiast message board.

My guess? The announcement/unveiling go as planned and next to no mention is made about the questionable timing and more than a few news outlets (that care enough to report about a roller coaster) will buy into the whole "isn't that a nice gesture" thing.

I dunno. I don't have a problem with it (and it's pretty fresh in my mind as I just spent Monday night watching all 4 hours of National Geographic's "Inside 9/11") and if this thread is indicative of anything (and it's probably not :) ), it seems there's just as many people that don't have a problem with it as those who do. That's pretty much the turning point on issues like this.

As many agree as disagree. You said so yourself.

But again...seeing that it only takes one of those who disagree to make headlines like these, what publicly owned and traded company in their right mind would take on the odds? A munitions producer? Sure. A theme park with a new coaster? Why risk it?

-'Playa

*** Edited 8/24/2005 4:45:04 PM UTC by CoastaPlaya***

FWIW, Memorial Day goes back to just after the US Civil War, started by a General Logan. The traditional day of the celebration is May 30, not the last monday of May. You can get all kinds of info out of google with the terms "memorial day history."

Veteran's Day used to be called Armistice Day, and the traditional day of the celebration, November 11, was the date of the final cease-fire of World War I. Technically the cease-fire started at 11:11, 11/11/1918.

Why risk it?

Again, I dunno. I don't make business decisions for WOF.

I'm still guessing (while what you're saying is technically true) that after the 11th has come and gone, that the whole coaster thing will pass without incident.

I'm still waiting for a coaster that's going to offend pipe smoking cool haired's - then the crap is hitting the fan, my friend.

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New Interactive Sally Darkride - Lord Gonchar's Braincell Blast
Travel inside my head aboard a big Graffix bong (yes, there's sponsorship here :) ) armed with smoke emitting laser guns and blast away those pesky short term memories.

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