Group of atheists has filed a lawsuit

Is it an icon for one particular religion? yes.
Is it in a public park owned by and maintained by the government which is paid for by the people? yes.That's government supported religion.

NYC is densely populated. A block or two away might as well be a different town.Yet, there was a huge uproar when Muslims wanted to build a mosque 3-4 blocks away.You HONESTLY think that it won't be a problem getting a monument with an Islamic symbol erected at ground zero?

But apparently more than happy to live in a state that sucks money off productive states like a tick.$1.51 dollars in Government spending for every $1 in taxes going to Virginia.If you don't want the State to have a say in what you do, then GET A DAMN JOB and stop taking the money.

I think it should be made clear that this position is for this particular museum and not all museums which receive state funding.For example, the Smithsonian may have a display on the Puritans and not need to bring in representations of other religions because the context is "history" and looking at a particular part of history.Since this museum (assuming we're still talking about the 9/11 museum and not some spin off) is about a particular moment in time, it's unlikely that displays will be about subject material outside of that narrow scope.However, it would be reasonable to have muslim relics in the museum, as it was Muslims attacking under religious motivations.A display showing the names of the victims under a giant cross however would be inappropriate - since the cross has no connection to the actual events, and no connection to the individual victims.

Wait. I thought this was a discussion for adults.Are you HONESTLY trying to suggest that the people who build the monument just RANDOMLY picked a shape from the rubble and made a monument of it?THAT'S your argument?You _REALLY_ want us to believe that THAT is your level of understanding of this situation.REALLY?

I think this is an excellent idea.Display it upside down. If it's just a chunk of metal from the towers, there's really no "up or down". There must have been a few hundred thousands of these joints.If the Christians complain that it's disrespectful, throw it in the garbage and be done with it.

It's no more important than any other chunk of metal from the site. Or any broken computer or flattened car.It's not like this particular piece of metal was holding up a slab of concrete and saving the last survivor or anything.And, if it IS that there's something special about this piece of metal, then it shouldn't matter at all what orientation the display is mounted. It's still the same piece of metal if it's right side up, or upside down, or sidewise.If it's the METAL that's important, then who cares.If it's the "Jesus!" that's important, then it carries religious implications which don't need to be there.

Every piece of the actual building is a piece of the actual building.So, the ONLY real significance here is that some of the people think that it's a cross.AND, in fact, I would bet that those people wouldn't care if it was the ACTUAL piece of the building or just a set of crossbars that look like they were from the actual building. But it wasn't displayed. It was just a piece of a building. It was like several million other pieces of the building.THEY imbued it with meaning that it does not have in and of itself. The meaning that THEY imbued it with is religious.THEY are saying "Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc who died at this place don't count because the letter T is important to Jesus".

No one is suggesting that. If they need a display that was a piece of the building, there are plenty of chunks of concrete laying around. Use one of those. Was it pointing to a body or something? How exactly did it help them? Oh crap, don't drag that over here too. I'll be catching crap from all the people who get to call themselves "victims" but I'm not allowed to call them "victims". I can tell you that the symbol of the cross is a symbol of hate and neglect for many religious of the world. Thousands of people died that day. A good many of them were Chinese. It's pretty safe to assume that at least some of those were not Christians.The fact that SOME of the rescuers and SOME of the public seem to think that Jesus supported the attacks ignores the Buddhists who died who honestly wouldn't want to be buried under a cross whether it was one that was supposedly for or against terrorism.

Oh, come on. Surely this occurred to you.If Jesus has the power to put a cross in a building as a symbol prior to the building being destroyed, it means that
1) Jesus KNEW the building was going to get destroyed
2) Jesus KNEW a bunch of people would die in the destruction
3) Jesus allowed it to happen without so much as a warning.And now these "rescuers" want to brag about the destructive force of their God? Seems in bad taste to me.

You are missing the context of the conversation.The cross was "displayed" in the rubble. It was just an hunk of metal that someone said looked like something.It wasn't put there by magic Jesus. It wasn't different than the thousands of other chunks of metal.Yes, LATER, someone decided to make it a religious shrine at which point it was displayed thumbing it's nose at anyone of a different faith.And, CERTAINLY, a portion of that was a middle finger toward the middle east.

I didn't accept that it helped people. I asked specifically which survivors it pointed to or which block of cement it helped lift.You answered that some people felt like it was a religious symbol (implying that Jesus caused the attack apparently) and that gave them comfort.I would suggest that other people also feel it is a religious symbol, ALSO implying that Jesus caused the attack, and that gives them discomfort.Ask yourself this:
If, instead of Jesus nailed to a 2x4, someone wanted to put up a sign that read "Praise Allah for his attack on these towers", do you think the Christians would allow it?

That's all a religious symbol can do - at best.Are you suggesting that this object had importance because someone said:
"Where are we digging today?"
And someone else said
"Just a little bit north of that thing"And THAT is why it belongs in the museum?If it's NOT a religious symbol, cut it in half, display a little piece of it at this museum and send another little piece to some other place.

In order for it to have a secular purpose, it must have provided something different than what is provided by any other crucifix.Positive Example:
If, during WWII, a crucifix atop a church were hollowed out and secret messages were stored within by the French Resistance - that would make that crucifix a secular artifact. Just as if it were a chair or lamppost which was similarly hollowed out.It's the hollowing out and secret messages that make it important.Negative Example:
If the French Resistance had a secret base in the catacombs and constructed a cross out of two pieces of drift wood nailed together and then prayed to it for guidance and spiritual support - that wouldn't be secular.In this case, you are talking about a piece of metal at the site which _CHRISTIAN_ rescuers decided was spiritually significant (although technically it's evidence AGAINST their religion, but whatever) because it was a symbol of their faith.The metal had NO OTHER VALUE. It didn't hold anything up. It didn't point to anything. It wasn't evidence of the bombers were.It's a cross.Period.

Neither do we. That's because it wasn't a rosary being used as a rosary. It was being used to mark something. It could have been a hammer. It could have been a road sign. It could have been a beaver skull.In this case, the cross was being used as a cross. It could not have been a standard issue cinder block that the searches found comfort in because the ONLY reason they found comfort in it was the fact that it's shaped like a T. If that's what's important, pick a different piece of the building. Then display it upside down. Problem solved.