Sunday, April 11, 2010

Remembering on a Budget


During the discussions on memorials, one thing that came up was cost, and who the memorials were for. It seemed that generally, people felt that a memorial was serving its purpose best if it was raising awareness, and encouraging remembrance. This got me thinking... are showings of support for AIDs or cancer victims, or for soldiers memorials when one wears a ribbon? Does the ribbon act as a sort of memorial? We already talked a bit in class about the possibility of the poppy being a memorial.

On the surface, it doesn't feel the same, but after seeing a rock on Crab Beach that supposedly IS a memorial, it is hard to justify the categorization.

me-mo-ri-al

1. Something, such as a monument or holiday, intended to celebrate or honor the memory of a person or an event.

This definition, from TheFreeDictionary.com (totally a scholarly source), indicates both monuments and holidays as examples of possible memorials. Why not extend this further? A large, expensive monument is not accessible for everyone and costs more than necessary. A simple facebook page informing people to wear pink costs nothing. People associate Pink Shirt Day as a stand against bullying, a yellow daisy for cancer victims, and a yellow ribbon to support the troops.

Unlike most memorials, these cheaper forms allow everyone to get involved and remember together, rather than searching out statues and monuments placed throughout Vancouver.

1 comment:

  1. Hey, ALSO, it just seems more productive to buy a ribbon (say for AIDS or cancer) which will help fund research to try to eliminate the need for memorials...
    I agree with you. Rather than paying a large sum of money for a monument, which is less accessible and very finalizing (yes, it works in situations where tragedies have already occurred, etc.), but more modest forms of remembering such as ribbons and Facebook groups raise awareness and put money to a more valuable and beneficial source.

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