Back in April, Pink emotionally announced to Ellen DeGeneres that she would no longer photos of her kids to social media because she no longer wanted to deal with all the parent-shaming that came with it. Since that time, her kids still dominate her Instagram page, except that now she only posts pictures that don’t show their faces. But a turned head doesn’t stop people from complaining. And that’s exactly what happened to Pink when she posted a photo of her kids running through the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin. Apparently, many of the commenters told Pink such behavior was inappropriate due tp what the memorial stood for. But Pink took to opportunity to say that not only were she and her kids Jewish and fully aware of the severity of the memorial, but that the architect of this memorial, Peter Eisenman, had intended for children to run and express themselves freely while in it:
Her caption reads:
Berlin, I love you. #holocaustmemorial #panamarestaurant #cocktailclasses #history #herstory #worldtour and for all of the comments; these two children are in actuality Jewish, as am I and the entirety of my mothers family. The very person who constructed this believed in children being children, and to me this is a celebration of life after death. Please keep your hatred and judgment to yourselves.
Auschwitz has recently reached out to social influencers to remind them to use respect when taking and posting selfies given what the monument represents. I found it interesting that when I read the BuzzFeed article covering this, the first comment mentioned that Eisenman is known to change his opinion regarding the monument depending on what the story is. That he said at first it was supposed to be a somber place, but when people started picnicking on it, the monument issued the statement Pink referenced on his behalf that said, “The concept is that it’s an open place and that visitors experience it for themselves and see what they want to do in this space, what it does to them.” However, that’s the statement that is on the record so that’s the one I’m going with. It’s an emotionally charged topic for everyone involved. I understand people who want to honor the fallen in quiet reflection, but I also understand Pink wanting her kids to celebrate the lives the monument was built for.
When we last spoke about Pink getting backlash, many of you wondered if she didn’t intentionally post things that she knew would get people riled up. There’s speculation she courts controversy. I was surprised to see photos of her kids, facing any direction, appearing on her IG after she’d made such a grand pronouncement. Especially since apparently the backlash didn’t stop. Not to mention, she’s still firing back at people like she did here. Maybe a break would benefit everyone.
Photo credit: Instagram and WENN Photos
I never saw a kid walking there and reflecting. Also I rarelly saw parents telling kids anything about it and what it represents. Most people just walk through it and take photos. That’s our society right now.
There’s a difference between this place and Auschwitz. One is a monument (in Berlin) and the other a death camp (in Poland). While I feel that people should be respectful, if the creator of the place feels he made it as a celebration for life, then who are we to say otherwise? And before you start in, I am Jewish, and the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.
Great comment. I’d like to add that this memorial is also interactive art. Children interact with things with a childlike level of curiosity.
The ‘celebration of life’ language is hers, not his. He said is was an ‘open place’ where visitors could ‘experience it for themselves’ and see ‘what it does to them’. Arguably that would require the parents explaining the context to visiting kids, as ds suggests above. Otherwise what is ‘does to’ the kids is no different from a cornfield maze.
I’ve been to Israel and have seen all different types of reactions. I, myself, am Jewish.
Personally, I think there is a difference between truly rowdy, disrespectful behavior and a young child exploring and learning the surroundings of a new environment. Perhaps they may not have understood the gravity of the situation yet but they will one-day remember.
I find the strife and criticism attached to the kids running around to be far more insulting. I doubt the people who have lost their lives in the holocaust would clutch their pearls over children running a bit.
The point is unity, not judgment.
And it’s very difficult to make kids that age stay still and not run around. I don’t think it’s fair to expect that of them or to berate the mom about it. My kids would totally do this no matter how many times I asked them not to. *sigh*
However, it seems like an odd choice of photo to share if you want to avoid criticism about your kids. Poking the bear a bit, maybe?
This. I’ve been there and it’s a world apart from a death camp. Its very design inspires interaction more than just reflection. I saw all manner of Jews and Gentiles doing such things. Personally it wasn’t for me to climb on the dolomites, but seeing kids and fascinated youth working through it as the obvious labyrinth it is intended to be…flowing fast or slow…was wonderful. It is, as someone said below, interactive art. The different levels and dolomite size make it a very KINETIC space. Gotta agree with Pink here.
Kids do what they will, and I don’t bring them to places where their natural behavior might be controversial. I mean, we can all surmise this place is interactive a bit, but beyond the depth of very young children. It may not be much fun for her to take the kids to a basic park, but that may be more what kids prefer, ie, swings & trees vs concrete monoliths. Also swings etc may not bring on so many IG hits as an Holocaust memorial…I’m not saying she should or can’t, but given her history of controversial kids photos….why?
No matter what she or her kids do, the twitter verse will criticize. Outrage1!!!11!
I don’t know. I think a degree of restraint seems appropriate, wandering and taking time to absorb the enormity of the tragedy. I guess I can’t imagine just running through anything like that.
I may be in the minority but also feel like taking photos in places like that feels disrespectful. I visited a memorial in my dad’s hometown that memorialized a massacre during WWII. My family wanted to take a group photo there and it felt odd and wrong to me to use a memorial like that as a backdrop.
I visited Dachau in 1961 as a sixteen year old. No photos needed-the images are burned in my mind.
My husband also visited Dachau in the 90’s when he was in the military. He said exactly the same thing. He once told me even the smell made you remember that place. He said he would never be the same after experiencing it.
I visited Dachau in 2004. The only photo I felt comfortable taking was a photo of the entrance gate and then I put the camera away. It was overwhelming just to be standing there and it didn’t feel appropriate at all to treat it like a touristy, “let’s take pictures” excursion.
I agree, in around 1998, I went to the Holocaust Museum in DC, and had to be practically carried through. Nearly everyone crying and shaking, even middle school aged kids. This was prior to cell phones, yet no one thought to take photos?
Same- in 1994. I cant imagine kids running around in there, or people picnicking…. but I also dont understand some pictures I’ve seen of tourists at Dachau, like, smiling for the camera. That shit is just so… incongruous to me. And forget the whole Instagram bullshit. Hashtag arbeitmachtfrei, right? Appalling.
I’ve never been to the memorial in Berlin, so I can’t say how it feels there. If it’s more museum-y than…. you know…. death camp-y … then I dont guess little kids running around would be so bad?
I think it is different for everyone, and there is no right approach to celebrate life.
Personally I miss the “old times” when celebrities didn’t have ig, and there was some mistery halo around them.
This,so very much.
I agree. I may also be in the minority too. I think it’s important to teach our children about historical monuments, the significance of what it represents and to be respectful. It may not be a big deal to her, but I’m sure it would be to another. I’m also not shaming parenting styles here. I’m saying millions lost their lives and it should bring reflection not be used as a playground.
I see kids running through the Holocaust memorial here in Boston ALL. THE. TIME.
I also see people walking though somberly or even with tears in their eyes. Others are laughing and taking selfies.
Our memorial is in a VERY touristy part of the city where any given time of day, there are people everywhere. For me personally, I could never walk through the memorial without having a pit in my stomach and I would never feel comfortable running or laughing or taking photos. However, I’m a 40 year old adult and not a teenager. I guess I just expect teenagers and children to be rowdy and careless when they’re on vacation and visiting public spaces.
I find PINK is so incredibly exhausting…..
she complains about criticism on social media, but she keeps posting pics that she knows well enough will invite opinions, some favorable and some not.
She said she will not post, but she keeps going on posting and complaining about people having opinions that are sometimes negative.
It seems like Pink is courting controversy with controversial subjects and pics.
I completely disagree with hateful, degrading, mean, vicious and ugly comments that attack any human being, but I have no problem with comments that disagree with Pink’s views as long as they are polite and respectful.
I would talk to my kids before going to a place that remembers one of the first chapters in human history, I know we live in selfie obsessed culture and anything goes culture, but what’s wrong with holding back a bit out of respect, her kids don’t know better, because they are young, but she certainly should.
I think that’s a big part of parenting, educating our children, guiding them to be good, kind, decent, honest and graceful human beings or we end up with more TRUMP like vicious people and who needs that?????
@kitten, that’s really upsetting. Kids should not be running through there. If a teen or young adult is acting like a dumbass, it’s on them…but parents need to control or remove their kids. 🙁 That one is definitely not meant to be a playground.
@ London-ITA. She puts it out there, she should be prepared for-as you said-respectful critique. I don’t post on Facebook anymore because I don’t care to open myself up to criticism about my politics. I use IG for my cat photos but once I had an angry person yell at me for putting a sweater on my cat lol. I took the time to explain to her that it was only for 30 seconds to take photos. We moved on. Pink has to accept that people may take issue with the things that she posts, whether it is fair or unfair criticism on their part.
@Megs-The thing about that memorial is that it’s outside and open. It’s on a strip of grass and it’s surrounded by restaurants and shops. Teachers bring their students on field trips to see the memorial but even with an adult admonishing them, kids will still be kids. They’re outside of their normal environment with friends and/or family and they’re excited. It’s not how I would want my (non-existent) kids to behave, but it’s pretty typical behavior. It doesn’t mean that they won’t remember that memorial for the rest of their lives, you know?
I agree @Esmom, I think that in general people don’t think about the effect images have on us and the effect taking pictures in general can have in a space. Some contemporary museums are now forbidding to take pictures (which I think is a pity, contemporary art needs all the promotion it can get) but in memorials I’d understand the sentiment.
In my estimation, it is disrespectful. There are enough extant photographs of these monuments. One does not need to take a selfie or an exuberant shot of one’s children to memorialize them.
I have a friend who goes to Mexico and to Italy every couple of years. This friend routinely takes pictures of elderly locals in church or just sitting in public plazas. This friend is white and well-meaning and I just cringe at their photographs with the accompanying narrative that my friend shares on Facebook. These elderly people do not exist to provide photographs for tourists. An elderly woman at the door of the church is someone’s grandmother. An elderly man quietly enjoying some sun in a small-town plaza has survived things that many Americans cannot even imagine.
Our elders are not your inspiration p0rn, I feel like saying. But the effort of explaining this so that they would understand and not get hurt feelings is too much so I say nothing.
I have been to a couple Holocaust memorials and my vote for them is to be quiet, humble, and unobtrusive when visiting. If one listens with one’s ears, eyes, and heart, there is no need for pictures. The material therein will stay with a person forever, no need for anything more.
One of my cousins was on one of the planes on 9/11. My mother and I went to the 9/11 memorial a few years ago to find her name and pay our respects. We were clearly grieving and openly crying, and I distinctly remember feeling angry at how people were laughing and taking selfies like it was a tourist trap and not a memorial of a national tragedy.
When my husband and I visited DC last year, we took photos of the memorials, but we didn’t take any photos of each other. We moved through the space quietly and reflected – particularly at the Vietnam Wall, which made me weep a few times (it had been Father’s Day that weekend, so the things/notes left at the wall were particularly heartbreaking). I took a lot of photos of what was left there, but none of us because that wasn’t what we were thinking about, and it seems inappropriate to me.
I agree with you Esmom. I don’t know why anyone would take photos of Auschwitz.
As far as this memorial, Pink’s kids are too young to understand or learn anything from the visit so why not take them there at all? Pink and her hubby are kind of dumb.
It’s a memorial. If your kids are running around then neither you nor they are thinking about who is being memorialized. Not to mention how children playing affects everybody else’s experience there.
But I don’t think that being respectful and mindful of others means every visit has to be completely somber.
I totally get your point, however , when I was there the locals were sunbathing on top of those pylons. A few kids running is nothing.
This is a non-issue. The artist himself said he is ok with kids playing and people picnicking in the memorial. I’ve been there and it is amazing. People were sitting on the pedestals chatting, eating. People walk through it. It’s great.
Does the artist get to truly own a memorial?
Not sure of an artist “owning” a memorial, but the artist has a lot more say about it than randos on Pink’s IG.
Of course he is the author and the intention of the artist on also in the shape he created: the intention is the shape and the shape induces a certain kind of behaviour. This one is clearly made for an obstacle/passage kind of feeling/use. Rachel Whiteread’s is the mould of a library so it’s more contemplative and solemn.
This is exactly why we Americans are so often labeled ” ignorant ” by many people around the world when we visit Europe and other places.
Not everything is designed to entertain and take pictures, this is not Disneyland.
You’re really fine with #holocaustmemorial #cocktailclasses?
This was just another tourist attraction for her. Her Instagram caption shows no respect, at all. She went there as entertainment. Disgusting.
I take more offense at having the holocaust memorial grouped together with Panama restaurant and cocktail classes.
Hashtag tasteless.
Yes! That was my issue, post 2 separate things if you have to post
Pink and her husband seem to be often loud, obnoxious and rude and they love to bait people and complain when they get negative feedback.
Her kids did nothing wrong, they are two young to know better, but their parents certainly should.
It’s a memorial, not an amusement park and it would be nice, if people would recognize that some of us go there to reflect and remember our long lost family members.
A bit of respect goes a long way.
Me too! I had a moment of…. wait… what? she took cocktail shots at the holocaust memorial?!?!
Ew, ok, I didn’t know that part. That’s effin crass.
Godwina she didn’t take drinking shots at the memorial 🙂 But it had been my first impression when I saw the Instagram story! I’m not on Insta often and forgot you can load multiple photos in one post. She’s not that bad though, thankfully!
I don’t know how old her kids are, but the one in front looks quite young and probably too young to keep “somber” for a period of time. So running is not shocking. But she chose to post it and defend it in the same sentence, meaning she posted it knowing it would generate news/controversy. This annoys me more than kids being kids.
Yeah her littlest is going to run around no matter what. Her older kid, she probably could have said “this is a quiet place, no running”.
I really like her, but I feel like she’s fallen into this self righteous cycle of posting stuff to get a response and then fighting with people about it. That’s not healthy. If she really wants to post stuff, she should ignore or disable the comments. Constantly looking for trolls or critics to argue with is just not a good use of anyone’s time.
I don’t really think a Holocaust Memorial is a good place for kids that age anyways. They aren’t really at an age where it will make a lot of sense to them and kids are restless. I could just see my four year old loudly demanding snacks in the most inopportune quiet place. I think maybe around middle school age would be the earliest I would take my kids.
I have small kids. They run everywhere, they play hide and seek at funerals while you scold them. I get it and teaching them appropriate behavior is a 18+ year process. But to take and then publicly post a picture of them doing it is tasteless. There is no way she didn’t anticipate this exact response from people. The kids get a pass–she needs to grow up
This is it. Also, what about respecting the people around you? We went to the Holocaust Museum in Houston and had to leave saying we would try another time because there was a group of loud, silly teenagers there on a field trip and not one chaperone felt the need to do some teaching or chaperoning. Adults kind of suck.
Pink likes to fight so she will find one of one doesn’t present itself.
let me first say that I love Pink.
she and her husband seems to enjoying ‘baiting’ the parenting police though.
I live in Berlin and I’m currently about a 10 minute walk away from the Holocaust memorial and it’s not weird at all to see kids running and playing in there, no one particularly minds.
What bothers me is the adults you see messing about in there, which is always happening, that’s when it gets disrespectful imo. Side note – you can’t be on Tinder in Berlin and not see 100 ‘artistic’ black and white shots of dudes looking moody and introspective at the memorial.
Yes exactly. It’s the behavior of adults that is more suspect. Even using the Holocaust memorial as a backdrop for social media influencing. Gross and so tacky.
Ew, what a weird place to take photos for something like tinder!
The last time I was up near the 9/11 memorial in NY, there were so many people taking smiling selfies there. Our society is ****ed.
The kids are behaving in an age-appropriate way; she is not. When you’re in a public place, you need to be respectful of others who are there also. This is a place where people are likely to be having much more somber/mournful experiences, and letting her children run and play disrespects THOSE people. There are plenty of places where kids can act like this and it won’t be an issue.
Seems like you’ve never been to this memorial in Berlin.
Just because other people act in similar ways, it doesn’t make the behavior appropriate. It’s the same as letting your kids run around at a nice restaurant or talking during a movie – some people might not be bothered, but it’s ruining the experience for others.
No, it’s not at all the same. If you knew what this huge outdoor memorial is like, you’d understand what I’m trying to say. Read some of the other comments from people who have been there.
I’m with you, Stef. I’ve been there. That place inspires movement and LIFE by design. I’m an old and walked quietly, but you can’t even compare it to the Obviously Made Just for Reflection 911 memorial in NYC. And I say this as someone who has zero desire to ever visit a freaking Nazi death camp.
If you’ve actually been to that memorial in Berlin, you’d know that it’s a huge outdoor exhibit and a lot of kids run through it, along with people taking pics and walking around. I don’t see the issue with it.
I’ve also visited Dachau and Bergan Belson. Both of those sites are significantly more sombre and no one is running around and very few taking pics. Especially with Bergan Belson as it’s a site of several mass graves with signs in German saying “Here lie 5,000”.
People just like to find things to criticize.
@Superstef, yes. I get the impression that a large portion of the people upset over this haven’t ever been to this memorial, the experience isn’t intended to be an equivalent to visiting the concentration camps and the same somber tone is not expected.
Her celebrity aside, I also find it kind of weird that people feel entitled to lecture a Jewish woman about how she and her children should experience a Holocaust memorial.
for a successful, ballsy female that acts like she wants to influence people, I feel this was in bad taste. You can’t blame the kids, they are kids and rambunctious. This is a somber place and honestly, they probably disturbed others who were treating it seriously and as a real experience. Maybe she should have used her millions to get a nanny and watch them and gone there on her own to respect her Jewish heritage. They might as well have put a slide in there for them. Disrespectful.
I wouldn’t let kids run on the chance that they could disturb even one person who was reflecting. Antsy kids I would take to a park to have space to yell and play.
For some people this could be a meaningful pilgrimage never to be repeated, the reason for travel to Berlin.
She really thrives on outrage.
A holocaust memorial is not a playground. Take your out of control kids somewhere else to play.
I don’t have kids but am an auntie and spend a lot of time with them (almost daily), I love kids. But there are places in society that are not appropriate for children, especially young children like this.
I remember seeing a sign in a barbershop once that read “No Crybabies.” It was probably part joke and part serious. The barbershop is for adults and well-behaved children only. Poorly behaved children or children of a certain age that tend to tantrum and not listen, should not be taken to certain public places if they can’t behave yet. Kids will be kids buts its on the parents to not interupt everyone else’s enjoyment with their miss behaved kids (who don’t know better!).
I understand kids running around, anywhere. But did she have to post this? It feels more like she liked having an arty shot of her kids running around in an interesting geometric space — and oops, it turned out to be a Holocaust Memorial.
By the way, that massive cathedral is in Cologne.
Your point? There’s nothing on the caption of that picture to suggest that it isn’t?
Thanks, WATP. I was wondering which cathedral that was but could find no reference.
I’m on Instagram and post plenty of stories of randomness and even selfies with my loved ones. That said, big NOPE taking selfies and group shots in places like this as well as the 9/11 memorial, holocaust camps, etc. I feel that it’s such a huge disrespect especially when you know ppl passed there. I got so upset at families smiling and taking group selfies at the twin towers because these adults knew better and yet they’re acting like it’s Disneyland…my husband and I just walked away after visiting and reviewing the names. Some spots don’t require pics
The 9-11 memorial in NYC was the most moving and intense memorial I have ever been to. I could feel the energy of their souls wash over me, it was such a somber experience. People were generally subdued but there were a few people taking selfies- which I just didn’t understand why they would take a selfie in such a sad tragic place.
People who never been to this place need to shut the hell up right away. The part of the monument she took picture at it outside. It is a big area covered on these stones whether to actually see the memorial you have to get down a flight of stairs (underneath the memorial). A lot of people visit it with small kids who are recommended not to visit the actual memorial before they reach the age where they actually can comprehend something like Holocaust. We were there with small kids so we took turns to go inside and the others would stay with the kids in this part of memorial Pink’s kids are running in. It is in quite busy part of the town. A lot of kids are doing it there while they wait for their grownups to emerge from the actual exhibit. The staff working at the museum also would tell you that it is a common practice. And it is parent’s responsibility to educate even small kids why they are there and why they can’t get inside. So I wish these people that are now outraged would stop and mind how educate their own kids on the origins and the crimes of totalitarianism.
I would also like to note I live in eastern Europe, our capitals are soaked in blood and we walk every fucking day the streets where people were caged and killed in Ghettos. My grandmother’s first son was killed in a Ghetto. You have to learn to respect history by learning about it and make sure you do everything and anything you can to make sure it does not happen again. There is no need to overmoralisation, because otherwise we would just have to leave our hometowns here in Europe in an effort to stay respectful.
Fellow European here. Thank you for your words, very spot on.
Spot effin on. You want somber memorializing, go to Dachau etc. Every single square or platz or piazza or place in Europe west and east has been a place of harrowing fear, torture, grief, execution, and often battle or rebellion. Think about that next time you selfie or laugh or cavort or sip wine in those spots. And don’t get me started on Roman amphitheatres…which I am happy are now sites of opera and ballet and arts and joy. But do think.
I am extremely vapid for saying this, but dammit, I am going for it anyway. I just want to know….did Pink have something done to her face?
I think she did, too.
The heeader is of a waxwork, which looks more like Taylor Seift minus the jawline.
I just chaperoned my kid”s middle school field trip to DC. I had to constantly be on my group’s case about behaving respectfully. Sliding down marble banisters at the Lincoln Memorial, eye-rolling and jostling at the Vietnam Memorial, homophobic comments at an LGBTQ exhibit, loudly complaining that the Holocaust Museum was boring….
And I refuse to accept that it’s just that age. My mom would not have tolerated any of that from her kids, and I don’t tolerate it from my kid. My son was in another group and his chaperone commented on how polite he was. I’m no perfect parent, and my kid can be a cocky tween all he wants at home, but he’s been taught to behave with respect in places that that deserve to be treated with dignity.
I used to be indifferent to Pink but recently I find her unbelievably obnoxious. I’m convinced she posts these photos/videos because she knows they’ll get people riled up and she loves the fight and getting to play victim to the “mommy shamers.”
I used to really like her. But she completely lost me when she posted a pic of her son’s genitalia and cried foul when people pulled her up on it. She’s become smug and self-righteous and her constant baiting of people via social media is getting old fast. I’ve unfollowed her on Instagram and Facebook for this reason alone.
I have mixed feelings about it because I do think those memorials deserve respect and a somber tone, but honestly…seeing her children play in there is oddly powerful. So much tragedy, so much senseless death, yet there are still Jewish children alive and able to laugh and run and live years after Hitler’s regime tried to exterminate them. If ever people’s souls exist in a place beyond life, I think they’re smiling on those kids.
Pink is either oblivious and clueless in her little glass bubble of a life, or she is trolling and creating controversy intentionally. The photo is tasteless.
I feel like Pink loves this stuff and quite frankly, the most I read about her now is when she’s fighting with people about her kids/what she posts on social media about them.
Kids will be kids, and that is OK. However, there is something to be said for being tolerant and respectful of what matters a lot to other people. I consider it a civic duty not to raise kids who grow up to be assholes. It wouldn’t hurt to use something like a trip to a Holocaust memorial as a “teachable moment” where you can tell your kids that they need to play it cool and not run around like they’re at a playground because there could be people around who are upset. Being half Jewish does not give them any special rights to be disrespectful. There are few things more important to instill in children than compassion, empathy, and TOLERANCE. The world is not your kids’ playground.
I’m wondering if she told them to run in the memorial so she could post the pic, wait for the angry comments and then play the victim.
I was just there a couple of weeks ago. I personally couldn’t stop crying as I walked through the memorial. The enormity of what has been lost. I don’t have any personal connections to the Holocaust but I was lucky as a high schooler to meet and listen to the story of a survivor, and I thought of him and his family that didn’t make it. As I came out of the memorial I heard a tour guide begging his group of mostly teenagers “please don’t take selfies in here or goof off.” Small children are going to want to run around and play, that’s just what kids do, and I don’t think we can fault them for that. They can’t really understand the gravity of what this memorial is about, and I would struggle to explain to a small child what it meant. You know, it can be hard to talk about because you don’t want a little kid to be overwhelmed, and children do get overwhelmed by subjects like this. Small children don’t process information the same way as adults do, their brains are still growing. So, often it is best to preserve their innocence about something until they are old enough to understand. but teenagers should already understand what it represents and be respectful. It’s appalling that the tour guide would have to even make those stipulations.
People need to shut the hell up about other people’s kids. Also, let people do what they want. If it isn’t the way YOU would do something. Then don’t do it that way!
I am Jewish and there is no right way to visit a place. For me, it is somber and makes me feel sick. I don’t ask that of others. If I brought my young kids, I would relish in their life force and see it as a sign that we were not defeated. But that is me.
Considering how much I hate judgy mcjudgy people, it is amazing that I get such joy from a gossip site. But I do. I probably should just skip the comments. And if I’m honest, I can’t be a judgy Judy too. 😂😂🙄🙄😬😬😉
Im starting to find Pink annoying. I think at this point she knows the kind of response she is going to get and does it anyway. Cause hey look…shes in the news and we’re talking about her again.
We were visiting the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC, and I was unexpectedly overwhelmed with emotion and started crying. When I looked back up, my beaming daughter had an armful of flowers she’d “picked”!! I was aghast, and explained briefly people had left these for their loved ones who’d been killed in a war. We put them back in random places, but glad no one reported me! I think the kids should behave a bit subdued, but kids live in the moment sometimes…I’d be more upset by all the adults taking tasteless selfies!!
The memorial in Berlin is a little bit more of a grey area than Auschwitz, let’s be honest. I personally wouldn’t like my kids to run or play at either though. And as for people posting photos of Auschwitz and other concentration/death camps, I find it abhorrent. I’ve been to a few concentration camps, including Auschwitz and didn’t take a single photo. The horrors are well-documented without people posting like they’re just on another tour on vacation. There is possibly a correct way to honor and acknowledge visiting such a place, but I really don’t trust most people to know the appropriate way to do so. You’re there to show reverence for all of the victims and learn and acknowledge the evil humanity is capable of and evolve as a human, not show off for visiting a famous Nazi death camp.
And Pink is an absolute idiot if she doesn’t realize posting something like this would offend people. I definitely think she’s trying to elicit outcry. Why, I don’t know.
Personally, I think there should be places where kids DON’T get to express themselves. Where they are quiet and listen. Nowadays it seems that there are fewer and fewer places where kids aren’t allowed to run wild.
If Pink doesn’t think the memorial needs to be respected, how about respecting the other people who are there. They might be there to reflect on the loss of millions not on how cool she and her kids are.
Pink might think she has license to do what she wants at a Holocaust memorial because she’s Jewish. Maybe she does. However, if we were both at one of the memorials dedicated to the victims of lynching, and her kids were running wild, I would definitely have something to say.