“Beyond the Tasteless: The Sept. 11 float at the Indiana Parade provokes outrage with” twin towers “emitting smoke
- The float was commissioned by the GOP of Valparaiso for Saturday 40th Annual Festival of Popcorn in the city
- The festival is held every year on the Saturday after Labor Day and this year marked the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- In addition to the representations of the towers, the float also features false flames and flowing smoke
- The reaction was such that the committee limited comments to the group’s Facebook page
A 9/11 tribute parade in Indiana featuring a representation of the twin towers along with flowing clouds of smoke sparked an online reaction from critics who called it tasteless and disrespectful.
The float was presented at the 40th Annual Popcorn Festival of Popcorn in Valparaiso, which this year fell on the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Sponsored by the Republican Committee of Valparaiso, the float immediately criticized when it was unveiled a day before the parade, with the group limiting who can comment on the posts on its Facebook page and hiding critical comments with the screen.
“Beyond the tasteless, even without the fog machine running,” Chicago-based Verne Papka wrote in the lone commentary to escape the purge.
A float from the 11th Indiana Parade with a representation of the Twin Towers along with flames and flowing smoke exploded as “tasteless.”
The Republican Committee of Valparaiso commissioned a float for the 40th annual edition of the Popcorn Festival in Valparaiso
“Did you really play the survivors’ phone message recordings?” Who thought it was a good idea ??
Along with two gray rectangular structures intended to represent the twin towers of the World Trade Center, holes were painted in the sides with red plastic coils intended to represent the flames where American Airlines flights 11 and 175 flew into the buildings.
In addition, a wall with the names of the 2,977 people killed in the attacks on the towers and the Pentagon hung between the towers, and in front were portraits of 13 local soldiers killed in the subsequent war on terror.
In footage from the parade, some spectators can be heard expressing their surprise when the float passed.
2,977 people died in terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
Many on social media considered the float to be tasteless and disrespectful
“This is a little weird,” a paradisiac can be heard in a video posted on YouTube by NWI.com. ‘What?’
The reaction in the video comments was similar.
“This was the most disrespectful float of the entire parade,” one replied. “How this was allowed as a memorial to the 9/11 victims is total madness.”
What the hell were the Porter County Republicans thinking? This video made me nauseous, ”wrote another.
“That’s embarrassing!” replied another.
The reaction to the float was such that the Valparaiso GOP limited comments to its Facebook page and removed the float critics.
The Popcorn Festival is held every year in the center of Valparaiso and is a tribute to Orville Redenbacher, a native of the city.
“That’s just … wow,” another commented.
Republicans in Valparaiso have so far not responded to the reaction, but in a video of the float posted on the group’s Facebook, they commented:
“We worked very hard to show our love, respect, pain and respect to all the 9/11 victims, the soldiers who died in Afghanistan and our first assistants. #Neverforget #america ‘
The reaction on the Valaparaiso GOP Facebook page was such that the group limited comments on their posts and leaked critical comments with the float.
The Valparaíso Popcorn Festival began in 1979 as a tribute to Orpara Redenbacher of Valparaíso, famous for his popcorn.
It is scheduled annually on the first Saturday after Labor Day and is held in the downtown area.
In addition to the parade, various events are usually held for children and adults, and float manufacturers are recommended to incorporate popcorn in their design.
A popcorn festival is also held in Brazil, Indiana, where Redenbacher was born.
The festival was canceled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.