You can support the idea of a memorial without liking the design chosen.

FTR: I like both the idea of a memorial and this particular design.

I understand the intent, to show the heartbreak and utter confusion of the incident. But I think they'd be better off not cutting a chunk of land in half. Not necessary.

Just my opinion.

if that's what the people of Norway agree on, who am I to argue?

There should be a memorial. It's Norway's job to decide on the type of memorial, not anyone else's.

It gives the murderer more attention than he deserves. He's impacted enough lives without a memorial being built in the wake of such a tragedy.

Big difference.

It gives the murderer even more of an impact that he's already had. Punish him to the full extent of the law then move on. We should have done the same after 9/11. Acts of terrorism should go largely unmarked. These sociopaths are looking to make themselves infamous, if they see it's a lost cause we may deter violence.

No, I don't think so.

If all you want to do is pat yourself on the back, go right ahead.

but ok.

touch is powerful. I love the setting of this Norwegian memorial (forest, water, pathways), but am not so sure about the "out of reach" part, even though I understand what they are trying to convey by the "memory wound."

It is not for us to say.

It is their memorial. Not ours. Their decision. Not ours.

But my opinion doesn't really matter.

Whatever they choose to do is none of my business.

some have expressed actual opposition to the memorial and i wanted to gauge how widespread the sentiment was here.

I would think everyone would support them having a memorial.

Are you curious whether or not we like the concept?

of a memorial.

I think one poster made that claim in this thread.

"oh, they are destroying HABITAT". wtf? Do you realize how small this is in comparison to anything? Here's a slideshow that gives an idea of what a tiny space we're talking about.

and for the ones who asked about the animals cut off from the other side....it's already a friggin island!

http://inhabitat.com/norway-unveils-stunning-memory-wound-dedicated-to-utoya-island-massacre-victims/jonas-dahlberg-norway-memorial-4/?extend=1

done many times for railroads and highways in the US.

but that design was chosen by a majority in the competition for who would be the creator of that memorial.

While it is a moving tribute, the problem I would have with it (mainly, if I were one of the loved ones of the 69 who were murdered right there on that island) is that there is no longer access to the point of that tiny peninsula. When one goes to visit the place where a tragedy such as this has occurred, if you were directly affected and actually lost a child or friend, it seems that the very end of that island might be the spot you'd become the most contemplative, after walking the original trail to that point to take in the beauty of the area while being acutely aware of your loss. With the abrupt cut of this memorial, that will no longer be possible; it's stated that even the path that the campers always used is being bypassed and forgotten, in favor of a wide winding walkway.

So, as a parent who sat here aghast at the news of the bombing and then the massacre on that island, trying to imagine the "what if" my own child were cornered there, and given the horrible choice of heading for the beach to swim for her life or be shot down as she ran, I, myself, can also imagine that the loved ones may prefer that the island be left whole as a place for their own private reverie. But this was also a national tragedy for Norway in which 77 were killed, in all; this is the memorial that the country has chosen; and I'm not a Norwegian.

I don't see any great damage there, either.

That looks very strange to me. But I'm not big on memorials to mass murder/acts of violence either. That counts for 9/11 as well. If there must be one, I would prefer it to be as small and unobtrusive as possible.

have a memorial for all the children who weren't killed by gun toting rw madmen.

A fair number of the latter can't be overlooked.

The environmental impact seems rather inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. I'm sure there are some mines somewhere in Norway that have far more impact that the memorial ever would.

I can't see how my opinion on this is relevant. If a tragedy occurred in my community and we were trying to decide how to deal with it, I wouldn't care or appreciate people from the another place, culture, side of the world injecting themselves into our memorial.

How many DUers actually live in Norway? I know of one, period. And I hope he doesn't see this stupid poll.

Why should any of us who don't live in Norway be passing judgement on whatever the Norwegians decide to do to memorialize that horrific event?

I sincerely wish you would just delete your OP, I think it's offensive and insensitive.