Grenfell Tower - what am I missing??

[TyrannasaurusJex]

Just listening to the news and various survivors and victims groups from Grenfell Tower giving very strong opinions on the plans to disassemble the building.
I'm not quite following why some want it to stay up? Do they mean as a sort of memorial? Can anyone explain?

This was an accident which I do not think anyone wanted to happened. Unlike like terrorist attacks that people are quickly happy to move on from.

Of course they weren't I didn't say they were but your implication that this should be one of the major take aways from this disaster is distasteful. Illegal subletting of council properties is an issue and should be dealt with. Grenfell had bigger issues and you seem to be implying the victims and victims families are less deserving of our sympathies because of the illegal subletting issue.

Always nice to see some of the notorious MN empathy in action. It's certainly shining brightly out of some of these posts.

I would disagree. Surly what happened at Grenfell has just as much historical interest as the Titanic, Hillsborough, or Aberfan; a national tragedy that could have been avoided and needs to be learned from.

However, practically if the building is unstable and likely to collapse then it will need to be removed/demolished/replaced. It is one of those situations where some one will be left unhappy but those feelings are valid and need to be respected even if the the outcome is unavoidable.

Why be rude? OP is clearly just trying to understand.

You can't understand why people who have family remains still in that building might be upset and traumatised by it being removed? What is there to fucking miss?

@Stealer I'm almost waiting for a "why aren't they over it yet? It happened years ago" post to crop up soon.

If my relatives or friends or colleagues or neighbours burnt to death because their building was clad with a flammable material 'to make it look nice' I'd never be able to let it go.

I've lost family members peacefully through natural causes, and that is hard enough. I cannot imagine the nightmare of knowing your family members or friends died in a fire, in unimaginable terror holding on to their children and loved ones.

Then for no one to be held accountable for this manslaughter?

I wouldn't want to let go of the building either, once that goes there is zero hope of any justice.

Yes the gov is finally supporting other flat dwellers who have to live with the knowledge that their building too could kill them. But it took them long enough. And why isn't the manufacturers and installers (huge wealthy companies many of them) made to put right the cladding work that was so lethal and prevent them holding onto the profit from those decisions and actions which Grenfell aside has had enormous emotional and economic impact on leaseholders throughout the UK.

I'm not sure what the long term plan for the site is, but I hope the families are at least allowed a memorial area, lest we forget.

Needmorelego · 06/02/2025 11:20
The remains of their family members are technically still in there.

CanOfMangoTango · Today 22:16
This. Lots of the victims were unable to be retrieved. It's a grave for many of them.

Yes, this is my understanding too. Not all the victims' families want it to remain, but it could be their loved ones were retrieved. Maybe the people who want it to remain see it as the burial site for their loved ones who couldn't be retrieved.
Realistically - and sadly - I think it's impossible to maintain in its current state as its structure is now quite precarious and potentially dangerous. I can't claim to have any vested interest as I didn't lose anyone in the inferno, but I wonder if it should be treated like Ground Zero in NY, with a large memorial garden created in the space with protected status so it can never be built on again - a permanent reminder of the shameful catastrophe, but also somewhere where the bereaved can go to remember their loved ones.

Oh that's okay then. Just let them burn.

They didnt burn because they were not living there despite being the council tenants!

@litup I've lost family members peacefully through natural causes, and that is hard enough. I cannot imagine the nightmare of knowing your family members or friends died in a fire, in unimaginable terror holding on to their children and loved ones

Exactly! I mentioned this on another Grenfell thread but when my wonderful auntie died unexpectedly but peaceful at home I desperately didn't want to have to sell her house because that's the last place she had been, both in life and death. I can only imagine how magnified that feeling must be for family members in tragic situations like this.

There is a 7th of July memorial among others. It’s not really a competition is it! Numerous cities have Titanic memorials as they should. You can’t ‘over consider’ anyone who has been through a tragedy.

Grenfell had a wide impact on west London communities and farther afield. It was a televised minute by minute tragedy in a similar way to 9/11 that many will never forget.

🤣🤣

I'm reporting you as inappropriate and disgusting. I don't know if MN has nighttime moderation or not at the moment, but you need to be deleted as soon as possible.

If you actually read what I have said then I doubt you would be offended.

I hadn't clicked that the remains of people who died there were still on the site, but of course it's obvious once you think about it. I was struggling to understand why the families would want it still standing and I still do to an extent, but it must be heart rending not to be able to gather their remains and bury them or scatter them.

I read what you said. And I saw the stupid emojis. Sod off.

An accident waiting to happen, that many knew was inevitably going to happen 😡

That’s rude. Reporting

Please do. It will bring you to the moderators' attention sooner.

No mention of it perhaps because your immigration status means nothing when you are burning to death.

Why would anyone mention that? All of the deaths were equally tragic regardless of where they were born or how they ended up in that tower.

I understand why the families of those who died want the building to stay standing. But it's structurally unsafe. Nothing is worth the risk of allowing that tower to cause even more deaths. It needs to be demolished now. This is one of those cases where safety has to trump sentiment.