An Apology

[BoddaH1994]

Dear Users of PKICentral,

Since posting the Nights of Fire video early Sunday morning, the staff has received some very mixed reviews. Some people believed it to be patriotic, while others thought that the use of 9/11 fotage wasn't a product which our users have come to expect from PKICentral.com.

Realistically speaking, I had never intended the video to be a funny or happy video as we normally produce. I see Independence Day as a celebration of the freedoms which many have died defending and thought that any video which I would make for the site would be a tribute to just that. The sights of towers crumbling with thousands of Americans inside both terrifies and upsets me as it does many of you. As unrealistic as it may seem, the events which happened almost five years ago are now imbedded into the minds, the souls, and the daily lives of each and every patron who may be reading this post. In this dynamic world of happiness and terror, peace and war, and order and chaos, many things will shape the very essence of our environment, whether they are things that we want to remember or things that we wish never happened.

None of the footage in the video was intended to be politically charged. If there's anything that I truly wish PKIC could do for you, it would be to both entertain and challenge you. Many of you have been around for quite some time, and in the past three years, I have seen many people learn and grow as a result of these forums. Not just knowing more about our wonderful home park, but to learn from the thoughts and ideas from the many people who post on our forums spanning over an extremely large age range and reaching the entire world. Having a video that was so emotionally driven, my intention was to have the view step aside for just a few moments and truly appreciate some of those who have shaped the world around them, whether by patrolling the streets in a country on the other side of the world or by simply falling victim to a hijacked airplane crashing into their workplace.

I have heard the argument that the video was inappropriate because children read the site and watch the videos, which is something that I totally respect. However, I refuse to limit the output of the site as a result of that. There are things that are appropriate for children and things that are appropriate for adults, but to assume that children should not know why we live in the world we live in is a disservice to them. Children are not stupid, they're as smart as you and me... they're just shorter than we are.

I would encourage some honest feedback of the video. Do most of you feel as though the video was a tribute to the American people, or do you feel as though it wasn't what you were looking for when you came to the PKIC site?

I do not intend to apologize for creating, posting, or sharing the video with the community, however I do apologize for not putting a warning up about some of the graphic nature of the video as it has now. That was an error on my part and I am the only one who should be held responsible for that.

Thank you for helping to make PKIC a better place!

Best regards,

Ryan Suhr

PKICentral.com

Media Director