Sept 11 Cheerleaders, The Internet is at odds over what exactly makes a sensitive tribute after a video of Texas cheerleaders performing a routine to honor 9/11 victims and first-responders went viral this weekend.
The Lumberton High School cheerleaders dance, tumble and stunt along to the soundtrack of “God Bless the U.S.A.” with soundbites from news reports, emergency phone calls and George W. Bush’s comments from that morning in 2001 spliced between. While a few people found it touching, a lot of the Internet isn’t feeling so cheerful.
Uploaded on Friday (Sept. 11), the video quickly picked up speed (and criticism) for the choice in soundtrack — because it’s one thing to pay respect and another to replay some very difficult-to-hear soundbites behind a dance routine.
As the video spread, Twitter users called the whole routine “happy horrible,” “tasteless” and “cringe-worthy” rather than touching — mostly because the upbeat nature of cheer choreography, gymnastics and stunting over the super traumatic audio doesn’t necessarily read as solemn or sensitive.One cheerleader wrote on Twitter that the routine was “not meant to offend” and that they’ve been doing it for years.
Despite criticism, the Lumberton cheer coach Lauren Sheffield told Buzzfeed News that she and her cheerleaders still stand by the routine “… because [they] believe it is very important to honor and remember the first responders, those who gave their lives, and those who still mourn the hole left by lost loved ones.”
The Lumberton High School cheerleaders dance, tumble and stunt along to the soundtrack of “God Bless the U.S.A.” with soundbites from news reports, emergency phone calls and George W. Bush’s comments from that morning in 2001 spliced between. While a few people found it touching, a lot of the Internet isn’t feeling so cheerful.
Uploaded on Friday (Sept. 11), the video quickly picked up speed (and criticism) for the choice in soundtrack — because it’s one thing to pay respect and another to replay some very difficult-to-hear soundbites behind a dance routine.
As the video spread, Twitter users called the whole routine “happy horrible,” “tasteless” and “cringe-worthy” rather than touching — mostly because the upbeat nature of cheer choreography, gymnastics and stunting over the super traumatic audio doesn’t necessarily read as solemn or sensitive.One cheerleader wrote on Twitter that the routine was “not meant to offend” and that they’ve been doing it for years.
Despite criticism, the Lumberton cheer coach Lauren Sheffield told Buzzfeed News that she and her cheerleaders still stand by the routine “… because [they] believe it is very important to honor and remember the first responders, those who gave their lives, and those who still mourn the hole left by lost loved ones.”
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