Turis bukan Sekedar Penonton di Situs Bekas Tragedi

This text is an excerpt from the book Heritage that Hurts by Joy Sather-Wagstaff, which examines the complex relationships between tourism, memory, and tragedy. The author focuses on how the public engages with the World Trade Center site following the events of September 11, 2001, transforming a space of destruction into a meaningful commemorative landscape. Sather-Wagstaff challenges the disparaging label of "dark tourism," arguing that visitors are not merely morbid onlookers but active participants in constructing history. Through ethnographic research, she explores how personal acts like photography, leaving offerings, and storytelling help individuals process grief and maintain collective memory. The book also critiques the idea that commercial activity and souvenirs inherently profane a site, suggesting instead that consumption can be a valid way for the public to perform remembrance. Ultimately, the sources describe how travelers and locals together negotiate the social and political meanings of "heritages that hurt."