Of course I agree with you. But we could also have a wide-ranging discussion about what that photograph represents. Indeed, that to me is what makes it so memorable and artistic. It's photography at its absolute, 1000-word best. Still amid that, fear never comes close to my interpretation.
This romantic pandering about a horrible situation is just not making any sense. He jumped because, perhaps he got scared? Paniced? Decided it was better than suffocation/burning? He didn't say when he got to the ground level.
"Act of defiance"? Who the hell cares?! The building still got destroyed and they're all still dead, the US still went to war, etc.
I guess if emotional romantic babbling is how one deals with emotional stress, then fine. But try not to make factual conclusions
