Great news, coming after the Bush years, where he went from being Public Enemy # 1--remember Bush turning all Old West Sheriff?--to not much to worry about--and then remember when Bush said they weren't concerned about him. Unconcerned about a man who instigated, initiated, planned, plotted, carried out, and laughed at an attack on innocent Americans, killing some three thousand people.
Now he's dead, and Americans are dancing in the streets. And, this may not be the popular opinion, but I don't like it.
I don't like celebrating death, no matter how evil the person who died. While I am happy that bin Laden has finally been killed, and there is some closure for the victims of 9/11 and their families, the images of people paying in the streets and tossing beach balls and waving flags just doesn't sit well with me.
I can be happy that bin Laden is dead, but I don't need to dance in the streets. If anyone else wants to, well, I guess that you're prerogative, but I won't dance, don't ask me.
Remember when his people where dancing in the street after 9/11.....
ReplyDeleteBob, you don't have to have a popular opinion to be right. It's your blog; say what you want to. As I'm sure you know, I agree with you. It is very human to want to gloat, to want to rub things in, to exact revenge. They are easy, they appeal to our dark side, they are destructive.
ReplyDeleteThe more separatist someone is, the easier it is to be overjoyed with an enemies death. The more connected you feel to everything around you, the harder it is to see joy in pain or in any death. His death will not bring back our fallen, his death will not bring back our sense of security, his death will not reduce our suffering. Remembering our people and being better, stronger, and wiser than he was, will at least help with the last two.
The terrorism enacted on thousands of innocent people on September eleventh can never be forgotten, nor is that action to ever be forgiven. But it is foolish to latch our suffering to one terrorist mastermind and his accomplices. We have much work to do to make our world safer and that work needs to start in each of our hearts. To create a better future we have to be better people. It is the difficult choice and it is not fair, but ultimately it is the better choice.
I wondered, last night, what their mission parameters were. Was capturing him alive an option, even a remote one, considering the amount of fire power they met.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. Watching the celebrations immediately made me uncomfortable. I kept thinking, "bloodthirsty."
ReplyDeleteIt makes me a lot uncomfortable. Sadly, the monster truck gun rack toting wife beater wearing public always get the attention... and it's that attention that makes us look like a bunch of idiots to the rest of the world all the time. It will make their revenge, which will be coming, all the more fueled and sweeter for them... to shut the big mouth American up. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
ReplyDelete{{{stops dancing to refresh cocktail and read ISBL}}} Oh Honey - myself and many New Yorkers are gonna keep dancing until our feet bleed. Oooooohhhh ... they're playing my JAM - gotta run! {{{heads back to the dance floor}}}
ReplyDeleteUntil next time?
ReplyDelete"The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind..." - Martin Luther King Jr.
ReplyDeleteMore fuel is being added to the hate and unrest that is ruining this planet.
I'm with you Bob.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that he can do no more harm, I'm glad that we have some punctuation in this story; I'm sad that I live in a world that celebrates death & revenge...
Emotions have & will deceive the masses.
I appreciate your comment and do agree with what you said...my first thought was a bit of sadness that he died even after he supposedly inflicted harm on a lot of different people but I'm with you..it's not worth a dance and complete celebration either. I thought of this last night before I heard the news...why can't we all just get along with one another.
ReplyDeleteI don't know. It's your opinion and I respect it...but...the man was pure evil and i think a jig or two might be in order :)
ReplyDeleteding dong the wicked witch is dead...even the munchins celebrated
I'm having the same reaction, Bob, and agree with you.
ReplyDelete"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." -- Martin Luther King, Jr
bin Laden was a human. Not the best of humans to be sure. But a life is a life, and its a precious thing and shouldnt be thrown away so carelessly.
ReplyDeleteYes, they did dance in the streets in some countries after 9/11. But since when does two wrongs make a right?