Since I spent Sunday night watching a movie and recorded supercross with my girl, I missed all of the hoopla that hit the US media, regarding the death of Osama.It wasn't until the next morning on my way to work, when I happened to venture over to a satellite radio channel that has a dj, that I heard word of the US special forces' great success.
I hit the interweb news sites, and read the stories. Here's the rub. I can remember when I was younger, watching the news with my dad. There would be video of middle eastern and third world countries celebrating the latest death of some unpopular figure. Wild screaming, rifles fired in the air, burning of posters and flags; and I remember thinking, wow, they must have really hated that guy! Why are these foreign countries so bloodthirsty? I'm glad I live here the US, where people don't behave in such a manner.
I saw several photo streams on the various websites. I found out that once again, I was wrong. Apparently, the US is no different. I have no problem with Patriotism, and I'm still glad to live where I do, but I suppose the truth still stands, that no matter where you live, the mob is no brighter than a herd of cattle. I'm glad that Osama was found, and removed from the picture, and I can even be ok with his being shot in a firefight. But I feel no need to celebrate the death of anyone. Folks who actually lost someone in the 9/11 nightmare, maybe they have a different point of view, and by all means they have a right to it, but I'd bet that 90% of the yahoos seen chanting and partying, with flags over head, lost nothing more than a false sense of invincibility on that fateful day.
Osama's death will not bring back even one of those who died that day. It will not bring back the belief that US soil is untouchable. It will not stop the hatred of things Western. Those pictures reminded me of the celebrations I saw in foreign countries, when the Twin Towers came crumbling to the ground in a smoking pile of rubble and lost innocence. He needed to be taken out, via capture or otherwise, but I thought that we, the American people, would have handled the outcome with a little more class. I just thought we would have done better.
11 comments:
Class? you expected class? I just renamed my pet pig EKIA!
Truthfully, it was interesting to see the various degrees of closure, some with reserve, some with yeehaws. Most of the yeehaws were what made news, especially around the globe.
I think you're right about the "yeehaws" getting press. I looked at a few sites again today, and saw a lot more of the more reserved images, that I originally expected.
If it takes death to bring us together God help us all.
couldn’t have said it better! I agree about everything you said, but at the same time I found about osama with a friend who spent 3 different occasions in the middle east. His emotions and reactions are like that of a yeehaw. It makes me wonder how much different our views would be if we were closer to where 9/11 occurred or more involved in efforts other than watching tv.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
In any society there will be those who over react or want to be in the media, considering the population of NYC alone, you taking exception with the less than a tenth of a percent who showed up to cheer makes me wonder where your priorities are.
I am happy to hear you're "okay" with him being killed in a firefight. I wonder what you think now that we hear he was unarmed?
I encourage you to travel the world to parts where cruelty is the norm and life has little value. To places where we (due to religion) are considered less than cattle, to where our kindness is considered weakness, to places where a media statement is made but chaining an American down and sawing off his head is the norm.
Judge those who cheer the demise of an evil, sadistic person, that is your right. I won't judge you, but do wonder how you would feel if someone close to you was lost in a cruel vile way for either because of who they are or just for the sadistic pleasure of defiling another human being.
Bin Laden needed to die, why should we pay for his punk ass to sit locked up somewhere.
My whole issue is the media telling how it was done. They don't have to explain shit to the media. They went, he was killed, over and done. They are putting too much information out there for the other shitbirds left in the world trying to kill us.
I was waiting for you to chime in 007, and I'm glad you did. You're exactly right, that many reactions are relative. I was just talking to Ms Worm this morning about just that. If I lived closer to Ground Zero, or any of the 9/11 attack sites, my reaction may have been different. I absolutely agree that anyone who has spent time in the military, in harms way, in the name of dealing with the melee that OBL and others like him create, have a different reaction. I figure if you spend a substantial portion of time dodging bullets, you would absolutely celebrate the removal of such a figure, and I do not begrudge you that. That's one less guy telling people to shoot at you!
As for the fact that he was unarmed, no real change in my viewpoint. Operations such as that are highly volatile, and the judgement call lies in the hands of those on scene, not me.
Ultimately, each person reacts according to their own inner character and experience. If you lost someone, you may feel a little closure, or some sort of justice. If you're in harms way, as one of the myriad organizations in place to protect the rest of us, and our way of life, you understandably celebrate one less enemy. As for the rest of us, I'd hope that the vary value of life that you mentioned would bring about more class in our reactions. For the rest of us, celebrating death, is no better than those who "don't value life", or see us "as less than cattle", celebrating our losses.
007, I hope that you of all people know that I mean no disrespect. I was only disappointed in the way "the rest of us" looked in the US media.
None taken, I am more concerned how people like the looesly termed "reverend" damage the worlds view of us by showing intolerance and burning a Koran.
Such intolerance and small mindedness truly does damage our reputation and perpetuates the "Ugly American" stereotype much more so than a group of people celebrating a long awaited demise of evil. Gotta go to work, again, none taken you're entitled to your views, just ask RonD about the depravity of man he has seen on a day to day basis.
The more I think about this, maybe Mags and 007 have a point, in that what we see in the media is only indicative of a small percentage of the groups those images "represent". Perhaps even those videos I saw on the news as a kid were only a portion of the average people from those countries, and the people in general are not so bloodthirsty, either. I'm sure there are areas where the hate runs deep, and if you're not "them", then your life is meaningless, but perhaps the majority of those people are like the rest of us, just trying to put one foot in front of the other, trying to provide for their families, and live life in the manner that they were raised. Perhaps the attention getting few, give the rest of us a bad name, the world over.
No really, I named my pig EKIA.
And it was pretty damn nice of us to use a head-shot from a man. If only it had been a belly shot from a female soldier, gay, and with revealing clothing.
THAT would have been ornery of us!
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