Thirsty
I have a confession: I am glad that Bin Laden is dead. Yeah, he was a Grade-A Fuck-a-doodle-do. No doubt about it. I am glad for any modicum of "peace" it may offer to grieving families.
*However* I am more than a little disturbed by all of the revelry going on. I can't shake the feeling that all of the *celebration* is not unlike radical parades where folks fire weapons into the sky for zealous causes.
One death will not bring back the countless *thousands* of lives lost on and since September 11, 2001. One death will not atone for all of the senseless attacks on unarmed, innocent people since then, the millions of gallons of blood and tears shed.
I shudder a bit to see so many people *rejoicing* at one death. Why all the barbaric "let's see his body" garbage? Or "show us pictures of the scene." I makes me wonder how "civilized" our society truly is in the face of these events that seem to glorify violence and justify violence as the final solution to problems. I don't have an answer to break the cycle, but we at least must try to break OPEN the meaning of that cycle...
Don't get me wrong; I am glad the prick is dead. Ten million bullets don't nearly approach the justice he so rightfully deserved. If I were religiously inclined I would offer, further, that I hope he's roasting in the inferno, balls in the hottest white spot. However, have we become so parched with revenge that we, as Americans, have turned into grave dancers?
11 comments:
It's a strange time--I find myself disturbed both by the all-too-predictable grave dancers and by the equally predictable more-spiritual-than-thou types with their knee-jerk sense of superiority. So, I think a middle course, as you take here, is appropriate--say a quiet "good riddance" to the motherfucker and be done with it...
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it makes me uncomfortable to celebrate any kind of violence. On the other, had one of my loved ones been incinerated, I might be out there celebrating, too.
As for the people who want to see photos, that's just sick.
I'm not a fan of Bin Laden either but I'm not happy about how some people may have applauded this idea of culture of violence. It's indeed disturbing.
i totally agree with you. i mean he should be served with justice (in his case, death) but then again death is never something we really want people to be, right? haha anyways nice blog keep blogging! :)
No Doubt!
I certainly find no joy in this at all.
As for the obsessed ghouls out there looking for a thrill pix, I think that has more to do with bravado than anything else. A form of macho-style whistling past the grave yard.
Personally, I have better things to do. And one of them is asking why there are Lobbyists for Pakistan with access to our legislators? Don't they already have a diplomatic agent or 10 here already? A consulate?---Why Lobbyists.
Screw pictures --I want answers to this question right here. Brought to us by the Public Citizen Ruling by golly!
Well said....it's what I've been talking about on FB for the last week! Not blogging a lot lately, but guess I should get back to it soon! I know you get that.....
I was encouraged to read on many sites, that others were feeling the same way...thanks for this post!
Skye,
I am of the same mind. I do not rejoice in the killing of any person, but I believe that bin Laden lost his right to be called a person long ago. However, I, too, am bothered by the revelry as it does echo so many of the protests in which American flags and effigies were burned. What is this obsession with seeing the pictures? More fear mongering? More conspiracy theorists? His death is a good thing. But the ramifications remain to be seen.
WOW! Thanks for all the responses. It was a wonderful way to start my week since I have a stack of student papers to grade by day's end tomorrow (Tuesday). Ulgh.
Hey, Dr. J! Long time no read! I hope you are well and thanks *so* much for stopping in.
Riot: I know how closely this news affected you; your blog post was awesome. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here.
Hi, Joyce. Nice to see you and thanks for popping by.
Hi, Janet. Thanks for stopping by and the compliment on my little blog. She has been terribly neglected for the last year or so, but I am getting the itch again. Look forward to seeing more of your thoughts here!
Hey, SEC! Yes, the question of our existing ties to Pakistan (including diplomatic and K-Street!?!?!?) need some scrutiny. I wonder how it would be if the U.S. cut off all financial ties to Pakistan in the wake of this? Seems fair to me; I don't like the idea of "buying" allies anyway. If someone wouldn't be a pal for free, they likely aren't a pal when they are paid to be... isn't that the oldest profession (kind of) in the world???
Hi, Hemraj: Thanks for stopping by and letting me know I was linked. If the future, please don't use links to advertise in comments; I like to keep things on a human (not capital) level around here!
Hey, Chris! How are you!? Hope all is well for you and it is nice to see you. Sadly, I am not on FB anymore. I have tried to lower my online presence as much as possible. I like that when I google my name (my *real* name!) I don't find anything. What was starting to get scary was all of the stuff that was out there (photos, posts, etc.) from friends' pages who had linked to mine. Taking my profile off helped
me stop getting so much spam, too. Take care!
Hi, poietes,
Thanks for your comment. I think one good thing that may come from the raid on his compound is data from the computers taken. I hope those in the intelligence community will find usable information to try to stay one-step ahead of those who would seek to kill unarmed civilians just going about their daily lives (anywhere in the world).
I will be blogging more frequently this summer since I have a little time off... and will be working on a project of my own for a change and try to update as much as I can.
Happy Monday, all! Cheers!
Random fact: Celebratory gunfire has a much higher kill rate (30% as opposed to ~5%) than other forms of gunshots due to the fact that it is mostly causing head wounds.
Right on Sister!
Much love to you, hope you get some good down time this summer to enjoy this fantastic world.
Hi, Gapingwhole: thanks for stopping by. I would comment on bullets and gunfire, but that tends to draw out the nastiest forms of gunners in my comments threads (see February from a couple of years ago... almost made me close up shop for good).
Sidhe! Chick, chick a chick! Miss you friend. So proud of you and your work in school. Keep on keepin' on and give me a ring sometime when you need to kvetch about grad school!
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