The mass murderer responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans is dead. I'd like to comment on the celebrations following the announcement of bin Laden's death. I did not attend any of the spontaneous celebrations the erupted in New York, indeed, I did not even know they were happening. Having said that, I stated in yesterday's blog that I was celebrating and that others should be as well. After posting, I received numerous comments about how two rights don't make a wrong, many of them even including a fake MLK quote. While I acknowledge that it may be callous to celebrate death, even the death of someone as evil as Osama bin Laden, I stand by my statements.
Ideally we would live in a world without evil, but we don't. A mass murderer killed thousands of innocent Americans as well as citizens of many other countries on 9/11/2001. The innocents murdered that day represented multiple races and nationalities and beliefs, but they had one thing in common: not one of them deserved to die. There was a degree of justice in Osama's death, but more importantly, the world is a better and safer place now because he is gone. I'd like to think we could live in a world without violence, but when the Osama bin Ladens and the Muammar Qaddafis of the world use force to kill innocents we must meet them on their level. If we allow killers to kill indiscriminately we are making the world worse, not better. Force should always be our last resort, but when we can save lives by using force we should. When the victims of our force are people who have committed gross atrocities, it is not unacceptable for us to celebrate.
It is not ideal for us to be happy about death, but when thousands of our countrymen died because of bin Laden and when thousands more have been killed because of wars that were started in the aftermath of 9/11, it is completely understandable that bin Laden became a hated national figure. For many his death represents closure; for many others it may signal an end to the conflict that he started.
Personally, I'm celebrating because the world is a better place today. A mass murderer is dead. His victims included not only Americans, but innocent Muslims throughout the Middle East. He killed wantonly, promoted violence and hatred, and espoused a worldview that called for the deaths of millions. Had we not pursued him relentlessly for a decade and ultimately killed him, he undoubtedly would have killed again. Indeed, even while on the run, he did kill again, though most of his attacks were perpetrated against his fellow Muslims.
On Sunday night, he got a bullet in the brain. Perhaps it's my baser instincts, but I'm happy that the world is now without Osama bin Laden.
Since when does the death of a mass murderer require sensitivity? It's anything but callous to celebrate the death of a homicidal maniac - it's humanist and compassionate. Lives will be saved due to his death. More life means more happiness. That's the goal here, to save lives and reduce suffering. Sometimes destruction is required to work toward that goal. Like killing off those monkeys in the movie outbreak. Just wiping out a few monkeys would have saved a whole lot of death and agony - who cares about the monkeys? The fact that he's a human being doesn't mean anything to me. He represents everything that is evil and violent and is a plague to progress and civilization. No source of death and suffering coming to an end requires respect or a somber attitude. Whether it be the leader of a murder cult or a disease. What about the photos, i can't even get started on the photos, what a disgrace....
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. I'm a bit peeved by this self-righteous attitude. I think it's good that people feel that way, but they have the luxury of feeling that way because we live in a country that makes tough decisions such as killing bin Laden. I too want to live in a better world, but Osama bin Laden is not a part of that world. The man would have killed again had we not pursued him and ended his life. I've seen this quote a lot lately, "I will mourn the loss of thousands of innocent lives, but I will never celebrate the death of one, not even an enemy."
ReplyDeleteMy revision of the quote looks like this, "I will mourn the loss of thousands of innocent lives, which is why I'm happy Osama bin Laden has been removed from the face of the earth."