…Saddens me a bit.
Not because I am mourning the death of a great person. Not because I am a supporter of terrorism or any of the other horrible things he has done in his lifetime. Not because I do not still cringe when I think about 9/11 or the thousands of lives of the troops who have given their lives because of his actions.
I am saddened because of so many people’s reaction to it. How happy and celebratory they are.
Let’s get one thing straight. I believe Bin Laden was not a good person. He has caused much pain and suffering and his name will go down in history with the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, etc.
But I do not believe ANYONE‘s death is one to be celebrated.
I wouldn’t wish death upon even the murderers of my own family. Capture and/or punishment (excluding execution), yes. But death? No.
Perhaps it’s due to my belief that everyone will meet their TRUE justice after death. I hold life to be sacred and I believe that EVERYONE’s life on this earth — no matter how heroic or villainous, no matter how short or how long — is worth something.
And let’s not forget that God loves even the lowest scum that has ever walked this plant. Even Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and Bin Laden.
I know that my belief is in the minority (someone has even de-friended me on Facebook) but I implore my readers to at least realize that, as my friend Teyah said, “Two wrongs don’t make a right and victory dances on the man’s grave would make us no better than he was and won’t retract all the horrible things he did.”
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I’m not religious but I absolutely agree with you. Two wrongs don’t make a right. If we lived “an eye for an eye,” we’d all be blind.
Every single word of this post rings true with me. Great thoughts!
Hit the nail on the head. I just asked J if it was a little tacky people outside the White House were singing “na na na na” and waving flags. Yay for getting him, but all you’ve done is cut the head off a snake. Another one will grow.
I agree. Al-Qaeda is not gone. We haven’t eradicated terrorism. If anything, I’m a bit fearful of what’s to come.
Totally agree with you. This man did horrible things and hurt thousands of people, but I still don’t think it’s right to rejoice in anyone’s death.
Spent the evening walking quietly with my husband as he relived his memories of Ground Zero (he is a veteran, was onsite there a few days after 9/11)… he said, “I waited ten years for this. It doesn’t change one damn thing.”
Thank you for this post.
I wish I could “Like” your comment. Many thanks to your husband and others who are risking their lives for our safety.
You’re not in the minority at all; I agree completely, death should not be celebrated. I can’t say that I am mourning but I definitely feel a bit of relief.
Thank you for posting this. I too was saddened when I saw the jubilent celebrations outside the White House and at Ground Zero. He was a twisted, distrubed man, but I do not believe in celebrating the end of any life, no matter the person.
I’m listening to an interview with the mother of Mark Bingham, one of the believed leaders among the passengers on United flight 93 who prevented that plane from being flown into its intended target. She just expressed this same sentiment, saying “I can’t rejoice in the death of another human.” So you are definitely not alone. But perhaps those who are rejoicing believe that his death will prevent more innocent deaths in the future? We can only hope this is true.
i’m with you. I’m not an American. And i don’t know anyone fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq, nor did I ever lose anyone to terrorism. So maybe i have less of a valid opinion. But I don’t feel it’s right, either. I understand that for many people it’s about symbolism and what Osama’s death signifies in a wider context…but I still feel queasy about the cheering.
I know someone who was in the second tower and died that day. I have a friend who fought in Afghanistan and was shot in the head (miraculously, he survived but he will be in physical pain for the rest of his life). However, I personally don’t think that makes my opinion any valid than yours. I’m actually happy that a non-American chipped in, because you’ve confirmed my theory that there are at least some out there in the world who are questioning America’s reaction to Bin Laden’s death.
As a Brit the news brought a smile to my face when I woke up this morning, I won’t lie. His death is a good thing, hopefully the sense of unity amongst Islamic extremists will wither and die now that their figurehead has gone. Having said that I agree with you completely, celebrating someone’s death is something else and is both disgusting and morbid.
People will say that if Al Qaeda had killed Barack Obama then their followers would be celebrating. However you don’t prove you’re better than others by behaving just like them, which is what some Americans are doing right now. The response should have been more subdued.
True justice would have been dealt with his surrender and trial at the Hague. Although this wouldn’t have been possible due to his supporters attempts at kidnapping westerners on the basis that Osama would be released.
*supporters’
WORD.
I agree with you 100%. I hadn’t heard the news until this morning, but ironically enough my husband and I were just having a discussion about my feelings on the death penalty a couple of days ago – I agree with you completely in that it is never okay to take another human’s life or to rejoice in it being taken.
I think we must remember how dangerous it would have been to hold Osama anywhere for questioning/trial. The area that he was being held would have been at extreme risk for terrorist acts, as would Americans, as his followers tried to free him. This wasn’t just a bad guy – he has thousands of “bad guy” followers, capable of a lot of destruction.
I do understand where you’re coming from, but there weren’t really a lot of choices, as we sometimes think because of where we’re sitting. The truth is that babies died because of him, women and men fighting for their lives were tortured, raped, and murdered (not just speaking of Americans here, obviously). I think that most people aren’t celebrating that he died as much as they’re celebrating the fact that we’re just tad safer, and that some families have found justice through this conclusion.
It’s just one of those shades of gray in life. But it’s over, thankfully. Let the country celebrate. We’re going to need to be united for what is probably to come.
Well said.
Maybe I’m just completely naive and/or overly optimistic, but I feel that there’s always a choice when it comes to (literal) life or death situations. Yes, he did horrible things, but it is my belief that all sins — no matter how horrendous — can be forgiven, and that the fact that a person can potentially do more wrongs (no matter how likely) does not give us the right to end that person’s life. Who knows what might have happened in the future? Yes, he could have gone on killing more innocent people, or if he were captured, his followers could have performed horrible acts as they tried to free him. But there’s always a chance that he could have seen the error of his ways and turned himself in, or done great things for the world as a form of redemption.
Like I stated in the post I wouldn’t wish death upon even my worst enemy (I don’t even cheer when the villain is killed in movies/books) and it makes me queasy the amount of celebration that is going on in his name.
I don’t think you’re overly optimistic feeling that way – it’s very Christ-centered thinking. For me, personally, I felt odd feeling joyful that someone was killed… then I imagined what he would have done with Everly had she been sat in front of him. He would have slit her throat and watched her die & celebrated afterwards.
I believe everyone can be forgiven, but (once again, for me personally) I believe some people may not have souls at all. This is a man that very well could have been a demon – part of the devil himself. I do try to be empathetic and have often been understanding toward people that others would crucify, but once the number of deaths because of your hands are in the 1,000’s and you show no regret or remorse… I start questioning if you’re even a real person, or if there is something darker at play here.
I guess I’m saying I understand both sides though I tend to be more thankful that the world is rid of this… man/demon/whatever he was. For my child’s sake. I’ll easily trade his life for the lives of thousands of others he had/would have killed.
Now that he’s dead, God can decide if he deserves a second chance… though I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s not gonna end too well. Being a mass murderer of children is gonna be hard to explain away.
My husband and I were also struck by how people are celebrating. It makes me really uncomfortable. He was someone’s child. Some mother somewhere once cradled him and loved him before he became a hateful murderer. Some solemnity would have been appropriate.
I remember when I went to see Beauty and the Beast in the movie theater when it first came out. When the Beast is fighting Gaston and finally overpowers him and Gaston falls to his death, all the little kids in the audience cheered! They actually cheered that the bad guy was plummeting to his death. I was struck by their reaction and kind of sickened by it. It never occurred to me to cheer- it wasn’t a happy victory.
I feel the same way watching the news today that I did in the movie theater. What kind of a people are we that we cheer death?
Great example, Courtney. I think I would have wondered the same thing in your situation, as I’m the type to not cheer or celebrate when the villain is killed in movies/books.
Thank you for writing this. I agree whole-heartedly with you, and I’m glad I’m not the only one that had the same reaction. Thanks.
I’m with you too! Most of my classmates in DC were the ones comprising the rally at the White House last night. Not to downplay their memories of 9/11, but they are all very, very young. When they rushed over there, I couldn’t help wondering if they really understood why they were there or if they were just getting caught up in the hype. I was more thinking about all of the civilians in Afghanistan and American troops that had to die to bring us to this point. That was definitely not something to be celebrated.
Well written and well said.
I agree. Watching the celebration outside the White House made me really uncomfortable.
So glad I’m not the only one that feels this way! Thank you and well said.
I agree too – the celebrations make my stomach hurt. It reminds me of the jubilation in the Middle East when the World Trade Centers were hit, and it saddens me because I thought we were better than that.
Seriously! this morning I saw one front page cover that said in huge block letters “ROT IN HELL” with his face on it. Geez. I totally get it — people were totally affected by this, but evil that big is not caused just by a single man. And yeah, who are we to judge who deserves to rot in hell?
I think you’re grouping those who are relieved by the news of his death with those who are overtly celebrating his death — at least, that is how I read your post. And personally, I think there is a big difference. I’m not doing a victory dance, but I am certainly not sad to hear that he is gone.
To be completely honest, I think I am grouping them. Is it wrong? Perhaps. But like I said in the post, I never think that killing is the solution for anything. I know that he did horrible, horrible things in his lifetime but I met the announcement of his death not with happiness, gratitude or even relief…my first reaction was actually a bit of pain for his family (at least the ones who loved him, because I’m sure that there was at least ONE person who loved him).
Maybe I am just overly sensitive, I dunno. I actually had a death in the family this weekend — I heard about my uncle’s death just that morning. I wasn’t that particularly close to him, but it saddened me all the same and I had been thinking about death all day.
I’m sorry about your family’s loss, Jenny.
I did want to clarify that Osama bin Laden was given the opportunity to surrender. He chose not to, and he surely knew that the alternative was death. While he didn’t physically kill himself, he chose his fate by refusing to surrender when given the option.
I think there is a difference between relief/happiness that an evil, hateful mass murderer of thousands of innocent people is dead, versus overtly CELEBRATING his death. In your original Facebook post, you said “it kinda saddens me how so many people are so happy about Bin Laden’s death.” You did not say celebrating, you said happy.
Am I unhappy that he is gone? Certainly not. So I guess that makes me happy. But I most definitely don’t want to be grouped into the same category as people who are smiling and chanting and singing over his death, because I do feel like that is a less than ideal response. It was your choice of words that made me feel like you are judging anyone who is glad that he is no longer on this earth to continue spreading hate, even those of us who chose to stay quiet in our reaction. I am sure that there was someone out there who loved him and is mourning his death, and for them I feel sorry, but I can’t help but feel like the thousands of innocent lives he took justifies that one person’s sadness.
I’m sorry if you felt that I was judging you — or anyone else — with what I wrote the Facebook. The truth is that I genuinely WAS sad (am still am) at how happy my peers seemed to be. I was not judging, or did I hold anything against them — I was just sad.
On a more personal note, I myself could never be happy with someone’s death, no matter what he/she has done with their life. Even when learning about the Holocaust and all the atrocities that Hitler committed, I never once thought to myself, “Thank goodness he’s dead.” Yes, it may be true that he chose to end his own life (just as Bin Laden refused to surrender) but I could never be happy over someone’s death. And like I said in the post, I believe that everyone’s life is sacred and I could never think that any violation is worth a life.
I actually just wrote on your FB about it. Death shouldn’t be celebrated at all.. it’s weird that Americans are on TV celebrating when the other side were on TV when the WTC went down. We caught him and it ended in death. I’m not going to lie, I’m glad he’s dead but I’m not throwing a party because I feel that is really weird. There are many more just like OBL unfortunately. But so incredibly thankful for all the troops who risked their lives and lost their lives for our country and our safety.
Thank you. I wholeheartedly agree, and I also worry about the power vacuum that may be left in his absence. Just like the (horribly handled) death of Saddam Hussein didn’t end the troubles in Iraq, I don’t think this is going to end any of our troubles, either.
I also found myself wondering how many of our service men and women died or were wounded to get us to this point, and what we’ve really gained now. I mean, he was a truly bad dude, but… it all feels pretty senseless.
And basically, I thought we were better than celebrating in the streets. I guess not.
Killing him was perhaps a necessary evil, but I agree with you – I find celebrating anyone’s death to be wrong and, to say the least, less than compassionate.
Thank you for this post! I felt the same way this morning but couldn’t quite figure out how to phrase it.
Thank you for writing this! I have so many mixed emotions this morning as I try to process everything.
I won’t ramble as much as I could, but I wanted to bring up one point no one else has said so far. Yes, I too was really quite…disturbed…seeing everyone outside the White House, etc. cheering and chanting. It totally made me uncomfortable, because let’s think about it: if WE were to view video of say…groups of extremists waving flags/chanting their country’s name/rejoicing in the death of someone else’s leader…we would be FREAKED…the heck…OUT. So – why is it that we as Americans see no problem with the fact that we are doing pretty much the same thing? It just makes me uneasy. I’ll be honest: I was relieved to hear the news late last night, but I guess for me it was more of a pensive moment following it, not celebratory. Also – I’m an insane worry wart, so I immediately began to think of what potential repurcussions could follow from what transpired yesterday with bin Laden’s death. And I have to stay the heck away from my Facebook feed today…because it is infuriating me to see some of the comments people are making (“Yay! Now the troops can come home” – um yeah, not likely. “Does this mean I can put full sized shampoo in my carryon?” Seriously?).
Ok, enough said. Whew.
Exactly.
I have mixed emotions. I am annoyed by the spectacle we are making of ourselves by having teenagers [who were in grade school and probably quite oblivious to what exactly was going on until later] celebrate in the streets. I think it is crude, disrespectful and only perpetuates what is said about Americans over seas.
However, I believe that bastard [pardon the harsh language] deserved to die. Roughly 8,000 men, women and children have died because of him since 9/11 [including our troops who were sent there for his capture] and if giving him “western justice” [because you better believe if the situation was reversed there would be no trial in paklstan. no chance for an American, or any other westerner for that matter, to plead their case] meant losing just one more innocent life then, for me, that was too much. I am not celebrating his death- I will not be some jerk singing terrible eighties songs while waving my flag in someones camera. But in the old school ways of justice I am glad he is gone. Do I think it will change anything?! No. But if it makes *one* victim of 9/11 or current war veteran feel like they have closure, then it’s good enough for me.
For me- that man deserves no sympathy. He was a casualty of war. And, for me, it isn’t sad.
I thought the following statement by the Vatican might resonate with you. It certainly did with me.
Osama Bin Laden – as everyone knows – has had the gravest responsibility for spreading hatred and division among people, causing the deaths of countless people, and exploiting religion for this purpose.
Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of everyone before God and man, and hopes and pledges that every event is not an opportunity for a further growth of hatred, but of peace.
I could not agree more. I have been rather disgusted by the responses I’ve seen on people’s facebooks and twitters and blogs. I was particularly uncomfortable at work today when my coworkers started screaming that anyone who isn’t up and dancing about people dying isn’t a true American. This was particularly disheartening when the evangelical Christian was screaming about it. I thought Jesus said not to kill people.