I’ve heard many of us ask each other, in class and in blog comments, if we think that celebrating bin Laden’s death is appropriate. I myself have had trouble trying to put my feelings into words, but I stumbled over an article by a Huffington Post blogger, Pamela Gerloff, and found that we both hold very similar views pertaining to this subject.
Gerloff believes that public celebration of bin Laden’s death is not proper behavior for not only Americans, but for human beings has a whole. Part of being human is having the ability appreciate the gift of life. Celebrating a death, no matter whose it may be, is to Gerloff, “a violation of human dignity”. Gerloff feels that celebrations are not portraying Americans in a good light, and states, “We are not a peaceful species. Nor are we a peaceful nation. The public celebrations of this killing throughout the country draw attention to these facts”.
Gerloff understands that bin Laden’s death may bring feelings of closure to some people, especially to those who had lost a loved one in the 9/11 attacks, however she does not think his death should be celebrated to the extent of chanting and singing in front of the White House. Instead of celebrating in such a gaudy and loud manner, Gerloff believes, “A more peaceable response to his killing would be to mourn the many tragedies that led up to his violent death and the thousands of violent deaths that occurred in the attempt to eliminate him from the face of the Earth; and to feel compassion for anyone who, because of their role in the military or government, American or otherwise, has had to play a role in killing another”.
Yes, bin Laden’s death was an achievement, but Gerloff points out the fact that his death has not stopped the War On Terror or created more peace. Gerloff states that since his death,“threat levels are going up, not down”. Gerloff also wants to remind readers that “The impulse to celebrate a death depends on what side you're on”. If another country were to kill an American leader and then go onto cheerfully celebrate his death, how would Americans feel about it?
What are your views on celebrating bin Laden’s death? Do you agree with Gerloff? Please feel free to play devil’s advocate!
23 comments:
I agree with Gerloff I feel like there is more of a threat because of the leader being now dead, so the rest of the pack might want to carry on. I just saw earlier on Yahoo how one of the other leaders has turned himself in, so maybe some of them are beginning to think there is not that much chance of doing anything unless Osama were directing them in some way.
Should we be celebrating in such a way that it makes America look somewhat like bullies ,jerks. As you wrote Sandy, how would we react to people making fun of us if one of our leaders died...I feel like a lot of people aren't being fair at all to the community in the Middle East- at least, how we are treating them about Osama...
I'm sure we're not the only ones celebrating, but did we not celebrate the death of Adolf Hitler? I know he committed far greater attrocities, but would you all cheer for Hitler's death if you lived in wartime America? I look at it this way: it may be a violation of human dignity to celebrate a persons death, but so is prostitution and theft, and yet it still goes on anyway. I don't know if we can tarnish our image any more than it already is, and I can understand how people feel. One good thing that does come out of this though is that people are united under this celebration for a national achievement.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that celebrating bin Laden's death is not appropriate. Obviously, I understand why people may want to jump for joy, but the pictures and footage of celebrations in the media make me anxious because they could provoke deeper feelings of resentment and revenge within bin Laden supporters. I'm going to have to say that I agree with Gerloff's views.
I agree with Michael, let humanity be. We celebrate all sorts of weird things as humans. Not that I'm Mr Religion, but doesn't Christianity celebrate the death of Jesus on some day? Anyways, that isn't as important as May 20, 2007, the day Kamina died for all of our sins...
Back to the topic. While I find that the celebration is not necessary, I do find it appropriate. Celebration of important events (or so we perceive) is important for morale of the country and troops, if not anything else. Every year, people gather in Gettysburg Pennsylvania to celebrate and reenact some of the bloodiest days in American history. People also celebrated the destruction of the death star, yet the fight against the Empire was far from over. Crush your inflated view of humanity and let things go.
It is politically correct to associate Osama Bin Laden with the non-radical muslim community. Not all countries in the islamic world hold radical views, but as the general public, the differences are often blurred. that's why that speaker at one of those senior assemblies representing islam had to come and speak.
We haven't had much to truly celebrate in the war on terror for a long time. It doesn't feel like were at war in our everyday lives.. but the need to pick up public moral is still part of the war effort. The fact that we took out the leader gives the U.S. government a reason to keep finish it.
yeah, there's the risk of radical muslims seeking revenge...but for now we have something that the american public can feel good about. whether we take it too far or not. enjoy this moment while it lasts. Remember that we still have a war to fight.
on how we look to the rest of the world--> if we mourn when we defeat an american enemy whether its for the enemy or those that have died because of them... it could also go the other way and depict to the world that the american public doesn't support its government's or its military's actions.
Just an observation. to generalize...its a growing american culture trend that when something bad happens, we get REALLY upset about it, and when something good comes along we get REALLY excited about it. comon, its america.. we do too much of everything and over the top just because.we work too hard even when we already too well off.
you know --"Hunting on a full stomach"
-Raymond Lim
I think that celebration is absolutely not appropriate. It's inhumane and disgusting, that we have to be happy that someone died. If anything at most, we should be glad that this terrorist died, but certainly not celebrate and make a bigger deal out of it than it actually deserves. And his death probably shouldn't be that big of a deal anyways. We shouldn't be a nation that celebrates death. Who are we, to set an example to our next generations, that it is okay to be celebrate the death of another? Even after all Osama has done, he still doesn't deserve that amount of disrespect. Sure, like I said, some people can be happy with closure who were affected by 9/11. But for people, probably some who weren't affected by 9/11, going out to celebrate should not be something we should do. And even after one dies, there will probably be another person that will come in his place and will assume that role of being leader. And instead of celebrating, I feel that the government should spend more of its time looking out for potential threats and tracking down and predicting these threats before they come. The government should focus on combating this "War on Terror" than gloat on it's temporary "victory".
The demise of many tyrants and dictators has brought about celebration. Osama bin Laden murdered thousands. Was celebrating Hitler's suicide appropriate? People screaming "USA" seems to be more of a patriotic reaction to me. It's more like, "we've struggled to bring this guy to justice who's killed thousands, it's about time we got rid of him and his other plans to attack the US." I do not know if that really makes sense. What I am trying to say is that celebrating is not necessarily unnatural. But we should ere on the side of safety, especially with tensions between the Muslim world and America. As I write this, I realize that Michael also wrote about Adolf Hitler. So I am glad to see that someone else shares my views in that regard. But it is about time the media stop focusing so much on the aftermath of his death. It's overkill.
Celebration over Osama's death is uncalled for! He still has living relatives, including wives, children, and siblings, who are still mourning and grieving over his death. We have to be more empathetic and sensitive about this matter. Although Osama caused the death of many, celebrating his death will not bring back any of the people lost in the War on Terror, or the 9/11 attacks. Besides, the War on Terror is far from over, we won't be done until there are no supporters of anti-American terrorist regimes in the Middle East who still breathe. Osama was just a man who got caught up in the wrong stuff, what we got here was a bad failure to communicate and we should all mourn the loss of humanity, even the death of our enemy (an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind).
JK!!! WE SHOULD PARTAAAAAAAY!!!!!! WE FINALLY GOT HIM!!!! THIS SHOULD INSPIRE US TO GET MORE OF THE TERRORIST AND....DESTROY THEM ALLL!!!! USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOP!!!! DEATH TO OSAMA!!!!
Although I know that everyone is feeling relief right now, I don't think the chanting and screaming is really necessary. It's easy to get so wrapped up in the moment that we don't stop to think about what we are actually celebrating. We shouldn't be celebrating someone's death. However, Michael's comment got me thinking. Everyone was definitely fine celebrating Hitler's death, which I completely approve of. So what makes it wrong now? It's a fine line, but in this case, I think it borders on disrespect. Yes, we completely have the right to be happy and relieved, but no, I don't think crazy parties outside the White House days after the fact are appropriate. I think that everyone can celebrate in their own ways, but just not be so ostentatious about it. As someone said earlier, can you imagine if a US leader was killed and the other country was celebrating? It would just cause more tension and lead to more conflict in the future. Therefore, I think the partying should be kept to a minimum.
I definately agree with Gerloff because I do think that it is wrong to CELEBRATE anyones death, no matter who it is. Though, there are religions that celebrate death but not in such a way that us Americans are celebrating it. I think that Americans are taking this way too far over one persons death. Death is a sad thing and it shouldnt be celebrated as if a Godzilla-type monster, destroying have the earth was to magically stop or disappear. The celebrations taking place are overexaggerated and it seems like Americans all have this evil side to them. If this had to be done, then be mature about it and move on.
I feel ok to celebrate his death. People may argue that every person has the right to enjoy and celebrate his life. Many of those people probably have not felt the pain that others families have when bin laden carried out the 9/11 attack as well as other ones. We have been looking for that mass murderer for 10 years now and we have the right to celebrate his death, because this is a big step towards winning the war on terror.
I just feel that Tim is trolling us LOL. Anyways I believe its quit rude to celebrate anyone death, even if they were hated by us.
The death of Osama may allow the world to breathe a much needed sigh of relief, but that feeling of relief won't last for very long. The other members of Al Qaeda will see him as a martyr and continue to rally their beliefs and hatred towards the United States and other nations. We should NOT celebrate bin Laden's death-there are terrorists out there that want to avenge Osama's death, and the celebrations that occurred after the announcement of Osama's death may only fuel their fires of vengeance and anger. Gerloff's statement that the public celebrations do not put Americans in a good light is of rational merit.. True, one of the most evil men in the world has now been wiped off the face of this planet. But do we really need to treat his death like it's something to celebrate about? Absolutely not. The messages that these celebrations convey to the world are that we killed Osama just to get revenge for the wrongs he committed. The message we should be sending to the world is that we killed him in the search for justice, and not in the pursuit of vengeance.
Celebrating specifically the death of Osama bin Laden is uncalled for, but celebrating our accomplishment in accomplishing our long-standing goal and taking out al-Qaeda's head honcho seems very much appropriate to do so. Osama bin Laden's death brings about a tremendous morale booster for this nation and emotional comfort for the victims' families. I firmly believe that is why we're celebrating, not that bin Laden just isn't living anymore. If bin Laden was just captured and detained, we would still be celebrating - probably even more.
I have felt the exact same way as you, Sandy! As the days continue on and new details start to emerge, I find it harder to come to a happy medium on this issue. On one hand, Bin Laden's death is seen as triumph for the American people and its military, but on the other hand it is a death after all. When we turn on our television sets and see people cheering over a death, in my opinion it makes the American people look bad. In addition what are adults supposed to tell their kids when they see their elders cheering because of someone's death?
~Emily Zelter
I honestly think it is a bad look for us, and we will receive a lot of blowback for our celebration. On the other hand I think that this death, has brought a lot of patriotism and therefore maybe a stepping stone to unify this country.
In response to A Goya Christianity actually celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Bin Laden is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. Celebrating his death is a perfectly natural and understandable response. But yes, I agree that it is not right. Every death is a tragedy, and celebrating a death, no matter what the circumstances, is never correct. However, given the circumstances, it is understandable that people would want to celebrate, and I feel that it would be asking too much to stop them doing so. I don't think that much harm will be done.
Like I said before, I don't know if we can tarnish our national image any more than it already is.
I feel that we are wasting our time celebrating his death. Does his death take us out of this recession we are in right now? Of course not; his death hasn't even stopped the war. We still have troops out there in the Middle East, and its costing us not only our hard earned tax money but lives as well. Families are being broken up, children becoming orphans; and for what? so that America can get there hands on oil! it's a conspiracy going on.
-Raymont Afuhaamango
I think that while we should be thankful that Osama bin Laden himself cannot carry out any more orders, I do not think we should so publicly be celebrating his death. Thus, I pretty much agree with Gerloff. To those who took bin-Laden seriously and followed him devoutly, the chants of "U-S-A" and the celebrations surrounding his death look like mockery. Those who think that Osama bin Laden's death means the end of terrorism in the middle east are just plain wrong. No, we've killed the head of al-Qaeda but not the ideals that still stand strongly behind it. While we may have killed the leader, and the man whom most of the blame and the hatred was focused upon, we have not stopped terrorism.
Therefore, why are people celebrating? Because a very bad man died? Sure. But I think we should be grateful or thankful for this, not celebratory. Just because Osama bin Laden is dead does not mean, as I have repeated probably ad nauseam by now, that terrorism will stop. Instead, some other radical will take his place and terrorism against the U.S. will continue. Therefore, I think we are doing more harm than good by publicly jeering at al-Qaeda. When I first heard the news, my first reaction was something like "Yay! Oh no..." The yay was for the death of a man who killed and brought terror to many. But the "oh no" was worry for what the response to the many celebrations will be. Will al-Qaeda retaliate to prove that in killing the head of the beast, a new one just sprouts up in its place? Or does this mean we've somehow fatally wounded the beast of al-Qaeda's radical terrorism forever? While I hope it is the latter, I fear for what's to come following bin Laden's death.
-Alice Bebbington
I'll echo Sarah and say that I'm glad that I was not the only person who felt that celebration of the death of a human being was inappropriate.
I also agree with Chris in saying that to do so (celebrate) is absolutely sickening.
No matter what you did in your life to set yourself apart from others, you die like everyone else. Osama bin Laden is no different in that respect. He died a human being. Death is tragic, no matter what the person who died has been responsible for, and though I've convinced myself that his death was for the "greater good," I still think the man deserves his peace.
If you value human life at all, or at the very least, if you wouldn't want someone to celebrate your death, then I don't suggest doing so yourself.
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