I was awake this morning early and heard on the World Service the first reports that the US had killed Osama Bin Ladin.
I find the public rejoicing being reported in the US vulgar and foolish. Living closely with Pakistani neighbours and shopkeepers, the complexity of the situation is all around me and cannot be simply summed up right now.
Akma has a good post on his feelings today – pop over and have a read. I agree with entirely.
I agree with him entirely.
Then I think my friend that you join him in a conclusion that at this moment cannot be substantiated by fact. There is no evidence that bin Laden was executed. He died in a fire fight when the team tasked with his capture tried to do so. To claim more than the facts currently state is to jump to a conclusion based in personal prejudice.
Aside from that one discrepancy, I also agree with much of what he said.
It did occur to me that the UK does public rejoicing (see Friday) better than the US (see this morning).
We have no room for complacency – remember ‘Gotcha’ in the Falklands war???
Yes, that was vulgar too.
Irrespective of the terrible atrocities masterminded by individuals such as Osama Bin-Laden…and…regardless of the improbable scenario of his being captured alive and put on trial, the rejoicing that followed his death was both tacky and tactless. Comments (albeit by family members of 9/11 victims) alluding to …”God placing him in Hell to rot for eternity…” similarly did nobody any favours. If anything, the backlash from extremists eager to avenge his death (martyrdom?) will now cost further innocent lives. The phrase that jumps to mind is: ‘least said soonest mended…’
I’m not sure that pacifist prooftexting is any lbetter than the other kinds. It’s surely morally permissable to celebrate the death of a legitimate, significant military target. And much of the “fanning the flames” rhetoric is inane – people can argue over whether nominally Islamic terrorism can be appeased , but the idea of Al-Queda dialing back their actions or reforming their ethos because (say) the world didn’t overly celebrate killing Bin Laden is ridiculous. Wouldn’t capturing him alive and forcing him to endure infidel courts be even more provocative than a martyr’s bullet and burial at sea?
I don’t think I like the idea of celebrating the death of anyone, Ryan.
That’s the kind of thing we find too often in the Bible, isn’t it? And it is vulgar there too.
I don’t like lynch mob mentality no matter who is on the receiving end.
Indeed – I agree that the “get it up ye!” response very much does not represent humankind at its best. But not celebrating *anyone’s* death is quite different, to me, to the most popular current arguments that largely emphasise that Bin Ladin personally is an inappropriate figure for Sic Semper Tyrannis triumphalism.
I found the Vatican’s reaction interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactions_to_the_death_of_Osama_bin_Laden#Europe