Another End to the War with No End

Today, the 2nd of April 2011, President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden, the mastermind terrorist behind 9/11, had been killed, and that the body had been removed and buried at sea- to conform with Islamic practice (that the body must be buried within 24 hours) and to keep any potential grave from acting as a shrine to him.

I am deeply embarrassed to note that, across the nation, most upsettingly at university campuses, people erupted in cheers, impromptu celebrations, and general revelry at the news. People have joined together once again in the US, but this time to glory in the death of another.

What a terrible pity to see the baseness of American arrogance. When videos surfaced that some had celebrated the September 11th attacks on the USA, people were horrified and hurt. Now, when the reified symbol of terrorism in the US was announced as dead, people dance and cry and hug. Once again, the world is reminded how isolated the USA is in its arrogance and assurance that no one shall challenge the disturbing control that US military power exerts over the rest of the world.

Not everyone is reacting so thoughtlessly. I found this quote from a CNN article quite interesting: She likened the feeling to "what people feel like when someone has been killed and they finally capture or kill the person who did it." (Full article here: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.color/index.html?hpt=T2).

So yes, for those who lost family or friends, I can understand a quiet acknowledgement and feeling of relief or closure at seeing the alleged perpetrator captured. However, I’ve never heard of other criminals- rapists, murderers, pedophiles- entering jail or the death penalty with the echoes of fireworks and happy cries ringing in the ears. Justice is achieved there, yes, but it is for the victim’s families to accept; any celebration would be crude.

Is it racism that makes the distinction between these two scenarios? It could simply be the fact that, symbolically, Osama bin Laden „touched“ all of us with his evil- or rather, he was shown to us as the mastermind, the head conductor of evil. So, because of the scope of people who were affected by his plan, people are pleased. Or is this greater- an „us“ vs. „them“ scenario? Can we imagine if President Bush was killed and people in other countries celebrated? Americans would be horrified and angry. And yet, as they dance merry jigs in the streets, this doesn’t cross their minds. America’s power and dignity was challenged, and those who dare to do so are punished. I’m not condoning terrorist behavior, and I find the violence that was inflicted on the US to be- to this day- terrifying and even more tear-jerking when I watch the videos now. But we are dancing over the grave of a man who started as any other man and, as we now know, gained his military expertise from the United States. And we have the audacity to feel justified in crushing others who find our reign unbearable, suffocating, and ultimately horrifying in its scope, secrecy, and strength.

American should go back inside and- this will be the only time that beg for this- turn on Youtube and find the videos of the attack. They should listen to the frightened cries of victims and remember that those were brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers of other Americans. As James Croft puts it in his blog (Found here: http://www.templeofthefuture.net/current-affairs/the-tolling-bell-do-some-deserve-to-die), there may be a begrudging satisfaction one can take, but the breadth of joy and celebration today is disheartening, dispiriting, and dehumanizing- for all of us.