I’m not sure the killing of Osama bin Laden was a good thing. I find the acts he’s said to have masterminded to be horrific. I also recognize that in some cases killing is necessary and even produces positive results, such as the necessary killing of someone to protect the lives of others. So I neither have sympathy for the guy nor am I a pacifist. But my gut reaction on the evening I learned bin Laden had been killed was disgust at the celebrations and concern for what his killing might actually mean for the future of my nation’s “War on Terrror.”
What bothered me most about the celebrations was the inappropriate, and mostly childish, acting out. The images I saw, particularly outside the White House, of an overwhelmingly young, white crowd waving American flags around as if they were at a pep rally; and the fact that the corporate media and most politicians saw these celebrations as appropriate and even moving, made me fear more for the future than a living bin Laden ever did. They demonstrated a boost to American nationalism - at least that’s the way it appeared that evening and in the days following - the kind of sentiment that fuels the killing of millions around the world by American imperialism.
What bothered me most about the celebrations was the inappropriate, and mostly childish, acting out. The images I saw, particularly outside the White House, of an overwhelmingly young, white crowd waving American flags around as if they were at a pep rally; and the fact that the corporate media and most politicians saw these celebrations as appropriate and even moving, made me fear more for the future than a living bin Laden ever did. They demonstrated a boost to American nationalism - at least that’s the way it appeared that evening and in the days following - the kind of sentiment that fuels the killing of millions around the world by American imperialism.
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