By Tanvi Verma
Staff Writer
The death of Osama bin Laden brings mixed feelings.
Some Americans feel safer now that the head of al-Qaeda has been eradicated from society. Perhaps this is the first step to getting our troops out of the Middle East, maybe this is progress. Because of this positive thought, many Americans took the streets; getting drunk and parading around about this ‘victory’ against this monster that’s been tormenting our country for so long.
People need to remember this: Osama bin Laden was one man. One man in the hundreds of people who are a part of al-Qaeda. One man that meant a great deal to the members of al-Qaeda. One man with six children, one of whom was a little girl who witnessed his shooting.
1998 image from time.com
American troops killed al-Qaeda’s leader, and the group has never had more of an incentive to attack than they have now. We are in no way safer than we had been before. We’ve gained nothing as a country by killing a man except more fuel for our pride. His body at the bottom of the ocean is just another trophy to keep on our mantles.
And death is not something to be proud of. If it was necessary, if bin Laden had resisted enough that the troops were left with no other choice than to kill him, then fine. That is acceptable, his death is nothing but necessary and acceptable, not exciting and joyous.
In the words of Martin Luther King Jr.:
“I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.”
The death of any human being is not something to rejoice at. We could have achieved this same result by capturing him and imprisoning him, not that it was a possibility. It’s just that we’ve achieved nothing by his death.
In terms of releasing the pictures of his dead body, doing so would just be immoral for several reasons. First, it is incredibly gruesome. Pictures of a man who got shot in the head should never be posted for anyone to see. Though there might be precautions, like signs saying “What you are about to see is not suitable for children”, any average fifth grader can easily get past that. In addition to that, you’re taking a man at his most humiliating and vulnerable point ever and putting pictures of him up for the entire world to see. He is still a man, and there are human obligations that should prevent someone from globally posting pictures of his bloody and lifeless corpse.
If you think that we as Americans got out ‘revenge’, fine. But celebrating and posting pictures of his death is going too far. That is just pathetic and inhumane and not respectful of the fact that he was human. He did terrible, terrible things, everyone knows by now. That’s the one thing that people keep repeating. But people shouldn’t bask in the downfall of another human being, and his death doesn’t compensate for the thousands of deaths that he caused. In the end we’ve gained nothing. One man is dead and his death shouldn’t be celebrated out of pure and basic human respect. Nothing has changed, people are just moving backwards in terms of morals. If this is what we have to show for how we’ve developed mentally and emotionally as humans, then we, as a species, are failing.
If you feel as though this is an accomplishment, then smile to yourself about it, don’t parade. He was a lost cause of a man, a tragedy and a waste of potential.
I would oppose posting the photos of Bin Laden for political reasons more than anything. We don’t want to provoke any anti-American sentiments, which is all the photos could possibly do.
This is an opinion article. It is filed under the tag opinion. It expresses the opinion of one person. I did not once state that my opinion is the sole word of truth, nor did I say that many people would agree with me.
In addition, if you actually read the article, you’d find that I said that celebrating his death and posting pictures of his corpse was inhumane and disrespectful, not mourning the loss of loved ones.
I am speaking from my own perspective, this article is, again, and opinion article written from my perspective. From my perspective, I don’t think that we’ve gained anything as a country.
American Pride, I can’t debate with you because you clearly value different things than I do. There’s no point in arguing with someone about morals when both sides think they’re right. We’re never going to reach a common ground here because, again, we have different perspectives. You’re right, I don’t know what you or many Americans went through. I’m writing this article based off of my opinion, not the opinions of the thousands that think he deserved to die. If you want to read an article saying that Osama bin Laden was a man that deserves to have his bloody corpse posted on the internet and there should be parties and celebrations about his death, then please go check the Fox News forum. I’m sure there are plenty of other writers that I agree with you. I ,personally, do not.
I think that this opinion makes sense and people should respect the skill of this article instead of criticizing someone’s courage to against that standard opinion and think for themselves.
It is easier to say this after looking at this from afar and having no emotional ties. You were not of an age to comprehend the effect this had on America.
How can you ask citizens of new york that what happened to Osama was “pathetic and inhumane and not respectful”.
There are students who have been attended Westford Academy who have lost family members in 9/11. Would you say “We’ve gained nothing as a country by killing a man,” to their faces, after they have lost so much?
It’s all about perspectives. Not wishing harm on anyone is dandy and all. But put yourself in the mindset of those who have been truly affected. Would you still wish death on nobody?
Let the people celebrate, after-all who are you to judge?
I am proud of the accomplishments of the United States in killing bin Laden.Capturing bin Laden has been a mission of the United States for 15 years, longer than a lot of people in this school have been alive. We are not celebrating a dead person, we are celebrating what his death symbolizes. This was a major moral and emotional victory for the United States. This man deserved to die, he should not have been given the decency of a trial. Imagine bin Laden alive, in the United States, on trial?! I agree, the pictures should not be released, but for National Security, not because he was a “man” who deserves respect. I couldn’t look at those photos,psychologically that would mess anyone up for life, but Osama bin Laden passed the point of deserving respect when he killed thousands of Americans on 9/11. I say Good Riddance, one less terrorist in the world.
I AGREE WHOLE HEARTEDLY WITH EVERY STATEMENT MADE.
Very well written and a very down to earth opinion.