Thursday, May 12, 2011
Killing Bin Laden
Last week, the U.S. rejoiced with the news of the death of public enemy number one, Osama Bin Laden. People flowed into city streets and cheered, sports arenas celebrated with "God Bless America" and even here at AHS, students and staff marched onto the front lawn to say the Pledge of Allegience. Yes, he was number one on the FBI's most wanted list, but even after news of Hitler's suicide in 1945, people didn't celebrate in the same manner as we did last week. Do you think it was right to celebrate the death of Bin Laden in the way we did in the U.S.?
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I can see why people would want to 'celebrate' Osama Bin Laden's death. He did a terrible thing to Americans specifically and Hitler had not. Hitler was not portrayed in the American media like Osama Bin Laden was. If you think about it Osama Bin Laden almost became a joke. He was talked about in stand-up comedy routines as a joke and he was portayed in shows such as South Park and Family Guy and many other commical shows, which gives people a different point of view of him than Hitler. People began to jokes about him and where he could be hiding, so I feel as though when he was killed people didn't viw his death with a speck respect, but rather as something awesome and sort of commical to laugh at that he had finally got what he deserved. Obviously, I'm happy that he was in the United States hands, but I don't think death is a celebratory matter no matter who it is. I think people can be patriotic about his death, but I think that instead of being loud about it people should have quietly refelected to themselves about what his death meant.
ReplyDeleteI think that the death of Osama Bin Laden was rightfully celebrated. I feel like America has been growing desperate with the amount of money going to supply war and very little success. Americans argued about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and this brought high political tension around the nation. With the death of Osama Bin Laden, we suddenly remembered why we went to war with these Middle Eastern nations. We united in a manner similar to after 9/11, something that the United States desperately needed. Patriotism and a greater respect for those who defend our nation from foreign affairs rose. I am a very patriotic person (not just to the United States) and I must say that the slaughter of Public Enemy #1 made me proud of our great nation.
ReplyDeleteSome people say that murder should never be celebrated no matter who is murdered. If this was the case then why don't we remove the death penalty throughout the whole nation? The reason why a person receives the death penalty is because the public agrees that killing a murderer will bring the people a happier more safe environment. Isn't it the same thing? In my opinion, celebrating Bin Laden's death is very justifiable.
I believe the biggest question posed by this event is whether or not it is moral to celebrate the death of another human being? In the most moral sense I would say no, but to me I believe that on this occasion it was justified as his death meant so much more than just another human being killed. For many, bin Laden was the face of the 9/11 attacks and the entire war on terror, and to finally know that he lived no more was like the country letting out a breath after holding it in for 10 years. For the first time since the 9/11 attacks the country came together as one through the spirit of patriotism and saw that a major victory was achieved. As the news continues to come out since the event, the country continues to be caught up in the fever, with various late night shows continuing the jokes and Seal Team 6 becoming national heroes literally overnight. Instead of joking about where bin Laden was hiding or what he was planning next, all jokes turn to him in the afterlife paying for his crimes. To finally get a result after years of war felt like justice, and the country rightfully celebrated being free of the most wanted man in America.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why Hitler's death was not celebrated like this was even though he committed horrible atrocities in Europe, he didn't attack the U.S. on its own soil and he was not on the television practically every day so people could build hatred towards. In many ways bin laden had become a part of American pop culture and for 10 years he taunted us and we joked along too, anxious and waiting to see when the laughs would give way to results. Now after the dust has settled we can appreciate what has been done, and though we were caught up in the frenzy and fervor of such a powerful event, it has died down some and we can continue to move on and be happy, a major victory won for America in the end.
Personally I’m in the middle. Yes, I do agree that the US should rejoice but there is a limit to that. It is a huge accomplishment for the US to kill the number one on the FBI’s most wanted list but celebrating someone’s death that’s just not right. The US made such a big deal about it but it did change anything? Since he died, does that mean that all the terrorists died in this world, NO just one big, one died but not the rest of them? Celebrating such pride could actually cause more harm because it could lead to more terrorist’s attacks. The US is now going to think they are far more superior to others and that’s going to get to their heads but they do not know how dangerous that could be. It could have made all the other terrorists fight us even more. After his death everything has still been the same so what is the US cheering about. We still have troops in Afghanistan; get them out of there since you killed the Osama Bin Laden. Airport safety still hasn’t changed since Osama Bin Laden died; you still get patted down like a maniac, so we are we celebrating in such a grand matter. You re celebrating someone’s death is the right, is that morally right, of course not? Just the general fact that the US thinks that they have reached such standards is worse. Just a few days after Osama’s death I was asked by many people “what do you think of Osama’s death” and yes I am a Muslim but am I supposed to have a different answer… I don’t think so. But coming from my standpoint it doesn’t change anything just because he died doesn’t give us the right to have a party. Hitler wasn’t as big as Osama because he didn’t attack the US as much as he did Europe. Osama attacked the US.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Bin laden is the main reason why we have been fighting this war for almost a decade now and its only right to celebrate his death. This is not the end of the war. Far from it. But it's a symbolic victory. It's nice to know that the mastermind behind the death of thousands of American's has met his demise. The main difference between Bin Laden and Hitler is that Bin Laden directly attacked the American people. Hitler just terrorized Europe. Truthfully, i have never felt more Patriotic and proud of our country. This event has brought America closer together. It makes all the fighting a little more worth while.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand why people celebrated Bin Laden's death as they did. He was the cause of so many Americans death, and we have been fighting this war because of his actions. However, to celebrate the death of any individual is just wrong in my opinion. True, it did bring Americans closer together, but I still feel it just wasn't right. The war is far from over, and now, other terrorists might want retribution for what we did to Bin Laden. But I was still happy to hear of his death and I still am, but not to the degree others are.
ReplyDeleteEveryone already said this, but I agree, Hitler's actions were directed in Europe only, and as horrible as his deeds were, the US never got to experience first hand what people in Europe were going through. Hitler had concentrated solely on Europe so it wasn't as personalized as what Bin Laden did.
Although Osama Bin Laden’s death is certainly welcome news for all of mankind, I do not believe that we should have celebrated in the way we did. He was linked to numerous terrorist attacks besides the ones on 9/11, and that makes his death worthy of some sort of celebration. I also believe that it is good to be slightly happy about it, but I think that celebrating anyone’s death is in bad taste. This is especially because the eyes of the world are upon us, and vivacious celebration does not place us in the best light. I think that, in place of celebration, we should honor those we lost on 9/11 and the wars that followed it, as well as those currently serving in the armed forces. I believe that this would be the best way to “celebrate” Bin Laden’s death.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that Bin Laden's death was a major victory for the United States however it is important to remember that this is still a human being's death we're celebrating. Everyone was obviously very excited that the man who caused so many death's was dead but it also needs to be noted that the entire world was watching the United States at this time. To show huge celebrations for one man's death while a war is still going on is only going to anger those who supported Bin Laden and make them feel like they need retribution for his death. Although this is a large victory in the war that is going on, this was not the end of the war and I think that the celebrations should have been kept more subtle and personal rather than the whole country making their celebrations obvious and public.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that Bin Laden's death was and is a major victory for the United States, but I don't agree with celebrating someonce death even if it's someone like Bin Laden. Like Aniqa said we may have killed him, but we did not get rid of the rest of the terriorst. I think it's only a short amount of time before someone else takes the place Bin Laden. with the amount of followers that Bin Laden had the war on terror is probably not going to end anytime soon. We celebrated the death of Bin Laden because of the pain, and suffering he caused to the American people. We did not celebrate Hitlers death because he did not cause pain directaly to us, but instead to a certain race. We should take this as a lesson that we are not save anywhere. I think that people should have rejoiced and reflected on the incident of 9/11 instead of celebrating I just think that send the wrong message to others around the world. I also just think that it is tormenting to others around the world.
ReplyDeleteThe way Americans celebrated the death of Osama Bin Laden was indeed right. The man who caused suffering to the families who lost on 9/11 was finally taken down after 10 years. That imposes a great feeling on the American people and there was no reason why americans couldnt have celebrated the way they did. When you compare Bin laden to Hitler, Hitler did cause more damage and suffering to the world. But because Hitler didn't specifically affect the United States, we didn't celbrate the way we did with Bin Laden. On the news you always see Muslim countries burning the American Flag and trashing our country, so why can't we celbrate the way we did? At the same time, America needs to use the death of Bin lAden in saying that the terrorists should be scared of us instead of us being scared of them. At the end of the day, Bin Laden's death was celebrated the right way.
ReplyDeleteIt is understandable that the retribution fulfilled by the death of Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted criminal, would evoke nation-wide celebration from the U.S. His death brought about a rise in nationalism that has been absent from the U.S. due to the drawn out war in the Middle East. I believe rejoicing over someone’s death is morally wrong. Celebrating over Osama bin Laden’s defeat rather than his death would be more appropriate. However, it is difficult to differentiate between the two since with his death came his defeat. I have mixed feelings about whether it was right or not to celebrate his death.
ReplyDeleteThere are several differences between Osama bin Laden and Hitler that could produce the contrasting reactions. For most people, Osama bin Laden is the only identifiable member of Al Qaeda. There were other figureheads associated with the Axis Powers aside from Hitler. Also, the U.S. was preoccupied with the Pacific theatre during WWII since Japan proved to be an imminent threat. Hitler did not affect many Americans since his atrocious actions were centered in Europe.
In modern times, the U.S. is directly concerned with Al Qaeda. It was this terrorist group which scarred American history with the 9/11 tragedy. Many show disapproval towards the war in the Middle East, and Osama bin Laden’s death is a substantial step towards ending it.
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ReplyDeleteI definetely think that how we celebrated the death of Osama Bin Laden was not the right thing to do. I think for more people it was in a way getting justice for September 11th, but I don't think our actions were right. Hitler was in a different time and I don't think that the US fully understood the impact and the toll that it really took. No one should ever rejoice in the death of another person, even though his actions were wrong and making sure that he was no longer a threat was high on our importance list. I do not think that his death should have been so celebrated and so publicized. Don't get me wrong, he was a terrorist, a man so many people wanted gone, and he deserved to be for the horrible things that he did, but a celebration is not something that should have been done. We should learn from this and hope that others who have terrorism on their mind think twice before they decide to take such horrific action.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the death of any person should be celebrated, including Bin Laden. Although I think it's alright for people affected by terrorism to feel relief and closure following Bin Laden's death, a killing should not be the instigation for joy and celebration in any context. Cheering for the death is also disrespectful to the victims of terrorist attacks and their loved ones; a better reaction to Bin Laden's killing would be to remember those who died in 9/11 and others who have suffered from terrorism. Additionally, I think that celebrating Bin Laden's death sends a bad message to the Middle East, and I disagree with how Bin Laden has been made into a symbol for terrorism and treated as though his death signifies the end of violent attacks.
ReplyDeleteosama bin laden didnt deserve to have his death celebrated. when i heard i could not help thinking about what the costs were lat eventually led to his death. the amount of lives lost in afghanistan, iraq, and 9/11 do not go away with the death of one man. though he was responsible for many terrorist attacks around the world, celebrating his death was wrong. many people the night that he died must have been thinking like me. the president wasnt celebrating when he gave his speech announcing the death of bin laden. he himself went to ground zero and laid a wreath for those lost on september 11, 2001. even though he was a bad person he did not deserve to have his death celebrated, it is disrespectful to those who lost family members to the attacks and to the war on terrorism.
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