I thought I was disturbed by the events of last evening and today because the American people celebrating the death of Bin Laden really made me gasp. The death of one man cannot end terrorism, the death of one man cannot bring back the lives already lost to senseless terrorist attacks. And the death of this man, creates a martyr for those violent dangerous people who followed him, so now they can hate the murderers of their beloved leader and rally together. This has all sat strangely for me and I was heartened to hear that many people directly involved with the events of September 11 and other terrorist attacks led by Bin Laden-- all of these people have been much more subdued and introspective about the complexity of emotions this event has prompted. But tonight, in learning that they code named Bin Laden Geronimo--- NOOOOOO. I am utterly appalled with the crass historical mockery the special forces have committed. Geronimo was a nobel warrior, a resilient leader, and man of unwavering courage-- and the U.S. government killed him by essentially keeping him captive for 23 years. Is that really the parallel we want on this day?? An example of our country's racist, classist hegemony in committing genocide on a native people? Yeah, that's appealing. Anyway-- just had to get that off my chest.
Posting here on 5/5/10: Guess it wasn't just me who felt the need to get that off my chest--
CBS NEWS STORY
Detroit Free Press
Tulsa News
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