Last night will go down in infamy. For once though, it was something good. After almost a decade of searching, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, Osama bin Laden, was killed. There have been all sorts of speculations on the implications his death will have. Many believe that this event secures President Barack Obama's reelection (which, although not a guarantee by any means, is very probably unless he irreparably screws something up before the next election). Some talk about stock market prices rising, gas prices decreasing, the end of an era, the list is endless.
There were impromptu celebrations in New York and outside the White House, as well as all over the U.S. and I'm sure, all over the world. But what are we celebrating? The death of one terrorist? Hardly seems worth dancing in the street for. The death of terrorism? Not likely. Since 9/11, there have been other terrorist plots that Osama bin Laden or the Taliban had nothing to do with. Is it good that we killed bin Laden? Absolutely. What I have a problem with is people gloating about it (this is why other countries hate us: we act so conceited) and acting like we killed the devil himself.
I spent a good part of the night trolling Facebook and Twitter to see how the public was reacting and what my peers had to say. Most reactions were fairly generic: "Osama's dead!" "We got him at last!" and variations of such. Here are some of my favorites and some I consider most notable. They range from funny to poignant to borderline bad taste:
-Everybodyy DONT GO TO 7ELEVEN 2MRW! OR TAKE ANY TAXI'S !! lls
-A prince gets married, the bad guy is dead. It's a real Disney weekend here on earth
-Twitter and tumblr were hilarious for like the first hour or so, but the more jerk-y things came out soon after that.-Tonight is a night for sober and mature reflection, not glee. Mindless celebration is both spiritually inappropriate and politically naive
-Osama was found. Now where the helllllllll is Carmen San Diego ????????
-lol... ya'lll funny as shyt on my #TL i hope yall still in a good mood in about a week when we uncover plans for a plot on our asses...
-Osama Bin Laden just ousted the devil as the mayor of hell.
-Okay so wtf do Bin Laden's death gotta do with gas prcies? People just say anything to try and sound smart these days.
-All fun and games till they start blowing planes out of the sky.. Then y'all wonder why everybody hate America..we keep assassinating people
-Joe Biden just called George Bush's house & screamed 'Mission Accomplished, Bee-yotch!' before quickly hanging up.
-Just give us a public viewing of Osama's body. That way Americans like me can spit on his corpse.
-Now watch Osama Bin Laden send a tape to us tomorrow laughing at us, with him standing on the White House lawn.
-We can all breathe a sigh of relief now; no more terrorism.
Of all these, I find the last one to be the most naive. Osama bin Laden was one person in charge. With him gone, who knows how many others will be ready to take his place. This is not the time to get complacent; if anything, this is when we need to be on high alert. I don't think a terrorist group will take the assassination of their leader lightly.
And just because I love to poke fun at Fox News:
There were impromptu celebrations in New York and outside the White House, as well as all over the U.S. and I'm sure, all over the world. But what are we celebrating? The death of one terrorist? Hardly seems worth dancing in the street for. The death of terrorism? Not likely. Since 9/11, there have been other terrorist plots that Osama bin Laden or the Taliban had nothing to do with. Is it good that we killed bin Laden? Absolutely. What I have a problem with is people gloating about it (this is why other countries hate us: we act so conceited) and acting like we killed the devil himself.
I spent a good part of the night trolling Facebook and Twitter to see how the public was reacting and what my peers had to say. Most reactions were fairly generic: "Osama's dead!" "We got him at last!" and variations of such. Here are some of my favorites and some I consider most notable. They range from funny to poignant to borderline bad taste:
-Everybodyy DONT GO TO 7ELEVEN 2MRW! OR TAKE ANY TAXI'S !! lls
-A prince gets married, the bad guy is dead. It's a real Disney weekend here on earth
-Twitter and tumblr were hilarious for like the first hour or so, but the more jerk-y things came out soon after that.-Tonight is a night for sober and mature reflection, not glee. Mindless celebration is both spiritually inappropriate and politically naive
-Osama was found. Now where the helllllllll is Carmen San Diego ????????
-lol... ya'lll funny as shyt on my #TL i hope yall still in a good mood in about a week when we uncover plans for a plot on our asses...
-Osama Bin Laden just ousted the devil as the mayor of hell.
-Okay so wtf do Bin Laden's death gotta do with gas prcies? People just say anything to try and sound smart these days.
-All fun and games till they start blowing planes out of the sky.. Then y'all wonder why everybody hate America..we keep assassinating people
-Joe Biden just called George Bush's house & screamed 'Mission Accomplished, Bee-yotch!' before quickly hanging up.
-Just give us a public viewing of Osama's body. That way Americans like me can spit on his corpse.
-Now watch Osama Bin Laden send a tape to us tomorrow laughing at us, with him standing on the White House lawn.
-We can all breathe a sigh of relief now; no more terrorism.
Of all these, I find the last one to be the most naive. Osama bin Laden was one person in charge. With him gone, who knows how many others will be ready to take his place. This is not the time to get complacent; if anything, this is when we need to be on high alert. I don't think a terrorist group will take the assassination of their leader lightly.
And just because I love to poke fun at Fox News:
My last word goes out to all the service men and women in the military and armed forces. I hope I speak for all my readers and, if I may be so presumptuous, everyone else, when I say: Thank you. Thank you for your service, your time, your blood, sweat and tears. To those who died on 9/11 and to those who knew them: I hope you are resting just a bit easier now. To our soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice: you did not die in vain, nor are you unappreciated. Our flag will fly all the higher for your efforts.