Happiness in all the Wrong Places

The news is out and Osama bin Laden has finally passed away. I couldn't help but notice the extreme amount of negativity towards this event. Yahoo seemed to be flaunting articles around on their web page. My Facebook newsfeed was nearly plastered from head to toe with status' such as the following:

"Yes! He's finally dead!"

"Fuck Osama. I hope he burns in hell!"

"Osama bin Laden is dead! This is the best birthday present anyone could ever give me! :)"

"Toasting to all those who killed him."

"Suck dick, Osama!"

~+~

This upset me. Now, I understand that this man was in no way considered a good human being. I understand that he murdered, fed negativity into the minds of helpless children, and spearheaded terrorists attacks. Because of his actions, I can understand why people can gather so much hatred for him.

But let us clear our minds for a second. Let us take a step back and look at this with a broader perspective. Let us replace the names in the above quotes with the name of a loved one we know. What if on your newsfeed, someone posted that same exact status with the name of your significant other, your mom or dad, your best friend, or perhaps even yourself. How would that feel? How would your friends feel?

You have just put yourself in the shoes of people who may have loved or admired Osama bin Laden. To you, he may have been some psychotic terrorist with a larger than life vendetta. But to his wife, kids, cousins, siblings, he may have been loved, just the way you are loved as we speak.

With a statement like this, it is not to say I am un-American or that I am in favor of the doings of Osama. In no way do I mean to portray that message. The statement I am trying to get across is that in no way should another human being's death be celebrated so wildly. Was Osama a human being? Yes. Are you a human being? Yes. Should your death cause millions of people across the globe to be jumping up out of their seats and popping champagne bottles? No. Should his? No. We are, in a sense, all equal. Therefore we should all treat each other, in a sense, equally. We should all treat each other with respect. People should have been slightly more respectful of this event and empathized with the opposite party.

I guess the moment I hear the word death, I think of my dad. Osama's death triggered something in me and made me realize how wrong it was for people to be joyous in this occasion. I pictured my dad's funeral in my head and replaced all the mourners with party-goers. It made me upset. Had people arrived to my dad's funeral in a joyous mood, mocking his death and celebrating over his coffin, I would have had to get my hands messy.

As sincere as I can be, I'd like to extend words of remorse to those who lost a leader yesterday. All politics and religion aside, Osama bin Laden was a human being whose death should have been laid to rest in a more peaceful manner.

When mankind laughs and commemorates the death of another, you know the world has turned chaotic. Death should not be praised.