tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post187771673527096813..comments2024-03-18T22:21:33.261-07:00Comments on The Debate Link: The Great ExhaleDavid Schraubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946653376744012423noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-24622326577565327912011-05-03T07:21:06.553-07:002011-05-03T07:21:06.553-07:00I'll start by noting that I was the guy who wr...I'll start by noting that I was the guy who wrote the World Cup unseemliness comment. I think chanting "USA! USA!" is substantively equivalent to PG's comment about setting off fireworks. I understand the desire to see justice done, but it is a somber justice, if we can really call it justice at all.<br /><br />The comparison to V-J day, as I generally referred to in my <a href="http://www.coffeehousetalks.com/2011/05/cheering-for-death-and-other-reactions.html" rel="nofollow">post</a>, is really quite off base. There, as PG said, a war ended - there is cause to celebrate. This was an execution. (I don't mean legally - no due process, but we're at war, blah blah.) That we would celebrate this execution in the streets is precisely why we still have the death penalty in this country.<br /><br />I would high five someone about catching a serial killer on the loose more than this, because catching the serial killer <i>stops</i> the murder. This is nothing but symbolic death, and it's not even being claimed as more.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17986536672148560528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-18111664838476518492011-05-03T04:50:56.897-07:002011-05-03T04:50:56.897-07:00And I can certainly imagine a big celebration if w...<i>And I can certainly imagine a big celebration if we had caught a mass murder who was terrorizing a community. It's cathartic.</i><br /><br />Having been living in the DC area when they *did* catch two mass murderers who'd been terrorizing the community, I can't say I remember any big celebrations of the type that happened Sunday night (http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/mis/2357469103.html). As I recall, it was mostly just a huge sense of relief that we no longer were entering and exiting doorways at a zigzag and having to sit in our cars while getting gas.PGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09381347581328622706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-22871537615384835032011-05-02T18:38:31.490-07:002011-05-02T18:38:31.490-07:00I did pause to marvel at the incongruity of it. OB...I did pause to marvel at the incongruity of it. OBL's death apparently did bring everyone together (and isn't that a cause for celebration?).David Schraubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04946653376744012423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-49665031417247234992011-05-02T18:31:28.884-07:002011-05-02T18:31:28.884-07:00Yeah, but we *didn't* capture him instead of k...Yeah, but we *didn't* capture him instead of killing him, which is the difference between jubilation and bloodlust when both eventualities elicit the same response. And, face it, David: when PG and I actually agree on something, it's worth taking a second look at how thunderously right it must be.Esquivernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-23626940851325332292011-05-02T16:46:46.793-07:002011-05-02T16:46:46.793-07:00I think the sense of accomplishment is greater wit...I think the sense of accomplishment is greater with respect to Bin Laden, who had eluded us for so long. The celebration isn't about the death per se, it's about the victory -- if we had captured him instead of killing him, I expect the celebration would have been very similar. And I can certainly imagine a big celebration if we had caught a mass murder who was terrorizing a community. It's cathartic.David Schraubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04946653376744012423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-39276519263363013992011-05-02T15:50:05.834-07:002011-05-02T15:50:05.834-07:00Similar to Esquiver's point, would you really ...Similar to Esquiver's point, would you really find it entirely seemly and appropriate for the families who attend the executions of the convicted criminals who murdered their loved ones, once they've left the execution chamber, to be shouting "Woo hoo!" and setting off fireworks? Obviously if they approve of the death penalty, they should be glad this justice was done, but it's not like Our Team won one against Their Team.<br /><br />V-J Day celebrated the end of a war. Not to sound like the morons (or at least talking heads who believe their audience members are morons) on the news, but bin Laden's death does not end any war. We'll stay on the same schedule for withdrawing from Iraq. Afghanistan has no end in sight. We're part of a NATO operation in Libya that no one's even tried to justify by connecting to al Qaeda. The boys and girls aren't coming home.PGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09381347581328622706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-66427513684116903112011-05-02T13:11:30.401-07:002011-05-02T13:11:30.401-07:00If ending his activities turns out to be more than...If ending his activities turns out to be more than symbolic, which I'm questioning, then of course I'm happy, but I'm finding it disquieting to have so much celebration of death. Seems a short slide from here to public executions and related forms of entertainment.Esquivernoreply@blogger.com