As I'm sitting here on my lunch break, eating a hot pocket and whittling down my enamel with soda pop (notice the region-neutral phrasing), I thought I'd mention a moral debate I had last night with some of the Germans folks I know. It was a nice night on a restaurant terrace, and the topic turned to the recent killing of Osama bin Laden. They were up in arms about German Chancellor and pant-suit enthusiast Angela Merkel's statement that she was happy about Osama bin Laden's death. I thought: "You tell it sister! Testify! [insert clapping sound here]" Apparently some CRAZY people have the idea that rejoicing in another person's death is morbid and macabre. Not me. I say if I found Osama bin Laden in my kitchen, trying to steal my high-fiber food products, I'd have every right as a native-born Texan to do the same. With a shotgun.
Then the debate began. Normally I try to avoid debates, but sometimes I just can't help myself. I think that I am right 95.86% of the time (sometimes I'm gassy or have to pee, which affects my judgment). Plus, it was three on one, and my little man instincts were awoken (at 5' 8 1/4", they mostly slumber). I mean, this was the guy that killed 3,000 Americans on September 11. And he was trying to kill more. So why not shoot the guy?
Their argument, which they tag-teamed: You should always give someone a trial, even if they are a murderer. We live in a land of laws, and we shouldn't lower ourselves to their level. If he was unarmed, why not arrest him?
My response: We don't really know all the details, so we can't really judge. Even if it was somewhat questionable to kill him (which I don't think it was), I think it's OK to be happy that the jerk is dead. I mean, do we need to put him on trial to find out that he (gasp) organized 9/11? And had I been alive in 1945, I'd have been OK with a certain Austrian's untimely end. And one bit, which I didn't mention, is that I'm proud of our servicemen and women who risked their lives in this operation. They were real heroes in this story.
I don't think that my arguments were that persuasive or even that cogent. Given that the debate was in German and my statements went something like: "Osama bin Storeshop is been very bad man who go to Hades on techno subway. I like rejoice when bad people have ending good for us," Who is to blame my debate partners? I mean, I could have been wrong, too. I had three soda pops and a water, so I really had to wee.
Obligatory patriotic copyright-free picture of our 20th President, James A Garfield:
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
when we start a band, we're totally naming it "hades on techno subway."
also, i agree with you.
Im sure that if we had found him in a hole in the ground by himself (**cough**saddam**cough**) we would have taken him peacefully. but he was in a bunker full of guns. and they used said guns with the promise of more guns. really, the police do the same thing. if they are trying to arrest someone and that someone starts shooting them, the police will shoot back. so i guess the real question is: who shot first? my guess is that like the revolutionary war and the tootsie pop, the world may never know...
Like I story debating. Osama bad man and make for many no livings. We go together discotheque and rejoice.
I work for a local MPO and stumbled upon your blog. Will you be breaking down some PEMS data soon?
Post a Comment