How Could We Learn From Bin Laden’s Death?
It seems that anytime a prominent figure in society or the world dies these days, I read about it on Facebook first. I can understand thousands of people mourning the loss of an individual, and in many cases people do. Many times it’s a rock star, or a celebrity whose death people mourn; Princess Di and Michael Jackson come to mind. However, what is the significance behind people reveling in someone’s death?
The disclosure about Bin Laden’s death was on my newsfeed; the first time I’d seen it. Many of my usually loving, happy Facebook friends stated how happy they were about his death – and openly cheered – about Bin Laden’s death. They actually cussed when they typed out their feelings about him. Most of my News Feed for that whole day consisted of this kind of response. I looked on as a few people spoke up to say that the death of a human, any human, is not an occasion to celebrate – which incited some pretty passionate responses in return.
I would have partied with them a short time ago. After all, the bad man was captured, right? It was justified, don’t you think?
I feel very differently about this now. Once I began taking some new classes, I’ve been feeling more sympathetic towards people. Keith Raniere’s organization, NXIVM, has helped me evaluate what it means to be human and now I can’t help but wonder: if I relish at the execution of another person (no matter how bad that person was), what does it say about how I view myself and other people?
Could there be other ways to think about the subject? Let’s say that Bin Laden was as vicious as people say he was. He most likely hurt and murdered many people. Perhaps the more appropriate answer is to reflect on what it means that in our day and age this kind of thing is still prevalent. How are we each accountable for what has happened? Does one violent act merit another one?
Killing a person is murder no matter how you look at it. I can’t help but think, if we as a society celebrate the death of another person, no matter how BAD that person was, what does it say about how we view our own humanity?
If you are curious to find out more visit Keith Raniere. An alternate link for this is Nxivm.