Monday, May 09, 2011

How do we respond to the death of OBL?

The day after the assassination of Osama bin Laden, I was surprised and saddened to see just how many people not only took no joy in the news - but actually took it upon themselves to condemn anyone who viewed his death as good news. Some were simply killjoys - people who took great pleasure in robbing others of happiness - but some were truly thoughtful people struggling with the situation. Religious leaders were equally split this weekend, as they tried to teach their congregants how to react to death of this mass-murderer.

My own read is simple. It is appropriate to rejoice in justice done - especially for those of us in the NYC area who were closest to 9/11 and knew those who died. But it is also appropriate to mourn at the necessity of killing, and at the fact that he will now never have a chance to repent.

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