Murdered


I just heard on the news that Johnson has been beheaded. While I, and I think everyone, knew this would happed, I am devasted.

Comments

  • 23 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • From numerous Americans jumping to their deaths from the tops of the WTC buildings to the beheadings, the war on terror is brutal.

  • Hadn't heard this yet. I wonder how long it will take before our moral indignation over these atrocities will begin to abate? As a kid I can remember reports of atrocities in Vietnam served on the morning news along with my cornflakes and the listing of American KIA inside the front page.

    Too bad they couldn't find him before the execution and free him. However, I do agree with the Saudis - regardless of the circumstances, never negotiate with these people. Period.
  • The man was captured and beheaded by Saudis.
  • I was referring to the Saudi government - not the Saudi Al-Qaeda
  • But, will the moral outrage in our media and the world theater be as vehement as it was with our treatment of Iraqi prisoners? The Americans are horrible people because of the prison abuse, but these Saudi terrorists are mere freedom fighters after this murder.
  • No, the outrage won't be there over the beheading because many in the world believe these terrorists to be exercising a moral imperative and acting within the scope of what they perceive to be just according to their beliefs. However America, on the other hand, has no moral imperative to mistreat EPWs - and we should know better. So we automatically end up feeling the brunt of the world's negative opinion.
  • >No, the outrage won't be there over the
    >beheading because many in the world believe
    >these terrorists to be exercising a moral
    >imperative and acting within the scope of what
    >they perceive to be just according to their
    >beliefs.

    In your sentence above, change the word 'world' to the letters 'U.S.'. That's precisely the opinion of the Michael Moore's of the country and half the left.


  • Oh, that hurt, Don!

    Comparing me to the vitriolic, sputtering, holier-than-thou, cantankerous, self-important, jerk Michael Moore is a real blow below the belt! I hate that guy!
  • [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-18-04 AT 03:01PM (CST)[/font][br][br]Yes Beagle, we should have known better. But all civilized societies should put these terrorist acts into perspective and speak out loud and clear denouncing them and the perpetrators. If we gloss over these killings, then we give tacit approval to the killers. The Michael Moore's of the world become justified in their delusions that America is the bad guy and Osama is the good guy.

    Edit:
    No Beag, I don't equate you with Michael Moore, but his philosophies are gaining way too much acceptance. Look at the French, they idolize him.
  • [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-18-04 AT 03:10PM (CST)[/font][br][br]>No Beag, I don't equate you with Michael Moore,
    >but his philosophies are gaining way too much
    >acceptance. Look at the French, they idolize
    >him.

    They idolize Jerry Lewis, too. So much for taste. x;-)

    I agree with your points, Ray. No question. But I'm tellin' you, at some point, Americans are going to become just as jaded over American hostages being executed and American soldiers being killed as we did during Vietnam, or, more recently, in just the same fashion as we became jaded over kids dying on the streets of our inner cities in driveby shootings and gang violence.

    Americans have notoriously short attention spans and little patience for too much pain and suffering. At some point, they tune out and reach for the Haagen Dazs and the remote.

  • Yes, and our short attention spans and low pain tolerance are the chinks in our armor that these extremists will exploit.
  • If we're fools enough to allow it to happen, we've no one to blame but ourselves.

    I just realized I'm being VERY cynical today, for some reason.
  • Since you are a fence straddler, you are obviously leaning to the left today. x;-)
  • Geez, I don't know which is worse - being compared to Michael Moore or being accused of being a fence-straddler!

    I'll have you know, Raymond, that I have very strong, unshakeable convictions about most things except those that I am flexible about. x;-)
  • Note that I did not compare YOU to Michael Moore. I made a statement about him and associated 'half the left' with his opinions of America. If you are in that half, then you place yourself there. I did not. I don't have an opinion as to which half you might be in. x:-)
  • Fence straddler because sometimes you are to the left of center, sometimes to the right. didn' t mean it to sound like a personal attack, as I'm sure you know. x;-)
  • >Americans have notoriously short attention spans and little patience for too much pain and suffering. At some point, they tune out and reach for the Haagen Dazs and the remote.>

    Though I can't afford (physically or monitarily) to be eating Haagen Dazs and I couldn't find the remote anyway, I watch very little TV. I choose not to BECAUSE of all the killing, bombing and shameful acts that are being pushed in our faces every single day and night. It's not that I don't care, I truly do, but it's getting to be too much for me. All I can do is hope and pray someone comes up with a bright idea soon of how to end it all.
  • I was running late after an errand during lunch and pulled into the drive through at the local bbq joint. After I gave my order to the pig head on the outside menu I pulled forward to wait my turn to pay. It was that precise moment the radio interrupted with the news of Johnson's murder.

    I broke into tears. I did not know Johnson or any of his family members (though his son lives in my old neighborhood). But I work for a government contractor and maybe that's why I feel such a bond with the private employees working for contractors in the Middle East. I know they aren't forced to go work there, but most go out of the same sense of loyalty to their country as our servicemen and women, pride in what the US is doing, and drive to do the right thing.

    If my company had a contract over there I don't know if I could sleep at night. How do you tell a wife that her husband (or vice versa) has been kidnapped/tortured/murdered by terrorists?!?! I know it's usually the government that gets that job, even for private citizens, but still, it's not something I want to have to think about.


  • I just hope that everyone in America realizes this is truly a war and the choice is us or them. There is no gray, in my humble opinion, in that statement.

    I know, for me, Friday night was sleepless as I faced the reality of what we all knew would happen to Mr. Johnson. It is unimaginable that there are beasts like the ones who do this, but they are there and and there are very many of them.

    Good, bad, or indifferent, we as Americans need to realize and make a choice in this war, we stop them over there, or we stop them within our borders as they behead us, our children, our friends, etc. right here in America.

    I know which choice I prefer.
  • I'll bump this one back to the top in memory and honor of the South Korean who today was beheaded by these wild animals.
  • Thank you Don. It saddens me that is will not end. I feel like I was back in Vietnam.
  • This morning's paper had his picture on the front page. It quoted him as saying, "Help me, I don't want to die." Heartwrenching....
  • And what is interesting is that in response the South Korean government decided to send an additional 3000 troops making them the largest group behind the British.
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