I’m not entirely sure how I feel about bin Laden’s death.
His death is really only a symbolic one. He stopped being a person ten years ago, and became the symbol of 9/11 and terrorism, and he’s been ducking and running ever since. So his demise has no real impact (from a organizational perspective) on the war on terrorism. It’s another Monday for terrorists. They’re probably just a little more grumpy than usual.
So I mainly hope that this symbolic death will bring closure to people who need to feel some measure of justice. Because I think there are a lot of people out there who needed this to heal wounds almost a decade old by now. I hope that fact that he’s gone gives a measure of comfort.
It doesn’t for me really. I don’t much care for symbols. Or rather, I don’t much care for people as symbols because that gives them a measure of power that they don’t deserve. I prefer to keep them on a more even playing field. So for me, Osama bin Laden was an asshole who served absolutely no useful purpose on this earth. I’m not glad he’s dead, because he’s not even worth that much energy.