The requisite Osama bin Laden post

I really don't want this to become an exclusively political blog, so I apologize for having two political posts in a row.  Next one will be something new, I promise.  


Everyone is stating opinions about Osama bin Laden's death and I feel a little left out.  Most people are joyous, but there are the occasional dissenters who are saying things about the evils of rejoicing in someone's death.  Between those extremes, I feel left out.  Because I feel nothing.  I'm completely indifferent.  Ambivalent.  Other words that mean "I don't give a fuck."


If I knew the guy personally, I'd probably feel something.  If I knew someone who died on September 11th, I'm sure I'd feel something, although I don't know what.  I think I'd probably feel like the average person in America right now.  If this meant the wars were over, I'd be ecstatic.  If I felt safer because one guy was dead, I'd at least feel relief.  I'm not sure if I'm less safe now, due to possible retaliation, or if I'm about equally safe as before, but I really don't think I'm more safe.  There are plenty of people left who will do fucked up mass-murderous things.  


I don't want to come across like I feel sympathy for bin Laden, just in case anyone is misreading what I'm saying.  He represented so many things I find wrong in the world, like blind devotion to a contradictory belief system.  One that includes justification for killing a bunch of people (civilians, no less) over his interpretation of ancient books.  Ideas are powerful, but I like to keep mine open for refinement.  


And that's just it.  Osama bin Laden the man, he's dead.  But the idea of him, the symbol of Osama bin Laden, that's gonna be around for a long time.  The root causes of how such a symbol can survive in the present memescape, those are still here.  One of those memes is "we can kill our way out of most problems."  


So really, we are upholding part of the memeplex of bin Laden when we celebrate his death.  This isn't a problem because of a moral issue.  It's a logistics problem.  A blind spot when trying to view the world.  Blinded by our ridiculous celebration of an insignificant deviation from the statistical norm of stupid ideas.  Those stupid ideas are still sitting here, sitting next to us on the couch when we watch TV.  We shot one brain that emitted these ideas, and yet so many of them were already transmitted before the bullet destroyed it.  Now they are bouncing around in more brains than we have the ability to destroy.  


I'm really not trying to preach.  I'm not on a pulpit telling you that I find what you're doing morally repugnant.  I just feel nothing.  I kind of wish for the view that my life is somehow better now that one asshole is dead.  And yet, I don't feel it.  Instead I shrug at the rest of America, feeling like the weirdo I am, knowing that I will never feel kinship with people just because they live within the same imaginary lines I do.  

A message to the Birther Movement

Dear Birthers,

Those of us in the American public who aren't complete idiots would like to show and tell you something:

Now please kindly 

SHUT THE FUCK UP

We appreciate that you may be upset with Obama and his policies, but really?  This is your issue?  This is the equivalent of calling someone "stupid" when you can't think of a better argument.  You wanna disagree, we're ready to hear your arguments.  But this was never a real issue.  This was a chance to get that xenophobic mass of jackasses that are part of the conservative base to react.  "That guy has a funny name.  Did you know his dad was from Kenya?"  

But it's ok.  We understand that you don't know any better.  If you did, you wouldn't set up a shitty straw man instead of coming up with a real argument.  Or maybe it all ties to your elaborate conspiracy theory that Kenya has been plotting and scheming for 40 years for this chance to take over the White House.  Seems likely, now that I think about it.  

Now that we have that out of the way, we do hope you take our advice.  We're tired of ignoring your stupidity, and honestly, it just isn't funny anymore.  We giggled at first, but the joke's been played out.  Move on.

Sincerely,

Punctuated Equilibrium