Cody
Williams
My Views
Beheaded
America has been shocked to the core over the recent, very public beheadings of foreign nationals in Arab countries. These executions, brought into our living rooms after being shown over the Internet and broadcast repeatedly in the media are part of a sustained terror campaign forged by hooded or masked Islamic militants. These gruesome acts are aimed to frighten us, send good people cowering. While three of these incidents were said to be retribution for the Abu Griab mistreatment of political prisoners, one of them, the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl took place prior to the report of any US military misdeeds. The recent beheadings were just vigilante fanaticism looking for a justification. Had Abu Griab not happened those extremist would have found different blame.
Judging by media attention these types of murders generate more reactions and disgust than other killings taking place in terrorism’s war. Almost 1000 Americans have died since our wars began in the Mid-East. Only the three deaths where the victims were beheaded warranted comments by the President and public outrage. (Why is that?) We ask ourselves how these militants can be so barbaric as to do something like cut off someone's head. We are appalled that they would broadcast such brutality for the entire world to see, yet our media censors the most gruesome of details: The wielding of the knife, snatching of the hair, the plaintiff screams for mercy, the slice, the blood, the depraved display of the severed trophy. Those who produce our media assume war, terror and brutality for Americans need to be watered down for us to digest.
What most Americans don’t realize is that to many people in Arab countries witnessing these types of atrocities are commonplace. Saudi Arabia is second only to the United States in exacting the death penalty. Heads are lobbed off and roll there almost weekly. Often these executions are carried out in public view in a community square or athletic stadium. We in America deemed lethal injections as being more humane for state sanctioned executions, and feel it should be witnessed by only a small number of people, medical personnel, and of course a media representative to again recounts the event for the public, right down to its minor details: “His eyes searched the room for his mother. He gazed at her then closed them. He exhaled deeply then took a deep breath and exhaled for the last time.”
One hundred years ago we hung those condemned here to die in full view of public. In the South the executions of black men were often the main attractions at community picnics slash pep rallies. They too were conducted by masked or hooded barbarians. Acts of unjustified cruelty shame even its perpetrators. Fifty years ago we electrocuted the criminal recalcitrant.
Beheadings, condoned in the holy Koran, have taken place in Arabia for centuries. Despite George Bush’s desire to “Westernize” that troubled region of the world these acts of “barbarism” will likely continue well after the American occupation is over. (The word itself is derived from The Berbers, a viciously combative Arabian tribe who didn't adhere to western concepts of civilized behavior.) Iraq’s new Minister of Defense has already threaten to “cut off the hands and behead” those insurgents the US military has been fighting there for months. Ironically, one reason for waging this war was to end state sanctioned brutality in Iraq. Deposing Saddam Hussein is no more likely to bring a Western style democracy there soon as it will bring equal rights for shrouded Islamic women, freedom from religious tyranny or true minority rights for the Kurds, an oppressed group living in Northern Iraq, nor any more than defeating Bush in our national elections is going to end the death penalty in Texas. That state, once governed by George W. Bush, leads our nation in death penalty executions. These acts of society sanctioned inhumanity are just too engrained in the true hearts, minds, and more importantly the religions of those who condone them.
I worked on the 97th floor of the World Trade Center and lost at least 20 personal friends and hundreds of coworkers in the attacks of 9/11. My first wish was for retribution. Initially my reaction was a call for us to carpet bomb Afghanistan along with Al Qaeda whom it harbored. Kill anyone who would commit such a crime I though.
I have since come to realize that our enemies, religious zealotry and political tyranny are not confined to Islam. I’ve learned that killing only begat killing. I’ve seen that taking out those who we consider our enemies only produces martyrs. Martyrdom breeds followers and these followers are quick to demonstrate barbarism in the name of what they think is right, in the name of their god, just as those on our side are quick to take them out in the name of our God.
War is ugly and religious zealotry threatens the life, safety and freedoms of us all. Oddly, after witnessing these very public massacres and the US justification for retaliation I have become a pacifist. I join those who demand an end to the killings on both sides. I join those who champion human rights for all of us. I join the majority of mankind in middle, good people, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus and non-believer alike who have always watched the extremists on either side drag the world into the hell they hope to avoid. I join those of us in the middle who refuse to run cowering, frightened by these gruesome acts of depraved indifference towards decency and human life, those of us who bravely and simply declare, stop killing, stop the insanity.
(c) copyright 2004 Cody Williams
Send Feedback
Send Feedback