Discomfort

Originally Written May 1

Hey Kids,

So today is probably a day that will be remembered in history somewhat. Osama bin Laden was killed. His name, to you, is probably nothing more than a line a history book. I’ll be honest. To me he wasn’t much more. Not that he was in a textbook to me; instead he was a headline on a newsreel, print in a newspaper. Osama was the leader of Al Qaeda, the group that attacked the World Trade Center in 2001. I don’t know how old you guys are now, but I was 9 when that happened. We watched it in class—I was lucky enough to have a liberal teacher who didn’t want her students to be left in the dark during a national crisis. I went home and wrote about it in my diary. I don’t have those pages anymore (I ripped them out for reasons that will be discussed in a later letter) but I wish I didn’t.

Anyway, today after the news broke out that he was killed the reactions broke loose. It’s understandable; this is a big event, especially for those who lost family members to the 9/11 attacks. I’m in my room at Yale right now, and as I walked back to my dorm at one in the morning I could hear the raucous shouts of a group of students celebrating. They had vuvuzuelas, and beer and some were smoking and they sang the national anthem and God Bless America, and chanted “America Fuck Yeah.” But some of them also screamed “Fuck Al Qaeda” and made racist comments concerning “brownies” and “hit a Paki day.”

I felt uneasy during this display of emotion. They were celebrating the death of a human being. While he did kill over 3,000 people, I still do not believe that I have the moral right to justify that he is dead. Am I upset that he is dead? Of course not. However, I do not think it is appropriate to commemorate his death on a public campus. Support for America? That I approve of. But this went beyond that. Had they celebrated this as the end of an era, the start to the end of the war or a new beginning, I would feel calmer. But this display of antagonism makes me concerned that the hate that began this war is only breeding in the very ground that seeks to eradicate it.

Yale is a prestigious university. We are supposed to have brilliant students, the future minds of the world. But seeing students act this way, so carelessly, clearly unperturbed by the way their actions may be affecting others, especially international students who have not had the same experience with bin Laden as we have, reminds me that even we are rash, that even we can succumb to mob mentality. 

I made a Facebook post (do you even have Facebook anymore? It was the pinnacle of my generation) and it caused quite a stir. My voice was dissenting. But I am glad I posted. Honest discussion occurred and though it caused rifts in relationships, it opened my eyes, and I hope it opened the eyes of others. I’ll post the conversation here, so you can understand. Note however, that there is some personal conflict between Nick and Larissa, that I may or may not remember by the time you read this. I’m also posting my roommate’s note because I think it is succinct and brilliant. 

If you are ever in a situation such as this, where you are concerned about what the majority is doing, don’t be afraid to speak up. It is your duty. If something feels wrong to you it probably is. If you are unsure, talk about it anyway. Good discussion leads to constant reevaluation, which leads to progress.

It’s ben a few hours now, and I may write more about this later after I’ve thought it over more.

Love you,

Giu