Special message on the death of Osama Bin Laden
In several facebook posts, I wrote, I joined my fellow Americans in the enjoyment of the death of the most infamous financier and proliferator of global terrorism. Here they are below:
I normally dont get excited over jingoism, but this man gave me nightmares for years. I still remember the rancid smell of lower Manhattan after the towers collapsed and almost being trampled by people running for their lives. This may not erase the violent images and the years of depression, but this at least gives me a sense of justice. And thats something that cant be taken away!
I normally dont enjoy the death of others, but I hope Osama Bin Laden is burning in the fiery depths of hell for the lives he ruined.
I had some time to think about it, and while I cannot chastise those who praised the death of this savage man (nor can I condemn the death of this savage man either), I cannot condone my actions in celebrating his death. The notion of revenge is not a means for comfort, but a narcotic emotion that damages the soul from within. I do feel with no regret that he did deserve to die in that manner, at the same time, we as a society have to understand that death is nothing to celebrate. Even though Osama Bin Laden will have to answer for his sins before the all mighty, we as humans need to learn from his sins and the sins of his followers and not follow in their actions of celebrating and perpetuating savagery. The negative energy we put out in the universe will only manifest in more negative energy, just as the negative energy he put into the universe came and harmed him and his family in the end.
Also, I do not criticize those who did celebrate his death. I understand the complexity of emotions, and we are all entitled to our own reactions.
-Alshawn Jabari Rushing
Over the starlit rooftops, in Iran,
echoes the agonized voice
of those who only want
to say something.
Not the litany of the muezzins
and their monotonous prayers,
asking no questions, insisting on the same answers.
It's the green song tearing
off the black cloth of the ayatollahs
as if from high above the houses
it would be possible to anticipate
the birth of light
that bloodies the dawn.
An amazing soprano, Aaliyah was born in Brooklyn, New York to Diane and Michael Haughton. Her parents fostered her desire to sing, and enrolled her in various programs and talent searches; including an appearance on Star Search in 1988. She signed her first record deal at the age of twelve, and two years later she released her first album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United States. She would go on to release two more albums, star in two films and won twelve awards; including the 2000 Best Female Artist award for her song “Try Again.”
Her career was cut short in August of 2001, when she died in a tragic plane crash with eight other people after filming a video in The Bahamas. Despite her short career, she is still considered one of the best recording artists of the 1990s, and one of the top R&B artists of our time. I personally consider it an honor to have enjoyed her beautiful voice throughout my youth.
