In the aftermath of Osama bin Laden's death

~Us and Them~

This is the first in a series of blogs that have written on the death of Osama Bin Laden and the effect that his death might have on the west, the global jihad and the rest of the world.

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The news of Osama Bin Laden's death has dominated the headlines over the past few days, spurring a wave of mindless celebration that spread across the United States and across the world. On Sunday night, thousands of people joined the crowds outside the White House, waving their flags and chanting "USA, USA," whilst praying for positive confirmation that this man had been killed.

Has society really reached the point where it is actively encouraged to celebrate murder? This man wasn't even given the chance to have a fair trial and we stand by and rejoice his death.

It can be argued that he was the face of evil and that he deserved it - but surely this is exactly the same justification that goes through a terrorist's mind moments before blowing up a building.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter how evil a man is perceived to be, he is still a man and should be treated as one. This unalienable Right of equality is one of the pillars of western society, yet we incessantly alienate people from this right with our 'us' and 'them' mentality.

We think it's different because 'they' (the terrorists) kill people in the name of god or the greater good and therefore they have no basic human rights like the right to a fair trial. Newsflash! America and the west kill people in the name of god and the greater good too. If i remember correctly, in 2003 George Bush claimed that he was "told by God to invade Iraq and attack Osama bin Laden's stronghold in Afghanistan as part of a divine mission to bring peace to the Middle East, security for Israel, and a state for the Palestinians." In addition to this you could argue that all of the measures that we take to protect the international society are measures for the greater good and yes, in protecting the international society, we do kill innocent people in the process - just like 'they' do.

I am not saying that Osama Bin Laden should not have payed for any crimes he may have committed, I am simply saying that he deserves a trial and has a right to one just as much as much as we do.

Killing a man and rejoicing his death does not restore justice to the world, it just makes us hypocrites. Ultimately this "us" and "them" mentality that we live our lives behind has caused us, as a society, to live in the path of ignorance and hypocrisy. This war on terror is a war of justice, and if we don't play by the rules then we may as well call ourselves the terrorists because there is no longer a distinction.