Death Becomes Us

Last night I met some people at the Puerto Rican by my house. I had spent part of the afternoon creating a birthday card for a friend, a hot pink cut-out of a panda pasted on card stock. It turned out beautifully. I wrote "Happy Birthday" around the pink panda and a personal note inside. I tucked it in my little purse and headed to the restaurant to eat fried catfish and drink mojitos for my friend's brithday, and then proceed to a local pub for a rocking Open Mic night.

At one point, after eating the divine pez gato, I got up to go to the bathroom...which was just past the bar. Returning, twin flat screens divulged the news: Osama Bin Laden is dead. I return to the table, before sitting, and announce it to the table. "So... Osama Bin Laden is dead."

Everyone pulls out their smart phones-- I Phones, Androids, etc. "But it hasn't come up on my breaking news alert. Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Just saw Obama talking about it."

We discuss this matter briefly. People keep asking me if I'm sure. Finally, the breaking news alerts beep on their phones. Oh wow.

We are walking to the pub. There are singer-songwriters showcasing their wares. There are photos of Osama on the tv, Obama speaking. It's on closed captioning. Everyone else is talking about everything else.

Then we all see the footage of people celebrating at the capitol. Celebrating at Ground Zero-- all alight. It's like Mardi Gras. It's horrifying to witness. Hundreds of Thousands of people drinking vodka, miller high life, totally wasted...beads and cheering. How garish. How disturbing.

We talk about this briefly, too.

I can't stop turning around to watch the news. I feel bad for not feeling celebratory. It's my friend's birthday. He has gotten older. He exists, and I'm glad of that.

But I leave, early. I go home and read the news. I wake up and stream the news. I am in shock. I see facebook. Some people are celebrating a death. Some people are questioning this type of celebration.

I see these missives:

"Even in victory there is no beauty, and who boasts of victory is one who delights in slaughter. Who delights in slaughter will not succeed in unifying nations." -Lao Tzu

"I have told my sons that they are not under any circumstances to take part in massacres, and that the news of massacres of enemies is not to fill them with satisfaction or glee." - Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-5

After witnessing so much joy in slaughter after Bin Laden's death, I was glad to see some people echo my own concerns. I take no delight in another man's death, no matter the atrocities he committed.

I'm not sure if the right decision, when faced with the realities of the world, is to go home and face them alone, in your living room, reading the news. Or to stay out, with friends, and drink and celebrate what is good in life. Friends, music, life. But for now, I'm reading the news. Writing this post. And looking forward to my evening, where I'll sit with a friend, drink tea, and laugh.