Giuliani’s vengeful statement only an opinion
By John Shim
Oct. 1, 2002 9:00 p.m.
Bin Laden had attacked my city, and as its mayor I had the
strong feeling that I was the most appropriate person to (execute
bin Laden),” wrote former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in his
book.
That statement seems a little too pat for my tastes. Think
carefully on the matter, reader. I’m not saying Giuliani
shouldn’t make a statement with such finality; I just believe
there are others out there who have a greater prerogative to the
title of would-be executioner.
For instance, if Giuliani asserts such a paternal claim, saying
it was “his city” that was attacked, who better to mete
out swift and terrible judgment than the president of the United
States? Technically, it’s as much “his country”
as it is Giuliani’s city, and as a symbol of national unity I
can only surmise the slow death of bin Laden at the hands of our
chief executive would make for a more suitable arrangement.
And to my knowledge, Giuliani had no relatives that died on
Sept. 11, 2001. I saw a program on 20/20, which made me empathize
deeply for the victims of Sept. 11. (I usually abhor 20/20 for its
one-sided and sensationalistic muck-raking tendencies, but
thankfully the producers showed some grace in telling this
story.)
The program presented a woman who had lost three generations of
family members in the attack. Her grandparents were visiting the
Towers to see her father and her husband, who both worked as
brokers in a trading firm, on the day of the attacks. One of her
cousins, a FDNY firefighter also died in the ensuing collapse of
the tower. To top it off, she was six months pregnant with her
third child.
One could easily see this scenario and brush it off as a maudlin
plotline from a soap opera if it were not actually true. Common
sense, and a certain “eye for an eye” mentality
dictates this woman, along with the thousands who lost their loved
ones in the planes or the towers, have more incentive than Rudy
Giuliani to personally bring an end to Osama bin Laden.
I think Giuliani’s heart was definitely in the right place
when he spoke, but I don’t feel his statement merits actual
consideration. The same goes for Dr. Dre and his upcoming song
entitled “Kill bin Laden” (why do I get the feeling
he’s going to rhyme Osama with “˜yo mama’?).
Giuliani and Dre are expressing opinions.
There’s no law saying we should honor them; whether this
statement is right or wrong is a moot point. Giuliani’s
statement of his desire to play executioner may have been
inflammatory and controversial, but no one should hold it against
him, as he has the right to say what he said, just not the right to
actually do it.
To human rights activists, anti-war doves and those peacenik
reactionaries that deny people the right to threaten and pledge
retribution, please see the aforementioned e-mail to direct all of
your spite-filled invectives at this author.
If it were up to me, and Osama bin Laden was captured alive,
I’d let everyone have a crack at him. Or I’d go back to
that “eye for an eye” adage and strap him into one of
those dumpy jets rotting away in a plane graveyard, and crash it
into an al-Qaeda hideout.
This is only my humble suggestion, but it comforts me to know I
stand in esteemed company when I make my violent stand.
