When I'm surprised, I get silent. So today when my next-desk neighbor at work downloaded and showed the team the Nick Berg video, I don't think I spoke to anybody again until I left at 5:30.
That was somebody's baby boy.
He was probably a lot like my adventurous friend Ryan, globe-trotting to keep radio stations on the air the world over. I envision him as a laid-back, helpful kid. But it's not my place to speculate what kind of person he was or what kind of terrorists they were, for my dad told me long ago, even bad guys have mommies.
Hug somebody.
I hadn't even heard of that until I read your post. Videotaping the beheading of some guy you don't know is one thing. Not bothering to even do it properly, and opting to just use a big knife while the guy struggles... that is a whole 'nuther level of evil.
If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's to ALWAYS assume there's more to the story than meets the eye.
Why was he there? He wasn't a soldier, nor was he a contractor nor brought over from the U.S. by a contractor. His family begged him not to go.
I find myself asking all sorts of questions - mostly questions which to I have no answers.
Are they terrorists if they're in their own country and fighting for what they think is best for their country? I'm NOT defending their unthinkable actions... just trying to understand. If a foreign power invaded the U.S. to rid the world of Dubya, and somebody from Georgia captured one of theirs and killed him, would the Georgian be a terrorist? That may sound crazy - but much of the world views Bush as more of a foe than a friend.
It's a scary world out there, which really makes me that much more thankful for everything I have here. I just wish we spent our billions building bridges rather than bombing them. We need friends in the middle east rather than enemies. This war has created more terrorists than existed previously. That's all scary stuff.
...sigh...
Generations of mommies will need more than hugs if things don't change.
...sigh again...
I myself doubt the video. I don't doubt that the man is dead, but the whole thing is incredibly suspect.
Ok, ok, I thought there would be more blood. The head bleeds more than that. And if you don't wanna hug anybody else, then hug me!!!