Originally written on May 2nd at the time of Bin Laden's death, this was intended to be a post about reactions for that one evening, but due to time constraints to conclude this post, I decided to wait and instead follow-up on news and reactions for the rest of the week. As always, waiting on these things is never a good idea...
I don't feel like posting another status about it on Facebook. It's gotten old very quickly by almost everyone on my Friends List. Power of the Internet for ya.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, in my room, as my mother was watching a crime show on CBS, and the special report tune I'm familiar with quickly rushes to my head. I know that tune. Something big just happened, I immediately fly to the stairs and glare at the TV set.
"CBS SPECIAL REPORT - President Barrack Obama..." come on, what is it. Has he been killed? Has someone in the Cabinet has been killed? Why do I think about death?... "statement in White House"... 1030PM EST..." alright, this is something big. Wait a few minutes, I walk back to my room. It's been some 20 minutes now, what's going-
"Hunt for Bin Laden...", says my father downstairs as, I assume, he reads the TV statement. Oh, Jesus...
Jesus...
Some minutes later, the CBS Special Report interrupts the station again. I rush back downstairs, I see Russ Mitchell about to talk in a low-lite CBS headquarters. He looks aged, tired... "CBS SPECIAL REPORT" "OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD". Oh, Jesus... 10 years... oh, Jesus... my mind rushes like crazy. Like a blitz. What does this mean? Is he really dead? What is going to happen? What will happen? Will they show a confirmation image? Will the country be in a patriotic uproar? Is he haunting our countries now? What does this mean? Where's the speech? What will he say? What's gonna happen to al-Qaeda? What does this all mean for us? Who will interrupt class about it tomorrow? What does this all mean?...
All the news broadcast is showing is footage of Bin Laden from years past. That sonofabitch. Is dead. My parents prepare for bed, leaving me alone with this laptop, a light in my room, and the TV and sound system on. Russ Mitchell repeating his news statement over and over, "That Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist group, al-Qaeda, is dead... body in U.S. custody..." The TV goes back to the crime show, and it remains like that for the next few minutes 'til our local news at 11pm. It seems so quiet and normal from the TV set, but I can feel the rush of it all. There's a panic in the news stations. Like a bunch of Walter Cronkites pulling together after the assassination of JFK. This was big, even if some of us do not know it yet.
I stayed upstairs, and looked at repetitive status updates, what other friends were making of this all... and the local news is on, and it's pretty obvious the news anchor was not prepared for this. She stuttered, lost track of her words, trying to tell the people of local Augusta about the situation... if there was a situation; the bitch is dead... the cleanup from the tornado outbreak, the weather forecast, news about NASA, sports... did nothing happen? It seems like nothing happened, yet in my mind, a bomb exploded. Only eventually did the anchor bring up again on the President's planned speech, when the show was ending.
I suddenly hear Obama from the TV set downstairs... the damn station here must've cut him off with a damn commercial break before realizing what they had done. Hate the station here... I look into his eyes. A hollow, light-skinned man, under a low-light White House room... his speech... making sure that he touched the hearts of his citizens... even though he didn't write it, probably... I could feel the loneliness someone may feel in times like this. I finally know what it's like. He finished his speech, and I could see some triumph as he walked away and had his back to the camera, leaving. He should feel triumphant. Anyone in his situation should feel proud. What followed was political journalists and reporters, drowsy and ragged, discussing the speech and situation... and I turned off the TV and went back upstairs.
Bin Laden was dead. But I felt more fear than I did freedom. I did not feel safe, I felt haunted. Like Bin Laden's ghost was lurking in our house. This wasn't the end. This won't be the end. al-Qaeda will want vengeance. This is for sure.
Guess not, but Anonymous pack a punch...
- Ant
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