The forgiver is hated
That Michael Berg - father of Nicholas Berg, a 26-year-old American contractor whose be-heading by terrorists in Iraq and the subsequent broadcast of it over the Internet and television - is derided by some for forgiving groups he believes had a hand in his son's murder is ... well, incomprehensible to me.
While some can't seem to forgive Michael Berg for being an anti-war protestor extending from present day to the Vietnam-war era, some pro-war protestors seemed to want to torture him by waving on a street corner in Washington a four-foot high placard photograph of his son after Nicholas Berg been removed of his head. Michael Berg says that image has been burned into him, and it's one that he, rightly, never wanted to see.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/06/BAG7FKC3E21.DTL&hw=michael+berg&sn=001&sc=1000
I saw the video of Nicholas Berg's murder. I have a strong stomach for such things, but after I watched the life ( I couldn't even watch the whole broadcast) leave his body ... well, let's just say it was nothing like I had ever seen before. I don't even have the words to describe how horrible it was.
So, I have to ask myself, as ugly as his be-heading was, I found it equally ugly that people - no matter what their politics - would intentionally try to show Michael Berg his dead son's photograph. Do we in this country, which is supposed to be a civilized nation - though I question that more and more all the time - really believe that sort of thing is what is going to get our point across? Do we so take for granted our freedoms of speech and are we so convinced of the righteousness of our causes that we simply cannot understand what decency is and have empathy, or at least sympathy, for a father whose son was murdered so brutally?
I'm not saying that these pro-war protestors did not have the right to disagree with Michael Berg's pacivist position. They have just as much a right to their position as Berg. But to show him a photograph of his dead son? Now there's a dose of some home-grown terrorism for you.
While some can't seem to forgive Michael Berg for being an anti-war protestor extending from present day to the Vietnam-war era, some pro-war protestors seemed to want to torture him by waving on a street corner in Washington a four-foot high placard photograph of his son after Nicholas Berg been removed of his head. Michael Berg says that image has been burned into him, and it's one that he, rightly, never wanted to see.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/06/BAG7FKC3E21.DTL&hw=michael+berg&sn=001&sc=1000
I saw the video of Nicholas Berg's murder. I have a strong stomach for such things, but after I watched the life ( I couldn't even watch the whole broadcast) leave his body ... well, let's just say it was nothing like I had ever seen before. I don't even have the words to describe how horrible it was.
So, I have to ask myself, as ugly as his be-heading was, I found it equally ugly that people - no matter what their politics - would intentionally try to show Michael Berg his dead son's photograph. Do we in this country, which is supposed to be a civilized nation - though I question that more and more all the time - really believe that sort of thing is what is going to get our point across? Do we so take for granted our freedoms of speech and are we so convinced of the righteousness of our causes that we simply cannot understand what decency is and have empathy, or at least sympathy, for a father whose son was murdered so brutally?
I'm not saying that these pro-war protestors did not have the right to disagree with Michael Berg's pacivist position. They have just as much a right to their position as Berg. But to show him a photograph of his dead son? Now there's a dose of some home-grown terrorism for you.
posted by Jeno at
12:29 PM
2 Comments:
Homegrown terrorism ... I like that. It's an apt description of the heartless and senseless acts of these protesters. What kind of a decent person would do such a thing? These protesters stooped even lower than the terrorists themsevles. What a shame.
By
Anonymous, at 7:53 PM
I didn't see the video, nor do I want to. Some things are better left to the imagination. Use to be we were more tuned in to the plight of others, and the slightest hint of blood made us squeamish, and prone to turn away. The thing is, we are now conditioned to ' the bloodier the better ', with no thought to what death leaves behind. Let's realize that this young man is gone forever, and those that loved him will be forever changed. That in itself, speaks volumes. Thanks for the post.
By
Anonymous, at 11:45 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home