So, it's happened. The death of one person has become meaningless to us.

[boxster]

To you, maybe.

But not to his family. Not to his friends.

When we no longer care about the death of a person who was brutally murdered for all the world to see...

Big deal - it's one guy.

When we use the same excuses that the Bush administration uses...

He knew the risks - he shouldn't have been in Saudi Arabia anyway.

When we chastise other people for showing compassion...

So what? The guy's dead. Get over it.

When we summarily dismiss a beheading as just another Bush propaganda tool or a conspiracy...

What, are you ignorant? But, but...IT'S AN ORANGE JUMPSUIT! The CIA/FBI/Bush/Aliens must have done this! The orange jumpsuit proves it!

When did we get so jaded?

Edit: because so many people are missing my point, which I felt was actually quite clear, I guess I'll clarify it:

My point isn't that we should make a big deal out of this guy's death. We shouldn't, because he's one of tens of thousands that have died during this ludicrous war and its related events.

My point is that summarily dismissing his death expressly for political purposes and/or chastising other people for expressing sadness about his death is not what we're supposed to be all about.

All of the dead are victims. Most of them get no attention. That's not his fault, and it doesn't mean that we should just write him off as a propaganda tool or chastise people who feel for him and his family.

But, then...what the hell do I know?

[DrWeird]

1. I'll start caring about Johnson...

when every single Iraqi we've killed gets as much air time.

[Heyo]

26. So you're saying...

...there are qualifiers to you caring about another human being's life?

Heyo

[DrWeird]

29. What I'm saying is...

there's a bunch of murderous hypocrits out there who want us to get real upset over Johnson's death because that makes it easier to kill muslims.

And I'm not falling for it. I never met him, I don't care. And I think it's pretty damn phony for people to get all worked up over it.

[Heyo]

64. That's a shame...

considering these people had this man.... at their mercy... his family begging for his life on TV... a man who was just trying to live his life, and had done NOTHING whatsoever to these people.. and nothing to deserve this...

They had his life in their hands... and the decision was their's, and they chose to cut off his head and leave him in the street... they chose to snuff out this mans life for no reason at all...

This is not about Christian or Muslims or anything even remotely political...

This is about a group of five or so people, however many there were.. whom I consider to be incredibly cruel, brutal savages and not part of any decent society that I know of.

Try to look at it outside the prism of politics for a second.

Anyone who could take another human being captive, listen to this man's family plea for his life on national television, including his wife, and then videotape themselves cutting his head off and showing it around is less than human as far as I am concerned, and I don't care who they are, where they come from, or what banner they do it under...the deepest level of hell should be reserved for these people.. (that is, if I believed in hell which I don't)

It is a senseless act of murder by people who have no regard for human life, I don't care what circumstances surround it.

Heyo

[Darth_Kitten]

70. I totally AGREE!!!!!

Thank you!!!!! :thumbsup:

This man didn't DESERVE this!!!!!!!

[jpgray]

2. Hundreds of kids were scalded to death and blown to bits in Iraq

They deserved to die no more than did this man. If it is simply that his pain and his loss are splashed all over the news, and that made the difference for you, then I cannot share your outlook on this. Lamenting the horrible death of one innocent because his has anecdotal power and ignoring other horrible deaths because they lack the same amount of coverage is unspeakably offensive to me.

[Darth_Kitten]

71. What makes you assume people are NOT lamenting other deaths?

:shrug:

[jpgray]

73. Show me an Iraqi's death taking up the entire front page of GD

My guess is that it has never happened.

[WilliamPitt]

3. Show me where people have said that

[WilliamPitt]

10. I repeat: Show me where people have said that

[Droopy]

21. There's some of that going on in

mopaul's thread on the front page. Starts out "so a few guys got beheaded......" the something about the civilians that got killed in Iraq. Sorry I can't post a link. It won't let me for some reason.

[boxster]

22. Wow, sorry that I didn't respond in your 5-minute window of opportunity.

And I have no intention of outing particular posters. Please see my other response.

[boxster]

20. Which part?

I intentionally paraphrased the statements to avoid the possibility of outing particular posters, but all of those statements are accurate representations of the content of posts I've read this afternoon.

My point isn't that we should make a big deal out of this guy's death. We shouldn't, because he's one of tens of thousands that have died during this ludicrous war and its related events.

My point is that summarily dismissing his death expressly for political purposes and/or chastising other people for expressing sadness about his death is not what we're supposed to be all about.

All of the dead are victims. Most of them get no attention. That's not his fault, and it doesn't mean that we should just write him off as a propaganda tool or chastise people who feel for him and his family.

[WilliamPitt]

30. What you did was put words into other people's mouths

The words you chose to put there were foul and obnoxious. Rather than rely on your prarphrasing, I'd like to see the actual words. Therefore I can judge them for myself, and not view them through the paraphrased filtering you have employed.

[boxster]

38. Interesting response.

For someone who has been falsely accused of misrepresenting just about every subject on the planet - and until today I was more than willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, however misguided that may have been - your demands and impatience seem a little out of character.

But, I don't know you, and I'm certainly not going to judge you as you seem so quick to judge me.

Start here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1813452&mesg_id=1813452&page=

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1814062

There are several more around. You're a smart guy - you can probably find them. Believe me - plenty of the actual comments are just as bad as I represented them to be.

Oh, and sorry that I bothered to give a shit. I'm also sorry that my disapproval of people stomping on another DUer for showing a little fucking compassion doesn't seem to fit your idea of liberalism.

[WilliamPitt]

52. Please

1. For someone who has been falsely accused of misrepresenting just about every subject on the planet - and until today I was more than willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, however misguided that may have been - your demands and impatience seem a little out of character.

Dare I ask for backup to that statement?

2. I'm not judging you. That's the point. Your initial post was a judgment on a lot of people. The evidence you used to pass that judgment was a paraphrasing created by you. I asked for the actual comments which caused your outrage. Had you given them at first, I would not have had to ask for them.

3. Oh, and sorry that I bothered to give a shit. I'm also sorry that my disapproval of people stomping on another DUer for showing a little fucking compassion doesn't seem to fit your idea of liberalism.

This is an overreaction of staggering proportions. I never implied that you didn't give a shit, so please don't imply that I don't give a shit. You speak of disapproval for a DUer getting stomped, which is totally understandable...but again, you didn't provide that data in your original post. I never implied that showing compassion offended my liberalism. Don't try to say that I did.

[boxster]

61. Well, considering that you waited a whole five minutes for

my response before your "I repeat..." comment, your figurative foot-tapping said much more than your words did and suggested a tone that perhaps you did not intend, that of a challenge or a demand along the lines of "you can't prove it so you're lying".

And, frankly, I think that's exactly what you intended, and I (over)reacted accordingly. If that wasn't what you intended, I apologize for seeing a demand or a challenge where one did not exist.

1) Will, I've defended and supported you in a lot of threads, particularly when you were working for Kucinich and supporting Kerry at the same time. I've also sent a lot of people in the direction of your web site and articles. Do I have proof? No. You can either choose to believe me or not.

2) No, my initial post was about the people a) who summarily dismissed Johnson's death, particularly those that blew it off with the claim that it was a conspiracy or "he's just one guy", and/or b) who chastised other people for feeling sorry for the guy and his family. Particularly b).

I paraphrased four items. To me, that doesn't exactly constitute judging "a lot of people". I obviously underestimated, however, the number of people who would take it personally. I've never claimed to be a psychologist.

My real point is that we're (most of us, anyway) Democrats, for cryin' out loud. We're supposedly the party of compassion, yet now we're going to criticize people for giving a damn?!?

God, it's not like I don't understand the frustration, but I think it's so ludicrous to take that frustration out on the victims, their families, and other DUers.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but "calling out" members is still against the rules. That is why I didn't quote directly and why I didn't point out specific posts.

And, really, this stuff was all over the place today. If you didn't see it or couldn't find it, you really weren't looking very hard.

3) Yes, it was an overreaction, primarily triggered by my interpretation of your five-minute follow-up request as a challenge. For that, I apologize.

However, since you're criticizing me for paraphrasing other posts, I'll end with this:

I guess that means that you've NEVER paraphrased what another person on DU has said.

And, you've ALWAYS provided exact quotes and links to explicitly support every assertion you've ever made on DU.

And, you've NEVER summarized a group of comments with a generalization.

Right?

[boxster]

67. I repeat....

Since you're criticizing me for paraphrasing other posts...

I guess that means that you've NEVER paraphrased what another person on DU has said.

And, you've ALWAYS provided exact quotes and links to explicitly support every assertion you've ever made on DU.

And, you've NEVER summarized a group of comments with a generalization.

Right?

By the way, your five minutes to respond were up a long time ago.

[Mandate My Ass]

4. there's already a 'shame on you all thread'

going on. I guess we needed another one.

[minkyboodle]

24. some posters live for this apparently

waiting so they can express their unbelievable shame at what a few (or in this case none that I have seen) DUers say.... How brave of them....

[boxster]

25. Sorry for caring.

I won't bother again.

[Forkboy]

43. promise?

[boxster]

55. Yep.

From now on, I just won't give a shit.

Seems much easier.

[boxster]

63. Actually, that was a lie.

I'm psychologically incapable of not giving a shit.

[mopaul]

76. everyone gives a shit, you ain't the only one who gives a shit

where did you GET that idea that you give a shit, and i don't?

[Pithlet]

57. No, you should bother again.

Don't let people shout you down. It goes both ways. If they don't like what you're saying, THEY can ignore you. There's a lot of bullying on DU, with people getting called things like Net Nanny when they disagree. It's bullshit.

[neuvocat]

58. Please don't.

Not when an american's life seems to be more important to you than anyone else's.

Quit being a hyppocrite.

[Darth_Kitten]

72. Don't stop.....

I understand what you were saying.....

[Walt Starr]

5. I believe what we have here is a...

strawman.

[KoKo]

79. Yep, Walt....a "Strawman." n/t

[joanski01]

6. Yeah, and I'll bet

Paul Johnson was thinking about how much safer he was now that Saddam was gone. This is all bush's* fault. They should have been fighting terrorism and not Iraq.

[boxster]

41. No kidding.

"Paul Johnson was thinking about how much safer he was now that Saddam was gone."

Geez, that hits the nail on the head. What a perfect comment.

You're obviously right - it is Bush's fault. And Bush deserves the blame; not the victims, and not the people who show a little compassion for the victims.

[LuminousX]

7. No one said it is meaningless

But it does need to be put in perspective.

Was what was done evil? Yes, in the truest sense of the word. Johnson was not their enemy.

Does 1 American life mean more than 1 Iraqi life? I'll leave that for you to answer.

[Darth_Kitten]

75. It means the same?

:shrug:

[arcane1]

8. who is "us"??

the deaths of 800 servicemen and women isn't meaningless to me, nor are the THOUSANDS dead in Iraq. I guess they don't deserve sympathy since they never get mentioned on the news.

I would imagine it's easy for some to be jaded when you pile this one innocent death on top of the thousands "we" have caused in Iraq. He's not one dead innocent, he is one MORE dead innocent

[swag]

9. I applaud your moral superiority

Truly you are a better person than I.

[wroberts189]

11. Not meaningless to me

Just not significant compared to all else who have died on both sides.

Like the thousands of innocents we like to call "collateral damage"

http://www.iraqbodycount.net/

Its the wingnuts that are guilty of selective outrage.

[cheezus]

12. Life would be nothing but sorrow if we cared for everyone that dies

even if we were to limit it to those who die tragically, there's far too many for us to mourn them all.

[donhakman]

16. when did we get so jaded?

The soldier gets jaded to death.

The motorist gets jaded to death as he rubbernecks the accident.

You may be jaded too if you assume we all are.

[RUSTY SHACKLEFORD]

13. It's tragic.

No more, no less. I will speak no ill of the dead. It's not this man's fault, nor his family's, that the Bush cabal decided to play politics with all our lives. This could happen to any of us, any time, any place.

[mopaul]

28. yeah, if we're in saudia arabia. i'm in kansas city

this could happen to any of us. really.

[RUSTY SHACKLEFORD]

32. Well, I suppose ...

if you plan to spend your whole life in Witchita or Topeka then it's not likely you'll be decapitated by angry islamic fundamentalists. They'd probably opt for detonating a suitcase nuke or dirty bomb to take you out. Some of us travel as part of our work though. I for one, do not feel any safer (perhaps you do) with Dubya and company jumping from one nation to the next.

[mopaul]

33. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

[RUSTY SHACKLEFORD]

36. I don't get it.

Your point, that is.

[Raskolnik]

44. There is is AGAIN!?

And once again I'm baffled.

Please, please, please explain what pointed social commentary is summed up in this picture you've posted multiple times to different arguments.

[K-W]

14. I forgot that only Americans have families and friends.

People dismissing the death are completely wrong.

People not giving this death any more importance than the many unfair deaths around the world are being rational and are acting in a completely moral manner.

[bpilgrim]

15. yeah, right

the death of 1 american cause all these threads and you think we don't care?!

:crazy:

peace

[MsUnderstood]

17. Tell me more names

Can you name (without searching the internet):

The last 2 soldiers to die in Iraq?

The last 2 soldiers to die in Afghanistan?

The name of the last Iraqi civilian killed in Iraq?

The name of the last person to die of AIDS?

The name of the last person to die in your town?

The point is that death is happening all around us. . .and it is simply information overload at this point.

When a person is splashed on the screen, his death media-sized for the world to hear about, we should be taking a moment to think about those others who are dying while this one life is put up on a pedastal.

[RetroLounge]

77. The deafening silence in response to your post

is most telling...

THanks for posting it.

RL

[boxster]

82. So information overload = justification?

Death is all around us, so chastising other people for feeling sorry for this guy and his family is justified?

Shouting people down who have the nerve to express sadness at Johnson's death is justified?

And, accusing the same person of censorship, whining, and preaching is similarly justified?

Sorry, I disagree.

All of those comments were made yesterday on DU and were the reason for my post. Information overload is no excuse.

Nowhere did I suggest that we should not think about the others who are dying. In fact, I did exactly the opposite.

By the way, the last person to die in the town I grew up in was my spouse's 53-year-old aunt, who died unexpectedly and much too young. So, don't tell me that I don't understand death and that the death all around us justifies not feeling anything when a person is beheaded for the world to see.

If you're so overwhelmed by death that you don't feel anything anymore, I'd suggest turning off the TV. People die all of the time, and people have to deal with death all of the time, regardless of whether or not the deaths are thanks to the Iraq invasion.

And, while you're busy asking me questions, here's one for you: when was the last time one of your relatives was beheaded on worldwide TV?

Before you blow this off as "just another death", think about what this was like for his family to go through.

Everyone has to deal with death and all families grieve, but most of us get to do it in private and not live and in color in front of a couple of billion people.

[fortyfeetunder]

18. Don't get angry at us, get angry at the Bush administration

I don't think people are dismissing this incident. However, what is troublesome is not enough heat has been put on the Bush adminstration to accept responsibility for the evolving situation...

[boxster]

27. I am angry at the Bush administration.

And, I'm not angry. Frankly, this post was inspired by another post in which the "messenger" was bashed pretty mercilously for having the nerve to feel sorry for the victim's family.

[Career Prole]

56. Brother Boxster,

the reason I believe you've run up against the buzzsaw is simply this. For the last three days we've had constant exposure to the fears of Mr. Johnson's relatives and townsmen, been told what a great fella he is, shown pictures of his grandchild. Now we will no doubt get submerged in their mourning.
The same thing happened with coverage of Mr. Berg's demise.
Tell me...are you unaware of the virtual news blackout on everyone else's grief?
Have you seen any soldiers' funerals on TV?
Heard their neighbors say "what a great guy he was" for the cameras?
How about a soldier's son on CNN pleading "I just want him brought home safe"?

Will Pitt posted a very poignant photo essay today about the forgotten dead. I know you didn't see news coverage in America of our own carnage. Why not? There's a really good chance many of those folks we killed over there had neighbors who would have been more than happy to say "he was a great guy" for the cameras. We won't see that here. We won't see their grief or fear at all unless they shake a fist and say "Death to America!"
In those cases it's on the air that night.
There were news crews all over the place when Bush greeted the Iraqis with the new prosthetic hands to replace the ones cut off by the Evil Dictator.
Don't think there are even more missing limbs caused by us? Where are the cameras? Where are the donors with the new prosthetic limbs for these kids?
We're sick of the management of the news so that it more closely resembles propaganda.
Jaded, even.

[atreides1]

19. Not to All

His death is only meaningless to some, not to all. I feel sympathy for his family for their loss, and I pray that they will come through this without hatred in their hearts.

Mr Johnson's death is not meaningless, just like the deaths of American military personnel aren't meaningless, and the deaths of Afghans and Iraqis aren't meaningless. But the other side would revel
in seeing all Muslims dead and buried, they would dance in the streets
and think that it was agood thing. The other side always justifies the deaths of American military personnel, by always saying that they died fighting for their country, when we know that they died for a pocket full of lies. I'm sure that the Freepers have already started
the Paul Johnson is a Martyr club, and will honor him as some kind of super hero, when all he was, was a man.

But you cannot always fight evil with good, sometimes you have to fight evil with evil, because it's the only language that our enemies
understand, and yes the Freepers are our enemies, and the sooner everyone realizes this the better off we will be.

As for me I will say a prayer for Mr. Johnson and his family

[ConsAreLiars]

23. When you say "us" I think you mean to say

"them." You know, the evil ones. The "other." Ordinarily the word "us" would include the speaker, but you deny including yourself. That kind of confused posturing makes your accusations about what "we" are saying very strange indeed. Try to think about on this "us-them" delusion a bit more deeply. Try to be a bit more precise about who you are denouncing as your inferiors.

[boxster]

66. No, I very specifically meant to say "we" and "us".

"We" as in Democrats, members of the party usually associated with ideals like compassion and inclusion.

[blackcat77]

31. I first heard about it on the chat board I run

My response was "Another day, another horror." I suppose one way to see that would be that I'm dismissing it, but really I'm not. To me, all the incidents add up to a horror that's even greater than the sum of the parts. If anything, this latest death is a perfect symbol for the war -- a fanatic killing an innocent. And of course both the media and the politicians are milking it for all it's worth. Every day we seem to get closer to Col Kurtz's jungle camp in Apocalypse Now. All the rules are null and void and the madmen are running the show while the bodies pile up...

[Raskolnik]

34. I don't know about you...

but the fact that the U.S. shouldn't be in Iraq completly negates my ability to feel human compassion for someone that I disagree with.

Wait...no it doesn't.

I'm sick to death of people creating a false dichotomy that says if you are sickened by this man's death, then you must not care about the deaths of innocent Iraqis.

[izzie]

35. I guess we just add it to the endless death from this crazy group

We know that what we are doing is making it more deaths all the time. I really do not know how the Brits put up with it for years and alot of other countries around he world.

[Q]

37. Hayzeus....must we have a gaggle of these threads...

...every time someone (an American) gets killed in the middle east? You might as well get used to it...because it's only the beginning. As long as the Bush* Doctrine is in play...there will be no peace and revenge against Americans will continue.

- Every death 'over there' is a shame and a tragedy. But remember that 'our' government isn't even COUNTING the number of INNOCENTS that get in the way of our revenge for 9-11. The death of 'brown people' doesn't even seem to bother Americans. Yet we're supposed to mourn for a week when an innocent American is killed in the cycle of revenge that WE started? You want morality? Then mourn ALL deaths in this unnecessary war.

[The Shadow]

39. Evil Only Begets Evil.

Maybe if our "president" and his cronies hadn't gone global with their crusade against anything Arab, and maybe if we hadn't treated the Iraqi's and others in the Arab world with such hatred and disdain, things might have been different for Mr. Johnson.

We all have blame in this every time we place an American life above any nationality, instead of it's equal.
While we will never forget 9/11, let us also not forget Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, and everywhere else we Americans have slaughtered innocent human beings in this false crusade.

Life is as precious to an Afghani or Iraqi as it is to us, regardless of what we may think, don't ever forget that. Bush's actions are the true cause of this suffering. Until America learns to temper it's arrogance on the planet and learns to become the worthy steward that she should be, it will always end the same. Remember,Evil Only Begets Evil.

God Bless Mr. Johnson and all of those who needlessly suffer at the hands of evil men.

[xchrom]

40. anti-war people, people who having been screaming

for a sane american foreign policy care about all who are killed.
but and i hope you can understand this -- it's like lacey peterson -- where's the news coverage of all the iraqi children who have died for this misbegotten war?
-- where's the new's coverage on the people who starved in afghanistan?
i feel sorry for them all -- but this guy gets all the sympathy and face recognition -- and too many soldier's faces who have died aren't remembered by nearly enough people -- especially those who want this damnable war.
otherwise -- if you can't understand -- i really don't care.

[AndyTiedye]

54. Who Owns the News?

> where's the news coverage of all the iraqi children who have died for this misbegotten war?

[progressivebydesign]

42. I see your point. I responded to those earlier threads!

Please don't paint us all with the same brush. Like some others on those obnoxious threads, I spoke up for Johnson and his family. I believe my subject line was: 'His death is no more significant, and no LESS significant than the others'. What that means is that every death is significant.. and it disgusts me to see the same people here, over and over, acting as though they've been socialized by the Una-bomber.

The complete disregard for one person's death, as I've seen on DU over and over by the same people, is just as bad as what they accuse everyone else of.

Perhaps we need to realize that since we are not face to face with any of the other members of DU, that there are just some real assholes out there... and hope that all Democrats are not portrayed badly based on the inhumane attitudes of a few people on a site that has the word "Democratic" in it.

Proclaiming a concern for the thousands of Iraqis who died, while spitting on the grave of a man who did nothing more than work in a foreign country, is just as egregious.

[mopaul]

45. so it's happened, the thread of one person is meaningless to us

[Raskolnik]

47. Do you have an argument that addresses the poster's points?

Or do you just whack at the keyboard and post whatever results?

[Name removed]

48. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Forkboy]

50. Dont do that

He's fun :)

[mopaul]

51. comedy relief is good, true

gabby hayes

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bleedingheart]

46. The death of this one man is being hyped to kill thousands more

and that is what I find sad...

[mopaul]

49. exactly

very convenient these beheading videos, they pop up when it's revealed that our president is a fucking nazi killer and his gang of thugs are setting off ww3. just in time to deflect the fact that our president is worse than any beheader

[Karenina]

59. It's FRIDAY NIGHT

News dump time... Pages of threads opining about another BEHEADING!!!
WHAT A SENSATION!!! THOSE FUCKING SAVAGES HAVE DARED TO TAKE AN INNOCENT AMERICAN LIFE!!! SHOW SOME RESPECT!!! Meanwhile back at the ranch a 21-YO homeless kid was set ablaze in Texas, another poor soul stoned to death in front of a church in NY. AND *dauphin wants to "screen" ALL Y'ALL for "mental illness" (another perk for his Big Pharma buddies). Hmmmm... :crazy:

[Rex]

60. Ever watch the nightly news? They made murder into an industry.

nt

[nose pin]

62. Boxter.....

I'm going to stick my neck WAAAAAAYYYYY out there and agree with you.

[stavka]

65. One man's death is a tragedy, a thousand is a statistic....

We kill more with cars, tobacco, and booze every day than we or our foes lose the world over in combat in the same period.

[Solly Mack]

68. His death will be used for propaganda purposes by Bush

and that's the cold hard facts. Don't judge others for stating this undeniable truth. Saying so doesn't change the all consuming pain those words bring....you think people say it with glee? Can't you recognize pain and suffering in your fellow human? This war is killing some of us quickly and it's killing the rest of us slowly. Each day the mounting death toll is ripping away at our hearts and souls. We're wounded and the hits just keep coming.

It's up to people of conscience to remind Americans of ALL the deaths resulting from this clusterfuck. The deaths should be hammered home daily. I want the American people to grow shameful from hearing about it....I want freeper-types to get angry that their comfortable little world is being intruded upon with images of torture, mutilation ,and death. Yes, let them be angry...because I know their anger masks a number of emotions...to include guilt, fear and self-loathing.



They ALL matter. They ALL count. THEY ALL HAVE VALUE.

Each and every death has made America less as a country...and if folks in these "united" states can't understand that, then I doubt they'll ever understand anything.

[DemonFighterLives]

69. Good points Solly Mack

This death is terrible just as all the other ones are. We are now somewhat jaded, trained to accept the deaths of servicemen everyday.
Thank the illegal regime in charge.

[doni_georgia]

74. I don't think people are dismissing his death

I for one wasn't surprised. Don't think his family was surprised either, think they expected the worse. The point is, yet another American has died because of US policies. I am not excusing Al Qaeda or other terrorists, but the fact remains that our policies are making attacks on Americans more frequent. The war in Iraq has increased hatred toward the US and has caused a surge in numbers for terrorist groups. I think for many here it is just the hypocrisy of the media that gets all worked up over an individual solider or citizen being killed at the hands of terrorists, but doesn't accurately report or show due respect to the 800+ soliders who have died in Iraq and the soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since this "war on terror" began. Why is it that the president can get up and denounce the killers of individuals but he ignores the Americans dying daily in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan? Why is it okay for conservative talk radio hosts to play the audio of Nick Berg being beheaded, but it isn't okay for television news to show caskets of returning US soldiers? Why can't anyone in this administration admit that perhaps our invasion of Iraq was a bad idea, that we have killed thousands of Iraqi citizens, and that the people over there just might have a legitimate reason for hating us? Why is it that some people believe that one life is more valuable than another?

I am truly sorry for the family of Paul Johnson. I know that this must be indescribably horrible for them. But what about the thousands of other Americans who have lost loved ones in Iraq? We need to focus our energies on ending this damn war and bringing our men and women home. We need to get this administration out of office and end their imperialistic foreign policy. We need to change our attitudes as Americans and recognize that the world is not neatly divided between "evil doers" and "do gooders." It's not as simple as, "If you aren't with us you are against us." The world is not black and white - it's more complicated than that. Anyone with an IQ over room temperature knows this.

[keithyboy]

78. If this man's life was so important, why did we not negotiate for his

release? It must be that by American policy this life is NOT important. I believe his life was important enough to negotiate it for it AND I believe that the lives of the insurgents are just as important to their families. So what exactly are you saying? Are you shaking your finger at DUers or at your government? It's the government policy that rendered the life of Paul Johnson "unimportant" not we DUers.

[Name removed]

80. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DemonFighterLives]

81. What the left has to say

The us VS them mentality really shows a lot of tolerance. We all good.

[keithyboy]

83. The point is, not negotiating hasn't stopped anyone from taking hostages.

Not negotiating has cost lives on both sides. Perhaps, just perhaps we could have saved this man's life. As for the Saudis who were killed, we here in the US don't really know if these people are who the Saudis say they are or not. The first story from Al-Arybia news was that the militants were killed as they tried to hide the body. Now the media is reporting that they are trying to locate the body.

Israel swaps prisoners and trades for hostages all the time...they just don't advertise that they do. We copy everything else that the Israeli military does, why not copy negotiations? That's all I am saying. Mr. Johnson's life was that important to me to want to try to negotiate for it. If it were my son or daughters I would want to negotiate. Wouldn't you? If not, why not?