I know you don’t need to hear my two cents on Osama bin Laden. Every blogger on the planet, I’m sure, has weighed in with their comments, not to mention every TV and radio personality and the guy at the water cooler. But what I have on my mind is sportsmanship.
The first images I saw, after I heard the news, were of celebrations. Somber, touching images of firemen at Ground Zero mixed with crazy ones of college students running through the streets with beer. I saw people singing “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!” and tattooed girls in sports bras making celebratory peace signs. These images were zinged around the world at lightening speed. And I couldn’t help but think of the Muslims watching.
I wonder how many Muslims there are in the world whose disdain for Osama bin Laden is matched only by their disdain for “heathen, immoral, arrogant Americans”? Then we send them images that only confirm and strengthen their beliefs about us and wonder why they don’t like us.
Times are hard. Our nation needs reason to celebrate. We need some good news. I get that. We should celebrate and we should exuberantly express our gratitude to our military men and women. I just wish we showed good sportsmanship in the process, especially when the world is watching. We parents try to teach our kids to be humble winners, not to flaunt their achievements and sing their own praises. Celebrate, absolutely. But celebrate with humility and dignity. And please wear more than a sports bra.
