The name Rashard Mendenhall has been one of the most searched items on the Internet within the past few hours, and all because of a controversial opinion he voiced on Twitter regarding the post-Osama bin Laden death celebrations that broke out throughout the country Sunday night:
I've gotta say, I've heard this view more than a few times on America's celebrations in the wake of bin Laden's death. And I think it really misses the mark. I understood all of those celebrations, from the chants of "U-S-A" outside the White House, to the bagpipers making joyous music near Ground Zero, as not a celebration of one's man death.
Instead, it's about the feeling of immense relief we feel from knowing the man who killed so many of our fellow Americans can never hurt us again - courtesy of a military operation so incredibly well-planned and executed that it almost seemed like something out of a movie. It's a celebration of pride in the military - OUR military.
We set off fireworks on the Fourth of July not as a way to cheer about all the British who lost their lives in the Revolutionary War, but to celebrate our own freedom. I believe Osama bin Laden's life symbolized 9/11, virtually the worst day in U.S. history. And his death meant a certain release from all the collective pain we, as Americans, have felt every day since.
OK, enough prothletising for now. I would LOVE to hear your opinions about Rashard Mendenhall's Tweet.
The online magazine Slate put together a little video piece on the whole brouhaha. Take a look:
