08.21.2014 06:12 AM

Did you watch it?

This – as you almost certainly know by now – is American journalist James Foley, moments before he was murdered by the masked ISIS animal on the right. ISIS made a video of Foley’s murder, and circulated it on the Internet.

It has been seen potentially millions of times this week.

Were you one of those who watched it? Why, if so? Why not? I’m writing a column about this, and am interested in your views.

(And, no, I didn’t watch it and won’t.)

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75 Comments

  1. Derek Pearce says:

    Didn’t watch it. 1) Why give this low-life any more “page views” (for lack of better term), cowards like that crave the false sense of power it gives. 2) I just plain don’t want to see that shit– I’m the type of person who for sure would wake up with nightmares about it. Same reason I don’t watch gorey movies.

  2. Massimo Savino says:

    I haven’t watched it, nor the execution videos of a decade ago, for the simple (if ungrammatical) reason that it isn’t really possible for me to ‘unsee’ that kind of thing once it’s done. I guess the key question is, ”Am I going to be a better person for seeing it?’ With these videos, the answer has always been ‘No.’

  3. Greg says:

    No, I didn’t watch it and for the same reason I didn’t watch the murder of Daniel Pearl or others that have suffered the same fate. There are things you can’t “un-see” and a movie like this would play over and over in my head. This is exactly what the coward in black wants. Don’t give him the satisfaction. His days are numbered now and an air strike will likely take care of him. You don’t need to watch James Foley die to remember him. That ninja coward should be forgotten after he’s vaporized and it won’t happen if you watch the clip.

    • Mike Tevlin says:

      Haven’t watched, won’t watch. It’s bad for the soul and plays into these terrorists hands. It’s snuff porn.

      On a related note, can we stop referring to theses evil people as ISIS? It sounds far too cool, kind of like a super secret spy agency. It lends too much cachet to a group that should only be thought of as the lowest form of human. A minor point I know, but let’s not deliver them any PR value.

  4. sezme says:

    Executions are barbaric. I would never let the executioner rent space in my head by watching one. Clicking those links is submitting to terrorism voluntarily.

  5. Gilles says:

    I thought about it, but decided against it. Just the thought of it make my skin crawl. I don’t want those images bouncing around in my head. That poor guy. I can’t think he’d have wanted to be a couple minutes of gruesome “entertainment” for the bored millions.

  6. RJ Carter says:

    No. But I’ll be upfront and honest – I’ve thought about doing a search to find it and then watch it. It has been referenced in many blog posts (like this one) and articles in main stream publications I read everyday. Everyone is talking about it – which I guess was part of the goal of the vicious act. Ultimately the “can’t unsee” argument seems to win out. Maybe there is a small element that abstaining from watching the video is exercising some personal control over what a terrorist wants to accomplish (albeit a very small and insignificant amount of control).

  7. George says:

    I have not watched it, and I will not watch it. You can’t put that genie back in the bottle, and to watch it plays into the desires of the ***holes that resort to this type of despicable behaviour.

    I made the unfortunate decision to watch a similar video a number of years ago and still can’t get that image out of my head. Not only is it revolting but it’s infuriating – you wish you could jump into the video and stop what’s happening, yet you are powerless.

    RIP, Mr. Foley – I hope those who murdered you meet an equally horrible end.

  8. que sera sera says:

    I am curious why people get so agitated about the murder of one innocent American in the Middle East, when @ 32,000 (http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/ficap/resourcebook/pdf/monograph.pdf) innocent Americans die from gunshots annually in the US and not one politician gives a shit.

    I am curious why people get so agitated about the murder of one innocent American while barely registering the slaughter of approximately 600,000 civilian Iraqi’s (http://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2006/burnham-iraq-2006.html) in George W. Bush’s illegal war.

    American’s are terrific at marketing violence as spectacle to serve their geo-political flavour of the month. Why pander to their marketing strategies?

    I suspect the ramifications of American foreign policy makes it unsafe for Americans to travel abroad anymore while the ramifications of American domestic policies – including the militarization of the police and unchecked gun violence – makes it unsafe for foreigners to travel to America. Sadly, the consequences of ill-advised travel decisions often result in the death of innocents/innocence.

    Supporting the ongoing marketing of violence as spectacle is not a priority for me.

    • George says:

      Why?

      Simple. To paraphrase Stalin:

      “One death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic.”

      You bring up great points (and I agree) but it’s an element of human psychology – we can’t deal with large numbers – they’re essentially meaningless.

      So this vile murder resonates a lot more with the average person than the thought of 32,000 people dying of gunshot wounds….although I hazard to guess that if each of those 32,000 people were given a front page with pictures showing how they died and the story behind it, INDIVIDUALLY people would react in a much stronger fashion.

      The bigger concern is that these barbarians in the masks doing the beheading could be sitting at the desk across from you right now, back from “summer vacation” and you would have no idea. At least with the US, you (generally) know what’s coming (in the form of a drone, missile, shell, battleship, troops, etc.)

      That doesn’t justify any of this, but as long as there are humans, there will be war, violence, greed, corruption, et al…

      • david ray says:

        and now we walk the fine line George. Of course they’re coming or are already here and the State will round up the innocent with the guilty who know how to play the game. At every point in history there was a brief moment when action was required but instead permission was granted. yes, it’s cowardly but it’s also human nature. we are fearful creatures who readily adapt to impositions after the time to act has passed. In Ferfuson this week a cop by the name of Albers pointed a semi-automatic weapon at a protestor but someone acted in time, this time but next time? who knows. These really are interesting times.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YknrZE0CCYE

    • david ray says:

      agree. Game of Thrones redux

  9. Philippe says:

    I did not, and will not. This kind of action is so disturbing that watching it (I once watched one way back in the Iraq days) shakes my faith in humanity. I like to live within my bubble & keep believing that no human being is capable of such barbarianism. In short, I can’t “unwatch” it, and am worried those images would stay with me.

  10. Deborah Taylor says:

    I haven’t watched it, and I won’t. I don’t think there’s anyway to recover from participating in that kind of karmic damage.

  11. Chris says:

    No. I have watched my share of gore on the Internet and it does not leave a very nice feeling in my heart.

  12. Al in Cranbrook says:

    Did not watch it.

    Have this terrible sense that things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better.

    God, I hope I’m wrong.

  13. Ron says:

    That’s what they want. For us to watch it and be afraid.

    Fuck them.

  14. Marc Andre Anderson says:

    I don’t watch videos that show people getting hurt or killed, just like I don’t look at graphic pictures of deaths and maiming. People’s suffering is not something to be consumed like a funny cat video. In my view — and I say this in all respect for people who think differently — if we are to be entrusted with upholding the dignity of human existence (by helping each other, raising our kids, obeying the law, respecting democracy, etc.) then we cannot be complicit in its debasement on the net or in the media.

  15. patrick says:

    I have no desire to watch people suffer or die.

  16. Matt says:

    Yes I watched it, as I did the video of Nick Berg in 2004. Why? I choose not to bury my head in the sand and pretend Islamists aren’t a threat.

    Maybe people like Obama, Trudeau and those in the media who refuse to tell the truth about groups like ISIS and refuse to acknowledge the threat these radical Islamists savages pose to the world should too.

    Even yesterday Obama was still saying “this has nothing to do with Islam.” And when Trudeau was asked about it and what he would do to stop the radicalization of Canadians he again blathered on and on about how these people are just “feeling marginalized and we just need to talk with them and explain Canadian values of inclusiveness…….”

    He just doesn’t get it. It’s BECAUSE of our values of freedom, freedom of religion, diversity, inclusiveness that scum like ISIS want the West destroyed.

    • Al in Cranbrook says:

      Thank you.

      • david ray says:

        be still my beating heart Al but I agree. We are surrounded by great and cowardly prevaricators who refuse to see or listen to what is right before them

        first verse of a song I recently wrote

        there’s a turban on the corner / preaching Jihad
        the natives are getting restless / starting to wave the flag
        the cops are wading in / with their own version of sin
        and I’m over here wondering why

        one side loves suicide
        the other side wouldn’t mind genocide
        folks in the middle trying to stay alive
        how do you like your life so far

        things are getting crazy / in the land of the fat and lazy
        kiss your ass goodbye

    • que sera sera says:

      Domestic American gun violence kills more Americans annually (@ 32,000/year from 1980 – 2007) than “radical Islamists (sic) savages” ever have.

      27 years @ 32,000/year = 872,100 people

      I suspect the NRA gun lobby and the bought and paid for complicit politicians meet your definition of radical savages posing a threat to civilization.

      Odd the obsession with the “savages” in a foreign country while completely ignoring the monster within.

      • Al in Cranbrook says:

        Que sera…

        Here’s a link for you. Watch it!

        And while you’re watching it, recall the words of song, “Teach Your Children Well”.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUjHb4C7b94

        I do recommend, however, that you first remove your ideological glasses through which you insist on viewing the world…so you won’t miss anything, or the implications thereof.

        • Jon Adams says:

          Let’s not open the can of worms about ideological glasses, Al…

        • que sera sera says:

          Al, I wouldn’t watch a kettle boil if you recommended it.

          Quite hilarious you preaching to others when you insist everyone but you “should first remove the ideological glasses through which you insist on viewing the world”.

          You are walking proof of my dear, departed granny’s cheerful axiom: “No man is truly useless for he can always serve as a bad example.”

          Cheers.

          ps: maybe while you are doing your copious self-affirming confirmation biased “research”, you might want to look up the meaning of “irony” and “cognitive dissonance”

    • Domenico says:

      To tell the truth and not the Rush Limbaugh version of it that you adhere to: Obama said ” “A group like [ISIS] has no place in the 21st century.” as well as ” “No just God would stand for what they did yesterday or every single day,” “People like this ultimately fail. They fail because the future’s won by those who build and not destroy. The world is shaped by people like Jim Foley.” and continued airstrikes against them. I would say that is acknowledging the threat. I am sure that your recounting of Trudeau’s comments are equally as accurate.

      But look on the bright side, the Professor Emeritus of the Cranbrook Flat Earth Society agrees with you!

      • Matt says:

        Try watching the entire video of his statement.

        “ISIL speaks for no religion”

        Pretty clear what he means.

        Oh, and exactly how will he bring those responsible to justice? He’s already promised everyone, including the terrorists no US boots on the ground.

    • Derek Pearce says:

      Thanks for the heads up, I had no idea ISIS was radical or a threat. Do I ever feel foolish for not watching the beheading now!

    • Luke says:

      At the risk of wading into this debate, here’s my two cents.

      I’ve read plenty of comments when I used to pay more attention to online commentary appended to news articles where people make blanket statements about the horrors of Islam itself, how Muslims are barbarians, and various other similar statements. Maybe these commentators really mean Islamic militant extremists, terrorists, jihadists, or whatever, but that is oftentimes not even close to what many people actually say or write. That kind of language offends me, and should bring some sense of shame to all of us. I know people of numerous religious affiliations, including Muslims (various nationalities; Canadian, Indian, Egytian, Iranian), Catholics, Jews, Mormons, various other Christians, undecideds, atheists (not a religion, ok), and to tell you the truth, not one of them is a psychotic, extremist crusader, and not one of them lives up to my own stereotypes of their religion. The Muslim men and women I know are variously shy, vocal, sweet, fun, smart, moderate, reasonable, kind, and just generally really normal people. If I knew more of them, I’m sure I would know some angry, grumpy, and bigoted ones too, just as I know some Christians like this. So it is a terrible thing, in my view, when people start equating an entire religion of however many hundreds of millions of people with certain extremist sects or offshoots that inflict horrors upon their fellow human beings.

      So do I think Islam itself is a threat? No. Does that mean my head is in the sand? No. Do I disbelieve that horrific extremist groups of murderers are vying for power in parts of the world, and that this reality is a terrible, terrible thing? No. I’m not sure if that’s the sort of thing you are implying — I guess that depends on exactly what ‘Islamist’ means.

      I don’t see how seeking a deeper understanding of the origins of this kind of organization and its thinking can be a bad thing. To defeat it, one must understand it. I also don’t see how finger-pointing at Muslims generally, if that’s what your objection to the statement “this has nothing to do with Islam” is all about, could possibly do anything but harm. This is indeed the time to champion our values of tolerance, freedom of religion, and so forth, not to abandon them. Buying into discriminatory views of Muslims is incongruous with sanctimoniously preaching our values of freedom of religion and diversity.

      Times like this make me value the relative peace in which so many cultures coexist here in Canada to an extent I usually forget. It is wonderful, and we should never let it go.

      • Domenico says:

        I too know Muslim men and women and know them to be moderate, reasonable, and kind. And when I read certain comments here I realize that some people take the intellectually lazy and myopic path of equating an entire religion with the actions of a small number of psychopaths. But that I suppose is the essence of bigotry. Be it against Moslems, Jews, or Prime Ministers from Quebec.

    • patrick says:

      Yes, Islam radicals woke up one day and realized they hated, freedom, apple pie, hair and decided to declare war on the west. Had nothing to do with a century of Western Imperialism dividing and conquering for power and oil in the Middle East and preventing those nations from developing and evolving naturally creating vast areas of people who are exploited to the point of despair and hate by puppet regimes allowing religious wingnuts to exploit nonsensical fantasies for their own political ends.

  17. Tiger says:

    I watched the first part of the first such video, the Nick Berg killing, in 2004.

    Can still hear the screams. Turned it off partway through.

    Why did I start to watch it? Wanted to see the evil at work, and remind myself of who they were — their victim, Berg, was a 26 y/o techie who thought that Iraq could use some cell phone towers and upgraded infrastructure; all he wanted to do was help people and make a decent living doing it.

    Didn’t watch this one — Foley was a photojournalist, and a good one, and all he wanted to do was show the world the horrific situation in Syria. Same deal — a bit of a thrill-seeker, as most of these international expats are, but one who wanted to use his talents to help other people.

    I identify with those overseas Western journalists and engineers — I studied abroad in college and greatly admired the careers of the people who did it on a longer-term basis.

    If the intention is to get Americans to fear US involvement over there (air support, etc., for Kurdish forces), it will backfire.

  18. Richard McAdam says:

    I would not ever want to subject myself to the potential trauma that can come from watching another human being brutally murdered. The simple fact of knowing that it happened is troublesome enough. The reason that terrorists target civilians is to inspire fear and apprehension among civilian populations, to maximize their effectiveness in their actions to spread their agenda.

    Videos such as this are a cruel reminder that the public isn’t as “desensitized” to violence as some would like to think. They wrench our emotions.

    I feel horrible for the family of James Foley–it is horrific enough to know that their loved one has been killed, but to have it broadcast on the internet and for such a significant event to them being the next stop on YouTube for millions of people must be absolutely devastating.

  19. Trevor says:

    I haven’t and will not watch these videos. Their goal is to get attention, and I refuse to give them any.

  20. Domenico says:

    Did not. Will not. Would not want to give the sad, ignorant savages any reinforcement.

  21. Luke says:

    No fucking way. I do not want to watch a brutal killing of an innocent person. Of any person, actually.

  22. Lisa says:

    I did not watch it, and won’t watch. Don’t have the stomach for this kind of stuff. And they want us to watch it and be scared. I won’t do that.

    And as others have said, once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

  23. Warren says:

    John, yes, I deliberated over that. But I needed an image to relate back to the headline.

    Happy, however, that the vast majority of folks refused to watch it. Barbarity lost a propaganda victory, at least.

  24. Matt says:

    Why are they hiding their faces?

    The murderer spoke clear english with a British accent. I guarantee you ISIS will be sending their foreign members back to their homelands – Britain, Germany, France, Australia, the USA and Canada, yes CANADA to commit terrorist acts.

    But certain politicians and media types choose to ignore it.

    • Derek Pearce says:

      The idea that these Western members of ISIS pose a threat to their countries of origin has been all over the news the past few weeks, so your straw man assertion is false. Name one media outlet or one politician who thinks this is not a potential issue. It’s why we have secret or semi-secret security services these days, they hopefully will prevent domestic attacks, and if they don’t it’s not because some politician told them to ignore the problem.

      • Matt says:

        How about the CBC who’s official policy is to refer to groups like Hamas and ISIS as “militants” instead of calling them what they are – terrorists.

        Because, you know, calling them terrorists might offend them.

        Politicians? I’ve already given examples. Obama and Trudeau. Add Mulcair and several of his MP’s like the one who quit yesterday because the party recently slightly softened it’s position on Israel acknowledging Israel has a right to defend itself. Well that was just too pro Israel for her.

        Trudeau still thinks it’s all because these terrorists just feel “marginalized”

        • que sera sera says:

          Matt/soulchaser – apparently you are so terrified on a daily basis that you cannot even remember what “nom de guerre” you habitually use on Kinsella’s website. Careful you don’t piss yourself in fright & accidentally short circuit your keyboard, Henny Penny.

          Apparently the NRA meets the definition of a “terrorist organization” ….. but “calling them terrorists might offend them”.

        • Matt says:

          que sera sera, the “soulchaser” (I was at one time independent wrestler and my character was a rip off of the WWE’s Undertaker) is the first part of the email I use for this site. The ONE TIME it appeared as my name was when i accidently began to put my email in the name box and forgot to go back and change it before submitting my comment. I immediately sent a corrective post identifying myself as Matt which Warren also posted.

          Your criticism is funny of course coming from someone who doesn’t use their real name to post under. And what exactly am I supposed to be afraid of?

        • Derek Pearce says:

          You didn’t answer– name a politician or media outlet who has said “there is no worry that western members of ISIS will come back to their countries of origin to commit terrorist acts.” Name one who is actively ignoring this issue, as you asserted. One? Bueller?

    • Al in Cranbrook says:

      Again, you’re right, Matt. Brits recently had to live through a demonstration of this barbarism on their own streets.

      And what’s going on at the US/Mexican border worries the hell out of me.

      Frankly, until we start calling a spade a spade, instead of all this naïve playing with our politically correct heads jammed up our own asses, this has all the potential to land squarely in our own laps, and on our own soil.

  25. ABlanas says:

    YES — I DID WATCH IT. 3 OR 4 TIMES. The gory parts were excluded, which is making some people speculate that it is a fake execution.

    And I do watch all the execution videos (which are posted directly at liveleak.com, search under ‘execution’) for one very solid reason. I believe you have to look the enemy in the eye to truly understand what they are made of. And in ISIS / ISIL, we have the face of a new breed of enemy. It’s not a nation-state. It’s an idea, a concept that threatens the future of the civilized world, east-west-north-south.

    You have to understand this threat, and the way to do that is to not turn away from its message. Changing the channel and blocking out these videos does not help stop their advance. Blindness in the West will ultimately help them win. Open your eyes and see the evil. Then you will have proper perspective to judge how we must respond.

  26. davie says:

    I have not watched this video. I will not look for it. If I come across this, or the violent death of someone, I likely will not bother watching it. I don’t even watch lethal injection pictures. Such photos and vids are for effect, they are propaganda, to instill fear and hatred. They are meant to work on me the same way that a photo of an aborted fetus is supposed to work on me.

    However, I cannot figure out the levels of morality, the measurements we use to judge the ways we murder people. I really cannot figure the moral difference between murdering someone by beheading, by missile for a drone, by strafing and bombing a house, by stabbing or shooting.
    Sometimes I think that in our media, our tv, film and video games, images of slaughter in twisted ways is like a pornography of death: let’s see who can murder in the most gruesome manner.

    This Sunni group in Syria and Iraq seems headed by extreme ideologues, and they are gathering support by filling in a vacuum. They are pro Sunni, and really behave badly, almost insanely, toward anyone not in their sect.

    Now the West, USA, has attacked them, bragging about their ways of attacking with their sophisticated weapons, clinical strikes (as if practicing medicine). The Sunni group has to reply to USA’s military supremacy…a supremacy that includes the belief that ‘You cannot touch us. We are immune.”
    So this group in Iraq uses a weapon they know will hit hard here in the West. They murder someone in a way that is not our way of murdering someone. They know it will excite fear and loathing because it is not he acceptable way of murdering someone in the West.

    From the comments above mine, they have been successful in using this ‘murder pornography’ weapon in retaliation for the air strikes.

  27. Ian Howard says:

    Foley’s execution is just another of the unending violent acts that is part of daily life in Iraq and Syria. His murder is no more regrettable or heinous than what has transpired there in recent history. To focus on one event is to ignore that life for Syrians and Iraqi’s is an unending horror.
    Humans seem to have an infinite capacity to absorb self inflicted misery, perhaps that is the definition of insanity.

  28. Apostate says:

    Ive only watched one of these videos in my liftetime……it upset me so, and made me so angry……that I vowed never to view any such thing again…..

  29. Cawm says:

    I’m robert.white@rogers.com and a coward. Find me at 99.227.175.247

  30. MoS says:

    The video was posted in the hope that we would watch it. We can debate exactly what these animals were hoping to achieve but that really doesn’t matter. We know what’s in it, the butchering of this young man. Watching any person being executed is succumbing to death porn.

    I do hope a squad of SAS types manages to track down this murderer.

    I think that ISIS may be the burning fuze that triggers the ultimate Shiite/Sunni conflict. We have to decide whether to let that run its course. If not, it’s time to kick some Saudi and Kuwaiti ass and tell them to mobilize and clean up the mess they did so much to create, ISIS.

  31. TrueNorthist says:

    Nope. Not even a slight desire to watch.

  32. Heather says:

    I haven’t watched it and won’t. It would have haunted my thoughts for months. But I might have watched it when I was younger. In my 20s, I might have thought that I was somehow being noble by facing evil. I also think that watching the video would have made me feel more connected to people’s struggles.

  33. King Prick says:

    Warren,

    A few years ago, while I was still on that thing called Facebook, I happened upon two videos while looking through my feed. One was posted by a young man that I didn’t know but was nevertheless a so called “facebook friend.” He posted a video with the words “OMG, is this real?” I clicked on the video and what I saw has never left my mind. The video appeared to be shot in a Latin American country. My guess? Mexico, where drug wars and cartels are fighting for turf and reputation. It was of a woman, kneeling silently beside a masked man. (I can’t remember if there was sound to the video or not. If there was, I didn’t hear it because my mind was screaming so loudly in horror. ) I sat silently and watched as the assailant grabbed her by the hair and with a large knife, began to carve her throat. It ended only when he held her head up for the cameraman to see. I wish that I could explain what I felt. To this day, I can’t. Quite honestly, I didn’t know if I should call the police, call a friend, my mother, my father, CSIS, the RCMP…. It’s the internet, I thought to myself and with that thought it brought to mind that decapitation hoax that took place and was filmed by someone in California back in the mid 2000’s. “It’s gotta be fake. Who would post something like that online, ” was how I rationalised it. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well for quite sometime. I still have nightmares and wonder often if I should have actually called the authorities. “None of my business,” I told myself. “Someone else will call them. I don’t want to get involved.” The best I could come up with was to delete the poster of the video from my “friends list.” How brave of me.

    Later that same year, another video came across my feed. This one had no description and I couldn’t tell you who posted it. This one was also shot in a Latin American country and depicted two men on their knees being beheaded by a chain saw. This time the sound was on but all that could be heard was the wailing of the saw itself. It was shortly after this video that I made the decision to exit from Facebook. I haven’t looked back since. In fact, I have since removed myself from all social media. No more LinkedIn, no more Twitter, no Instagram… Since leaving it all behind, I have only one thought about life online: “All social media and all those entrenched in it, can go fuck themselves.” I may participate here because I sometimes like what you write. Smarm and satire make me laugh. But even here, I haven’t posted for quite awhile because one of your nemesis, threatened me with libel and began calling my friends pretending to be a close friend of mine and eventually he hunted me down and began harassing me. He’s since gone away but he scared me enough to vacate your blog.

    Social media is a dirty, filthy place, occupied by the worst that people have to offer. There’s not a thing positive about it. I can counter every argument in favour of social media but I don’t have the PR firm to help make my logic stick. Years ago, we had strip joints and massage parlours. Those were the places that the seedy people hung out at. There was the dance floor at the Horseshoe in the days of punk rock, Yorkville in the sixties, The Elmo in the seventies… Those were where grown ups could find the young dregs of society. That’s where we were, that’s where we learned about integrity and life, and the worst that happened was that someone got their head stoved in for acting like an idiot. Big deal. If a woman got whacked, the guy that whacked her got comeuppance. Today, on social media, there is no comeuppance. There’s faux rage, faux anger and faux comeuppance. It’s empty. Social media is everything and I mean EVERYTHING that people like Joe Strummer and The Clash, Johnny Rotten and The Sex Pistols railed against. We’re living in a world detached. When Neil Young sang Southern Man, Lynard Skynard answered back. People were held to account sensibly. Journalists had integrity and weren’t getting beaten by police force just for asking a question. Sure, we had assholes back then, but they couldn’t as easily hide behind public relations machines as they do today.

    Doctor John sang: “I was in the right place but it must have been the wrong time.” The same could be said for Mr. Foley. When it comes down to it though, the internet and social media in my mind can be summed up like this: “It’s always the wrong place all the time.” Come to think of it, Timothy Leary may have had it right when he said: “Tune in. Turn on. Drop out.” Until we apply that logic to the internet scum that is Facebook, Twitter et al, we’re just catering to nothing more than self important idiocy, terrorist wannabes and mooching politicians. Sad, really.

    Too harsh?

    • Tiger says:

      Possibly too harsh.

      People can be unfollowed or defriended on Facebook or other social media — you don’t have to accept any and all requests, and even those whom you do accept, you don’t have to have their feed turned on.

      I personally use social media to keep in touch with people I’d otherwise lose. It’s very useful that way. But I curate — if someone is just posting wacky or gross stuff, if I like them in real life they get unfollowed, if I don’t know them well they get defriended.

  34. Jerry Shuster says:

    Warren…. you went after the Nazis hiding in our midst… will you now go after the many jihadis hiding in our midst and waiting for their time to go on a killing rampage?

    What is stopping you from equating jihadis to Nazis? Do you fear being taken to the Ontario or Canadian Human Rights kangaroo court, like Ezra was, and forced to defend yourself for being a racist and bigot?

  35. David says:

    No. These murderers want this video out there; this is grotesque propaganda meant to inflame hatred and glorify their twisted worldview. I’ll have none of it. Similar reason as to why I’m more interested in learning about the lives of Lin Jun and Christopher Speer, as opposed to their final moments at the hands of others.

  36. Ian turnbull says:

    I don’t think the bad guys give a fuck if I was tch their video or not. I think they may care more about folks writing and talking about it. Regardless, when I have the chance I chose to not watch, listen to, feel or smell anything that is horrible.

  37. davidray says:

    and the asshats who birthed this mess Bush and Cheney et al are getting filthy rich because the value of shares in drone manufacturing companies probably went up 100% today.

    • Matt says:

      Islamic extremists have hated the West long before Bush and Cheney.

      The first attempt to take out the World Trade Centre happened in 1993, just after Bill Clinton took office.

      Difference is, Clinton took action. Obama gives a weak statement, then hits the golf course. Even his boot lickers at MSNBC are criticising him for that.

    • que sera sera says:

      It’s interesting how asshats and their virulent, propagandized groupies pretend this shit happened in a vacuum.

      A country that has made billions glorifying, commodifying & exporting violence, arms & war on a massive, lethal, & hypocritical scale, promoting its restless & all consuming geo-political, global hegemony, all while ignoring & abusing international laws & dismissing horrific civilian casualties as “collateral damage”, is now in a frenzy that they are reaping what they have sown around the world.

      Quelle surprise. Apparently asshats & their groupies believe their own propaganda.

      It arguable that American hegemony is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.

  38. Some years ago I watched an execution video showing a mass trial and executions of German Officers in Russia. It turned my stomach, because of the laughter and light hearted way those men were being gunned down. More recently I watched a War documentary, and one scene where a German soldier calmly breaks the neck of a French civilian he is hanging (in a row of victims) by pulling him down whilst in a noose. I still have nightmares about that calm execution. I know that there are such people in the world, but I do not need to turn my stomach to ‘prove’ it to myself again. I will not voluntarily watch any such things again.

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