Nicholas Berg's Beheading (page 4)

frenchbabyface

SW : To me, hatred and bloodshed are the opposite of peace. Many will disagree as they feel it is the only way to make peace. (like the only way for me to love you is to hate you first...or to appreciate color is to go blind? Ridiculous!)

Yep !

Sara Annie

I watched it. It didn't bug me because I have seen all this crap in American movies, my brother-in-law was a sherrif and had lots of pix of suicides, homicides, and accident pix. Every day, this stuff is portrayed in American movies, culture, and american life. Why shoud it surprise any of you?

I wasn't so much surprised as I was simply horrified. Your question seems to be why anyone who's been exposed to violence in American movies, etc. would not be able to watch this particular footage is quite simple to answer. I have seen countless murders on television, I have seen buildings blown up, children beaten, and women raped in movies. I didn't enjoy and cherish watching any of those things but I could watch them with the level of detachment that comes from knowing that at the end of the day no one was actually harmed. These were actors, the circumstances were manufactured, the realism created by a skillful director and impressive camera work and special effects.

That kind of violence when it is real and actually occurring is a totally different animal. The exploding buildings and fireballs destroying the city of New York in the movie "Independence Day" were frightening and impressive images to behold, but I don't lose sleep over them. The sight of those twin towers falling on the 12 foot projection screen in our conference room is a horrifying image that is branded in my mind and will never leave me, and still wake me in the middle of the night. The torture of William Wallace in "Braveheart" was difficult to watch and evoked strong emotion in my when I viewed it, but the thought of viewing a live human being as he is beheaded (hell, a dead one for that matter) and knowing that I've just witnessed the exact moment that someone ceased to be alive is enough to make me want to vomit and wouldn't be something I could live with.

I have not watched the video, nor will I in the future.

SixofNine

Hi SmolderingWick, nice to see your pixelations.

But, if I were about to be slaughtered in the name of war/religion/freedom/crazy middle east people? I would have definately been screaming...or crying...or begging...shouting out that I loved my family or America ...or something! He sat there, calm. His face looked almost peaceful before it happened. Not fearing death, no dread.

Could he have had no idea he was going to be killed, perhaps thinking that he had established a raport with his captors? (perhaps the video excludes this? do they say they are going to kill him in words he would recognize while he sits there?)

Country Girl

They probably told him that he wouldn't be hurt. Middle Eastern people are know for their hospitality.. so most likely he was treated well until it came for the point for him to die. Nosurprise...

CG

Big Tex

Haven't seen the video, nor will I. If someone else wants to, that should be up to them.

Sara Annie

I ask this not to be anti-american or to deminish the horror of the act in anyway. But, if I were about to be slaughtered in the name of war/religion/freedom/crazy middle east people? I would have definately been screaming...or crying...or begging...shouting out that I loved my family or America ...or something! He sat there, calm. His face looked almost peaceful before it happened. Not fearing death, no dread.

Because, of course, you can accurately and definitively state how you would react in such a situation with total clarity. You can say with certainty how you would or would not act should your beheading be imminent.

The truth is that none of us know how we would deal with such a situation, and it's likely that we would react in a way that is not at all like the one we would expect when we are detached from the situation. How many times have we heard people say that they "wanted to scream, but couldn't" or "I thought I would cry and fall apart, but I didn't"? I am not trying to pick on you personally, necessarily, but I am floored whenever I hear someone (prosecuting attorney, random person commenting on the conduct of another after a tragedy, etc.) saying that someone's reaction to X horrible situation just isn't "right".

The truth is that no one who hasn't been in such a horrendous and logic defying situation can predict how they would react and judge someone elses reactions accordingly. And those who have been in such situations are rarely around afterwards to tell us just what was going through their mind at that moment.

Country Girl

I wasn't so much surprised as I was simply horrified. Your question seems to be why anyone who's been exposed to violence in American movies, etc. would not be able to watch this particular footage is quite simple to answer. I have seen countless murders on television, I have seen buildings blown up, children beaten, and women raped in movies. I didn't enjoy and cherish watching any of those things but I could watch them with the level of detachment that comes from knowing that at the end of the day no one was actually harmed. These were actors, the circumstances were manufactured, the realism created by a skillful director and impressive camera work and special effects.
That kind of violence when it is real and actually occurring is a totally different animal. The exploding buildings and fireballs destroying the city of New York in the movie "Independence Day" were frightening and impressive images to behold, but I don't lose sleep over them. The sight of those twin towers falling on the 12 foot projection screen in our conference room is a horrifying image that is branded in my mind and will never leave me, and still wake me in the middle of the night. The torture of William Wallace in "Braveheart" was difficult to watch and evoked strong emotion in my when I viewed it, but the thought of viewing a live human being as he is beheaded (hell, a dead one for that matter) and knowing that I've just witnessed the exact moment that someone ceased to be alive is enough to make me want to vomit and wouldn't be something I could live with.

Well, then, girl, get real. This kind of violence is very real in very many coutries of the world. In Texas, if you break the felony law, you are in BIG trouble. You will be found guilty, you will go to a Texas prison, REGARDLESS of your age. You will walk in there, and several inmates will watch you as you walk in... they will assess whether you are big enough to ward off rape, or if you are white enough, or rich enough, to bring them favors. Most likely, when you get there, you will be assessed for what you can bring to them. They don't CARE about you, they care about what you can help them with. My son is fixing to go to prison. He is white, and is a handzome young boy.. most likely he will be approached by a big guy that wants to have sex with him, and protect him. He'll say no, knowing my son, and he will be beat up.. he'll have to join a group that will protect him. Most likely he will join the Aryan Brotherhood.. which is REALLY BAD.. and then he'll come out worse than when he went in. That's the Texas justice.

CG

Smoldering Wick

hello sixy, nice 2 see u 2.

He disappeared around April 10th and died May 8th...so, apparently he had spent a month with his captors. Did he know a little of the language? He intended to go and "work" there...read the koran. Even if he didn't know what they were saying...he was dressed up special, walked into a room with a video camera...saw the black masks, the murder weapon...maybe even watched or took place in a practice session? He didn't look nervous or apprehensive.

The web is full of speculations I don't fell like pondering. I just know what I saw (or what they wanted me to see).

Smoldering Wick

Because, of course, you can accurately and definitively state how you would react in such a situation with total clarity. You can say with certainty how you would or would not act should your beheading be imminent.
The truth is that none of us know how we would deal with such a situation, and it's likely that we would react in a way that is not at all like the one we would expect when we are detached from the situation. How many times have we heard people say that they "wanted to scream, but couldn't" or "I thought I would cry and fall apart, but I didn't"? I am not trying to pick on you personally, necessarily, but I am floored whenever I hear someone (prosecuting attorney, random person commenting on the conduct of another after a tragedy, etc.) saying that someone's reaction to X horrible situation just isn't "right".
The truth is that no one who hasn't been in such a horrendous and logic defying situation can predict how they would react and judge someone elses reactions accordingly. And those who have been in such situations are rarely around afterwards to tell us just what was going through their mind at that moment. -Sara Annie

In offering an opinion, I can only filter a situation through my past experiences or observations. No one in this world has exactly my viewpoint as they have not had my exact experiences. I can only speculate on my perceived reaction based on the surrounding circumstance.

You are right no one knows exactly their reaction to a "horrendous and logic defying situation." Like past kidnapped victims who were tortured, raped, sodomized, electrocuted and afterward professed their "love" for their captor. The mind is malleable and capable of breaking. This is why it is of my opinion that Michael's mind could have been altered in some way (interrogation, torture, drugs etc.) Because based on reactions that I have witnessed to eminent danger (whether real or scripted) my assumption (and instinct) was that something was awry.

~wick

Sara Annie

Well, then, girl, get real. This kind of violence is very real in very many coutries of the world.

Well, yeah. I know that. I did not dispute that horrible things happen, that the world is a violent place, or that your knowledge of these things isn't widespread.

The fact that they happen doesn't mean that I want to watch them as they happen, and not wanting to watch them as they happen doesn't mean that I'm ambivalent to these things or that I condone them.

Interesting random rant about prison conditions--I suppose that, when I visit Texas again, I have a heads up to not commit any felonies or I might end up some big woman's bitch.

I am sorry about your son, though. I hope that he gets through his prison sentence relatively unscathed and determined never to return there.

Nicholas Berg's Beheading

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