Sincerely Asked Question... Are You Going To/Have You.. Watched The James Foley Video... I Cannot...

[WillyT]

I just can't... don't need to, don't want to get further enraged...

Just... cannot.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Nope, I am not going to watch it.

Watching someone die in such a barbaric way would be too painful.

[FrodosPet]

22. I have mixed feelings about watching it

As I mentioned in another post, I watched the brutal I.S. propaganda video "Clanging Of The Swords IV".

It was sad and awful. Perhaps the fact that I have seen some pretty horrible things in person, like growing up in a high crime city (once even walking up on a pregnant woman who had just been shot), has probably desensitized me a bit so that it was not quite as hard on me as it may be on others. But it was still profound. I feel like now, emotionally and spiritually, I really understand the horror of war.

No amount of talking about war, or looking at some pictures of building debris, will ever replace the visual impact of seeing war's human victims in detail. It is morbid, most definitely, but it brings it all home.

I cannot put down anyone for not wanting to see it. At the same time, for anyone strong enough to handle it, doing so WILL bring you an emotional attachment to war's victims that is next to impossible in any other way.

[F4lconF16]

83. I completely agree.

Pictures of the victims and what they have experienced does so much more than reading about it, or looking at a tangential photo, like a bombed building. One of the pictures that really hit home about the Iraq war was the picture of the burned Iraqi man attempting to climb out of his truck... There are images you don't forget.

Though I respect those who can't, for those who can bear it, I think the best understanding you can get without being there comes from these direct images, these videos of what has happened. Understanding to a degree, and like you said, an emotional attachment...

Edit: I somewhat misread the thread. I won't watch what happened to Foley. I don't need that in my head. I have read enough... This is not war, affecting people indiscriminately, something I might be forced to be a part of or have to fight against, something that I believe I should understand innately. This is a twisted group attempting to terrorize us. Just as I would not watch a serial killer mangle their victim, so I will not watch this.

[Aerows]

2. I wish I could unsee it

I accidentally followed a link, and there it was.

I don't understand doing it, I don't understand filming it, and I *really* don't understand people linking to it.

[onecaliberal]

17. They want to terrorize. That's why they film it

[WinkyDink]

48. I think videos have "PAUSE" buttons, to stop and leave.

[Aerows]

82. I had a lapful of pouncing cat

and my eyes flicked up right when the bad part happened.

[MohRokTah]

3. I've read a description

That's way more than enough for me.

[840high]

81. Same here. No desire to watch.

[oldandhappy]

4. no

Just knowing is more than enough. I have no desire to see it.

[Uncle Joe]

5. I don't feel a need to watch it as this serves no useful purpose.

I know what they did.

Thanks for the thread, WillyT.

[littlemissmartypants]

34. Agreed. nt

[Rex]

6. NO.

I watched a few videos when we invaded Iraq in 2003 and it turned my stomach. Some of the executions were not clean, meaning the terrorists sawed through the victims neck...I WISH I would have never looked at such stuff...I still remember one in particular.

I will never look at that kind of stuff again.

[nevergiveup]

7. I am with you on this one.

I almost alway convince myself to watch videos like this but for some reason, this one time, I can not bring myself to do it.

[Brigid]

8. Nope.

I don't see the point.

[3catwoman3]

9. No.

No, no, no, no, no. I cannot even bear to read about it.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

10. I made the mistake of viewing a couple of seconds of the Pearl beheading...

...and wish I had not because you cannot unsee something like that if you're a half-decent person.

I WILL NOT view the Foley video and my most supportive and loving thoughts go out to his family and friends.

[Agschmid]

72. Same.

[Marrah_G]

11. I knew a guy who made the mistake of watching the Pearl video

He said back then " don't watch it, you can never unsee/unhear it, it's not like the movies, it's not one quick swing of a sword"

You don't want that visual/audio in your head.

[wercal]

12. No

I listened to audio of Mr. Pearl's murder and it was terrible. Can't imagine watching it.

[Ed Suspicious]

13. nope. I already have the movie based on a true story playing on repeat in my head.

[jberryhill]

14. No. They want us to

I'm not doing what they want.

[Baitball Blogger]

66. +1

[SammyWinstonJack]

15. No, it's bad enough that I happen to read a description of it here on DU when I didn't want to know

the details.

[RKP5637]

16. No, I have no desire to see it. I'm just constantly appalled by the creatures that

inhabit and walk the earth.

[TDale313]

18. No. I couldn't bear to watch it.

Have never watched the Daniel Pearl video, either. I'm sickened just knowing about it, and I am not a squeamish person. It's not an image I need to see.

My heart goes out to his loved ones, and may the monsters who did this pay.

[herding cats]

19. I haven't and I am not going to watch it.

Like you I cannot. I understand what took place without having to bear witness to his execution. They'll not leave that image in my mind for me to deal with for all my days.

[Nye Bevan]

20. I have, and it's horrible. But I do not regret it.

It truly drives home what fundamentalist Jihadism is all about.

[nikto]

39. Unless...

Last edited Thu Aug 21, 2014, 10:08 PM - Edit history (1)

It was neocon operatives doing it, to inflame western emotions and expand the war.

Neocons are as Machiavellian as anybody, and they want this war, BAD.


If you completely dismiss this as a possibility,
then you don't know neocons.



The Daniel Pearl murder, and especially the Nick Berg slaying, also aroused this suspicion in
a few analysts, at the time.

The slaying arouses angry and hurt emotions in the west more than it inspires new devotees.

Rather than just knee-jerk reacting in the predictable, unthinking way,
smart people always ask:
Cui bono?

[WinkyDink]

50. I'm a huge CT kind o'gal, but this one is too bizarre. Cui bono is the entire Muslim world.

[CJCRANE]

69. Far from it. This will bring nothing but hatred and pain against the muslim world.

Just like Abu Ghraib. Did that benefit Americans? Of course not, it evoked hatred and vengeance.

[WinkyDink]

78. We were the obvious perps of Abu Ghraib.

[Baitball Blogger]

67. I know. I was wondering the same thing.

If ISIS wanted to start a war, they have laid the foundation.

On the other hand, if this was a neo-con ruse, ISIS has the ability to come out and call it a sham. Since they have not, we can only assume that it was, in fact, their doing.

[nikto]

84. Good point

ISIS doesn't exactly seem to be denying the act, that's for sure at this point.

ISIS most probably did it, but still, America's neocons surely CHEERED the killing (from the
privacy of their exclusive club's lounge).

The beheading fuels all the war-frenzy the neocons cream-their-jeans over.

[WinkyDink]

49. Why would you deliberately watch a gruesome murder? Poor imagination?

[DRoseDARs]

80. What is with your snottiness in this thread? nt

[BlueCaliDem]

21. No. Or I should say, heck no.

Just not into gruesome videos of beheadings.

[WestCoastLib]

23. No way

Do not want

[nolabear]

24. Now imagine yourself a child who sees this in the flesh more than once.

It changes you. Seeing your, or any, people killed changes you.

[newfie11]

54. Infinity!!!!! Nt

[TwilightGardener]

25. Nope. Nope. Nope.

I don't even watch violent movie scenes.

[defacto7]

26. I have no desire to

step into their trap. I know what a beheading is and what it means, there is no more truth in seeing it and no value to me nor does it support the families of the bereaved.

I have watched a couple of tributes to James Foley's life and work. That's where the power is.

IS are ugly minded, deluded, misinformed, religionists who deserve no attention from me.

[HeiressofBickworth]

27. No, won't watch it.

I think Mr. Foley deserves some respect -- watching some terrorist behead him does nothing to preserve his dignity. He was a brave person to put himself in an arena so he could report to the world. Thanks to him, we now know the extent of the barbarism practiced by ISIS -- and I WON'T call them "Islamic State". It demeans the majority of Islamic people who would never behave this way and it gives legitimacy to their conquest of foreign territories. They are terrorists, plain and simple.

Someone on DU suggested that the aim is to return to the values of the 7th century, which ISIS seems to so admire. They need to re-read their Koran. There is nowhere in the Koran that advocates using jeeps with mounted machine guns and rocket launchers. If they were truly adhering to their holy book, they would use spears and rocks which were the war weapons at the time of Mohammed. Since they are not following their holy book, we can only assume they are violent psychopaths whose only goal is to maim and kill. I feel sorry for people who wind up in their path.

And, no, I don't have a solution. If we stay out of it, they will continue genocide against anyone they think are lesser humans. If we go into it, there is no end to the amount of troops, treasure and time required to make any kind of difference. Saddam may have been a brutal dictator, but he was their dictator and he prevented this kind of violence against innocent people. Who wodda thot that we'd be missing HIM. Thanks, George Bush, for stirring up this hornet's nest.

[msanthrope]

28. Yes. Do not watch it. nt

[Duppers]

29. N0

I already have nightmares, besides I cannot kill even a house spider without great remorse.

[JaydenD]

65. I'm like that too. I can't bring myself to squish bugs any more.

Flies and mosquitoes in the house, sure - I'll get the swatter out but if I find some lost crawly thing I'll get a tissue and capture it and throw it outside.

[DRoseDARs]

30. Years ago I saw a video of a Russian soldier in the tender care of Chechen rebels...

The video was grainy and desaturated (I think on purpose of the site operators that had it) but the audio...

It's been years, but even thinking about what I saw or worse what I heard instantly makes me start crying.

Beheading is one of the most evil acts one can do to another. Horrifying beyond words. One committing such an act is beyond redemption.

[get the red out]

42. Yes

Beyond redemption.

[Inkfreak]

44. I believe I know the video you're referring to.

And it's been one of the most disturbing videos I have ever seen. It's been over a decade and I still remember it. It affected me profoundly.

[cui bono]

31. No, I won't.

I worry about it being available online. I wish it weren't. I worry that teenage boys will watch it thinking it will be cool to see it. I worry that they will still think that after they see it.

[No Vested Interest]

32. NO. nt

[MaggieD]

33. No it's too gruesome, but it reminds me

Of the gruesome carnage we fund via Israel. Both sicken me equally.

[littlemissmartypants]

35. Attention is our most vital tool.

What ever you focus your attention on you strengthen.

~Lmsp

[Control-Z]

36. I can't. I won't.

Something like that becomes permanently etched in one's mind.

I am already horrified, even traumatized, by what I've heard and read. I only hope his family never sees it. Those poor dear people. Their suffering is beyond comprehension.

[Iggo]

37. Just say No to Death Porn.

[Raine]

38. NO, I saw the Daniel Perle one

HORRIBLE ... I don't ever want to see such a thing again!

[proverbialwisdom]

40. FYI.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/20/police-warn-james-foley-video-crime-social-media

[get the red out]

41. No

For me, knowing what happened is enough, I don't need to see an atrocity like that.

[NaturalHigh]

43. No and not going to.

[boston bean]

45. I watched the Daniel Pearl one long time ago and cannot unsee that one,

it still haunts me when I think about it.

So, I think I get the full visual and understanding, and I don't want to see another.

[WinkyDink]

53. Gee, you deliberately watched a hideous murder, and are still "haunt(ed)"? Who'da thunk?

[boston bean]

58. Yep, I watched it and it does still haunt me.

I'm not sorry I watched it though. Just don't want to watch another.

[MrMickeysMom]

57. Agreed… eom

[In_The_Wind]

46. I have_not and will_not watch the video.

[WinkyDink]

47. I think anyone who does, short of the CIA, has a seriously loose screw.

[TBF]

51. No - and further

it is time for this country to think about it's dependence on oil and developing new forms of energy. Not only to get out of the middle east (which we desperately need to do) but also to save this planet.

I won't watch it, I do not want to willingly support any fundamentalist regime (including Saudi, Israel or the religious kooks in this country), and I do not support giving them $$$ for oil.

We boycott other industries - like the Koch Bros - we should be boycotting these murderous thugs.

[WinkyDink]

52. Who comprises "we" here?

[TBF]

60. I don't think I was unclear in my post -

US out of the Middle East now.

I feel like I am back in college 30 years ago explaining why we need to get the hell out of El Salvador. The only reason our troops are sent abroad is to protect what this country's leaders consider our "resources" - in most cases oil, piping the oil, transporting the oil etc. We are also involved in backing up corporations that are extracting other resources - such as mining for certain minerals in Central America.

When actual people could use some assistance - such as the non-white folks of Rwanda - we turn a blind eye because it's not like Exxon has wells there. It is very transparent.

The US Gov't, acting on behalf of the 1% is raping this planet's resources in the goal of greater profits. It needs to stop.

I could give examples but all you have to do is read the Socialist Progressives or Latin America group for starters - we post copius examples of this behavior only to be ignored by people simply parroting the party line.

[MrMickeysMom]

55. Not, I… since making the mistake of watching the one during the "War on Terror"

Will not…

I trust this is the desired effect for all who wonder about our meddling in the world.

WillyT…. I'm still enraged over the last set of lies that got us into this mess in the first place.

[MrScorpio]

56. Not just no, but fuck no. nt

[pleinair]

59. will not watch

As others have said, it can't be unseen & it changes you.

[CBGLuthier]

61. No. I have enough unpleasant images in my head and I do not support American policies in the ME.

I do think that all the war hawks should be forced to watch it but they would probably enjoy it.

It would not enrage me. Why should one more unpleasant but sadly common act of human cruelty enrage? Unpleasant things are done by human beings all over the planet and for all kinds of reasons.

[Adrahil]

62. No. Nothing positive in watching the brutal murder of a person. NT

[JaydenD]

63. No. I don't want to be any part of a Roman Coliseum.

I feel I would be disrespectful if I watched it for the Horror Entertainment it would give - that I am sure many view it for. I have an imagination good enough to know what a beheading looks like in my minds eye and I don't need it on vid.

[alsame]

64. Absolutely not. nt

[Borchkins]

68. Nope

[CJCRANE]

70. No. It's propaganda. Both ISIS and the MSM want to terrorize us.

Incidentally, it also seems to reference iconic images from Abu Ghraib and Gitmo.

[Gothmog]

71. No

I like Rachel Maddow's analysis that if no one watches these snuff films, the terrorists would have less reason to put them out

[cwydro]

73. No. nt

[NuclearDem]

74. No. I have no desire to help them achieve their goals.

[Boom Sound 416]

75. No in protest to YouTube

google should be fined or used for allowing it to be posted in the first place

[notadmblnd]

76. No

[Jackpine Radical]

77. No.

I've seen enough death and maiming in my life to last me.

[Ilsa]

79. No. can't. nt.

[LWolf]

85. No.

Would it add to the information I've already got, or simply trigger more horror and rage, which live with me already?

[xiamiam]

86. no

[PoutrageFatigue]

87. Yes.

Not pleasant.

[politicat]

88. No. I'm Quaker, I believe one must stand witness for justice, I did so for Nick Berg.

I can't do it again. I think I can witness and advocate from the descriptions.

May the universe grant peace and comfort to his family and friends,

[CBHagman]

89. No, and just knowing what was done to him is enough.

I know there are people who have to view these videos for verification and intel reasons, and there are journalists as well who have watched them as research, but I know there are also people out there watching them out of interest -- for whatever reason.

AOL's homepage suggests that a lot of people are searching for these. I don't know the individual motivations, but just knowing some people watch them out of curiosity disturbs me. There was time when so-called advanced societies held very grisly executions in public to make a point, and then there's the history of lynching, which is very, very hard to read and extremely recent in the timeline of U.S. history.

May there come a day when NO such images are viewed around the world.

[kiva]

90. No, and I'm not watching

the video of Kajiemi Powell being shot either.

[closeupready]

91. Nope. As others have said, I don't even like violent movies.

I don't see the point or entertainment value in it.

With the footage of Foley's murder, again, it seems pointless from the perspective of those not directly involved in that crime. So absolutely will never watch this.

[Jenoch]

92. I clicked on the link to this video.

Before the video loaded, I chose to close the window. This is not something I need to see to believe the hatred and malevolence of those who did the kidnapping.