The Awkward End

Word is, Fred Phelps is dying.  If the name doesn't ring a bell, he was the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, and if that name doesn't ring a bell, they're the ones that picket funerals telling people they're going to hell.  My reaction - which seems to be shared by many others - is, well... that's happening.  It's hard to know how to react to the death of a hated person.

This brings up memories Osama Bin Laden's death.  I certainly wasn't sorry to see him go, but I also wasn't comfortable with the celebrations following his death.  I'm okay with the idea that killing someone is sometimes the least-bad option. But even when it is your enemy, it should be done with a sense of regret, not cheerfulness.

So how do you react when a really bad person dies?  I think it can be summed up in a quote that I saw after Bin Laden died, attributed to Mark Twain: 

I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.

That is, asking for someone's death seems wrong, but rejoicing in the absence of their evil is perhaps more appropriate.