# Am I the only one who thinks bin Laden is hot? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 14, 2001, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646 "2001-09-14T17:59:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/41 "2001-09-14T23:05:23Z")
Isn’t this trolling? Don’t trolls get banned? Fucking insensitive moronic loser. ---
**Author:** ![Phallyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@Phallyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phallyn)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/42 "2001-09-14T23:14:00Z")
Bin Laden? Naw, he looks kinda grimy in all the newscasts I’ve seen of him. I always privately though Josef Mengele was somewhat good-looking…_sputter_ in a completely disgusting and repellant manner, of course! I swear! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/43 "2001-09-15T00:36:06Z")
Howyadoin, Well, Bundy’s dead, and Richard Ramirez and the Menendez Brothers are married, so what’s a seriously disturbed freakazoid to do? -Rav P.S. “Richard Ramirez and the Menendez Brothers”… band name? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![meeshkeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@meeshkeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meeshkeen)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/44 "2001-09-15T00:42:46Z")
OMG Atreyu 3y3 s0 pwn you!!!111111111111 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/45 "2001-09-15T00:53:47Z")
Howyadoin, Hmmm… I suspect the President isn’t the only person getting ready to exterminate a pest tonight! So which mod’s gonna push the button? I see Euty poached a thread tonight… -Rav ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/46 "2001-09-15T01:19:16Z")
Howyadoin, Looks like Coldie’s _In The Mood_… > [@](#): > > Who’s come to slay the haX0r > Come to watch him fall? > [@](#): > > The kick in the ass as you head for the door > Is a Coldfire -Rav ---
**Author:** ![Tokiwoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@Tokiwoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tokiwoki)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/47 "2001-09-15T01:27:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by meeshkeen \* > \*\*OMG Atreyu 3y3 s0 pwn you!!!111111111111 \*\* Uh, can we do something about this **meeshkeen** kid? I love reading the boards, but this is just fucking up my universe. ---
**Author:** ![Slip\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Slip\_Mahoney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slip_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/48 "2001-09-15T01:37:31Z")
**meeshkeen,** you’re getting on everyone’s nerves. Allow me to explain something to you: Fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/49 "2001-09-15T01:49:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by meeshkeen \* > \*\*OMG Atreyu 3y3 s0 pwn you!!!111111111111 \*\* I don’t know what message it is you’re trying to tell me, but I don’t care. Go away kid, you bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/50 "2001-09-15T01:50:21Z")
meeshkeen: This is the SDMB. tH1z eez d3 5dM3 0n dr00gz: Any questions? ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/51 "2001-09-15T02:04:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*Well, we shouldn’t be too hard on **Lucky**. Since the sexy bachelor, Osma Bin Laden, is apparently not free to date right now, I’m sure **Lucky** is busy writng letters proposing marriage to Death Row convicts. \*\* Coming this fall on Fox: _Who Wants to Marry a Mass Murderer?_ ---
**Author:** ![nra\_babe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@nra\_babe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nra_babe)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/52 "2001-09-15T02:07:36Z")
yeah hes cute enough… for a target. WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING??? ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/53 "2001-09-15T04:34:33Z")
Blow-up bin Laden dolls, sold at a store near you. ---
**Author:** ![JTR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@JTR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JTR)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/54 "2001-09-15T05:52:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lucky \* > \*\*OK, I said it. Go ahead and flame me. > > Of course I’d like to see the bastard bombed into oblivion. > Of course I think he’s an asshole. > Of course I’m sickened by his acts and his entire organization. > > But damn if he isn’t hot. \*\* Personally, I _like_ Lucky’s take on Osama B. Osama B is a small-time military commander with primitive training camps and no industrial infrastructure to speak of. He’s already blown through much of his personal fortune and is running out of money. He has some financial backing and some state support, but he is operating from half-way around the world and his resources are ultimately limited. He himself is easily contained. Clinton managed to keep him somewhat at bay by lobbing an occasional missile at his infrastructure–his training camps and a factory or two. A focused effort of the sort being undertaken now will flush him out sooner or later. The talking heads generally think it won’t be difficult to box him in or capture him outright, given enough time and a real international effort. Much more tricky is his status as a religious leader with a fundamentalist philosophy that espouses suicide attacks. Even after he’s gone, fanatics will continue to find his religious teachings attractive. Furthermore, there are already hidden cells of militants lodged in countries all over the world, including the U.S. They are going to be tough to track down and wipe out, and it’s going to require a long-term effort and a lot of vigilance. Still, even that can be handled. The Muslim population in the U.S. is fairly small and easily identifiable. The terrorists are operating far from home and have very limited resources. Using jet airliners as bombs was a smart idea, but I doubt that that particular trick is going to work many more times. In a way, it was pretty low-tech–it was just a bunch of guys with knives (and a lot of resolve). They even had to get their flight training in the U.S. Yes, the terrorists scored big this time. But the tally was still only 5,000 deaths compared to 41,500 highway fatalities in the U.S. in 1998. It’s a genuine tragedy of the first order, but it didn’t weaken the U.S. militarily. If anything, it just stirred a hornet’s nest. Ultimately, the effect of this particular act of terrorism will be the opposite of what was intended. Given Osama B’s disdain for Western culture, he likely thought that a splashy terrorist act would break the back of the jaded and moribund U.S. outright. Like Timothy McVeigh and a lot of other terrorists, he probably figured that one or two good sucker punches at the right time and the U.S. will collapse of its own weight and roll over and die. But he’ll learn otherwise. So I’m kind of on Lucky’s side. Her observation shows a certain amount of disdain. She’s not horrified by Osama B or swept up in the near-universal shock at this small-time military commander. It sounds as though she looks at him like a bug under a microscope and sees clearly his various features: Yes, he’s a mass murderer, but he’s also a good-looking fellow. No harm in giving credit where credit’s due. The main thing is to see him as he is: A pain in the ass, a source of much real grief for many families in New York and D.C., but ultimately not someone to get real worked up about. It’s going to take some time and effort to get a handle on the problem, and maybe we have to look at the balance between civil liberties and national security. The terrorists might even score another splashy high-body-count incident or two before we get them under full control. Credit where credit’s due–militant Islamic fundamentalism is a force to be reckoned with, and it’s going to take a while to wear the fundamentalists down and demonstrate to them that they’re wasting their time. But we’re a big, strong nation and we’ll figure out how to handle the problem. In summary, I understand those who recoil at the tactlessness of Lucky’s comment so soon after such a tragedy. But personally I respect an irreverent sense of humor at times like this more than I respect horror and shock. Frankly, I don’t think Osama B. is all that big a deal. Lucky’s comment tells me that she’s not all that impressed by the dude as a threat to her own security–and hence as a threat to the nation’s security–and I respect that kind of attitude. Hey, I’m a guy, but even I have to admit that Osama B isn’t that bad-looking. 🙂 What else can I say–we all handle tragedy in different ways. Personally, I like irreverent humor as a coping mechanism. To me, it says to the enemy, “Fuck you. I’m not impressed.” ---
**Author:** ![Lionors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c37758/32.png) [@Lionors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionors)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/55 "2001-09-15T10:10:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by capacitor \* > \*\*Blow-up bin Laden dolls, sold at a store near you. \*\* Pun intended, one hopes? 😃 Kind of like the frog-in-a-blender or hamster-in-the-microwave thingy? ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/56 "2001-09-16T00:37:34Z")
Another thread nominated for the \*\* Screaming Heebie Jeeebies\*\* award in the category of Outstanding examples of Freakiness and Lunacy. ---
**Author:** ![theendisnear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@theendisnear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theendisnear)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/57 "2001-09-16T01:12:56Z")
Jesus christ, what a stupid fucking bitch. ---
**Author:** ![serack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@serack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/serack)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/58 "2001-09-16T03:26:43Z")
So she praised his looks, so what? She didn’t say she wanted to marry him. She can separate her visual perception from her emotional perception, good for her. Anyway, he looks zany to me; always smiling like a child while clutching an assault weapon. ---
**Author:** ![serack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@serack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/serack)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/59 "2001-09-16T03:28:05Z")
also, why is this in the Pit? ---
**Author:** ![schplebordnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@schplebordnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schplebordnik)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646/60 "2001-09-16T03:59:28Z")
And think what dating him would be like: 1. don’t talk, because the education of women is illegal in Afghanistan. You’ll likely get a beating, or a stoning; 2. sex will be real fun. Although getting banged through a hole in a sheet might take some of the romance out of it; 3. he’ll never know whether you’re hot or not, since you’re forced to wear a full chador, with only mesh over your eyes preventing you from looking like Caspar on Halloween; 4. you get to share time with his purported three other wives; 5. you’re probably not going to live long, 'cause he’s probably going up in Napalm real soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-bin-laden-is-hot/81646.md?page=4)