May 13, 2007

"Tell your honorable people, and journalists, to live in peace now — the people have now been rescued from the cruelty of this wild butcher."

Mullah Dadullah, the operational commander for the Taliban, has been killed.
Mullah Dadullah, an amputee, was recognizable in part from his missing left leg and thick black beard. He had been shot in the head and in the stomach, the governor said. His face and chest were bloodied. He wore traditional Afghan clothes and an ordinary shoe on his good leg.
ADDED: And check out the picture the NYT website has right next to its front-page teaser about the one-legged Dadullah: That's a teaser for this article in the Style section about people like Sarah Reinertsen who present their disability as something cool:
Sarah Reinertsen, 31, an athlete who runs with a prosthetic leg, is a member of the hard-charging vanguard. She was a contestant on CBS’s “Amazing Race” last year (her team came in 7th of 12) and has no qualms about competing against the able-bodied. “Believe me, I get a thrill when I do pass two-legged people,” she said. But she said she never leaves the house without sunglasses. “People always stare,” she said. “It’s part of human nature and it’s tough to be this animal in the zoo.” But Ms. Reinertsen said people have stopped looking at disability as “total tragedy.” “People have changed a lot,” she said. “They ask, ‘Are you wearing one of those cool legs?’ ”

6 comments:

Sloanasaurus said...

Hmm... I guess the legs don't make the man (or woman) in the end.

The Taliban have the same goal as Al Qaeda - to create an Islamic state and to suppress freedom and create a living nightmare for millions. It's always a great day when another one of them bites the dust.

Ruth Anne Adams said...
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Synova said...

Familiarity breeds contempt.

It's the oddity that draws the attention more than anything. Like the girl in the picture, it probably helps to let people get a good look at her leg instead of inadequately hiding it so that all that registers at first is that something is "off".

If a glance tells the story, who needs to stare?

Ann Althouse said...

Ruth Anne: I'm sorry to hear that.

Mortimer Brezny said...

Is it wrong to say "I'd do her."?

Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.