I didn’t find out about the death of Osama bin Laden through traditional means. I wasn’t flipping through news channels or scanning news sites online.

I was on Facebook.

At first, I saw a steady stream of statuses telling me the president was about to make a special, Sunday night announcement, followed quickly by all-caps exclamations telling me the man whose acts of terrorism colored my childhood had finally been killed.

There is so much that can be said about the death of bin Laden; a single columnist cannot hope to say it all. From morality issues to political catfights, everyone has an opinion about something. I’m no expert on politics or the military, but I do know Facebook and Twitter.

Social media is impulse media. If you’ve got something to say, type 140 characters and share. There is virtually no time to stop and ponder what you’re writing, no filter between you and your friends or followers. Usually, I can ignore the meaningless tweets about the latest episode of “Glee” and the inane statuses of the awkward guy who sat behind me in high school geometry, detailing his marijuana use.

But when something like this happens — something so big it causes the president of the United States to come on live TV at almost midnight EST — people need to use some sort of judgment and filter their thoughts.

Twitter reported more than 4,000 tweets per second were sent during President Barack Obama’s speech. By Monday morning, more than 350,000 people had liked the Facebook page “Osama Bin Laden is DEAD,” almost 300,000 people liked the page “And That’s how the USA outdoes a Royal Wedding.” Memes began to circulate immediately.

We flocked to social media, as we do with every important moment of our lives. However, instead of harmless status updates about sandwiches and lunch, some people began to make inappropriate jokes. “Obama must be taking the death of his close cousin Bin Laden very hard;” “I like how the names Obama and Osama are so similar, and ones our president and ones our supposed enemy. I bet they’re like brothers;” “wait didn’t bush plan 9/11? confuseddd” and similar comments.

Seriously?

After a 1993 bomb at the World Trade Center, bombs at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, an attack on an American ship and the September 11 attacks, bin Laden is finally dead. Presidents George W. Bush and Obama both worked to bring him to justice.

This is not a time to make partisan comments. I don’t care what you think about Bush or Obama: both presidents paved the way for this momentous stride in the war on terrorism. To accuse either one of being in league with terrorists or in any way permitting Bin Laden to kill Americans is insulting not only to them but to America. The majority of voters chose those presidents accused of being in league with Bin Laden. To quote another Internet meme, facepalm.

An event as important as the death of bin Laden calls for Internet posters to think before they write. By all means, celebrate, make jokes and enjoy a world without the FBI’s most wanted fugitive, but use some common sense. This is a time to focus on the bigger picture rather than play the blame game.

— Kate McPherson, journalism sophomore