I’ll get this out of the way right now, I’m a progressive socialist and Kissinger’s legacy in the world is one of reactionary repression and suffering. I find pretty much everything he stood for to be wrongheaded and harmful to society.
That said, celebrating someone dying in the way that’s happening now shows disrespect to human life and an utter lack of humanity. I understand the motivation, but it should be fought against by remembering that no one is ever just one thing, everyone is a mix of good and bad, and we certainly shouldn’t give in to the desire to rejoice at another’s death, no matter what we think of them.
He lived to 100. He died a powerful and rich man. It’s not like some incredible violence happened to him and everyone is celebrating his pain. It seems to me he lived his best possible life, from his perspective. I’m sure he died without regrets. He was a psychopath.
There’s nothing wrong with celebrating that this man is gone. I hope historians can illuminate his crimes. I hope we can collectively remember him as a villain, and accept his war crimes are something the USA is directly responsible for.
I regret that he was never tried at The Hague.