So says Talk Left (via Dean Esmay) about the Wassef Ali Hassoun beheading video which terrorists have promised to release.

If they execute this man (a big mistake, according to this Marine) I'll sure as hell watch the damned thing, and to the extent that it "desensitizes" me (something highly debatable in itself), I'll be that much more filled with implacable, relentless hatred for the bastards who did it. I don't have to forgive. Or forget.

There are mixed reports about whether Hassoun has been killed, but obviously, a video of his death would confirm it.

Once again, these beheadings are nothing new; it's been more than two years since Daniel Pearl's murder, and no doubt that there will be many more.

Dean adds his thoughts about desensitization:

Each time a terrorist group beheads someone the general populace is becoming a mite more desensitive. A tiny part of the shock value and revulsion wears off, because human beings are basically resiliant. Reality is adjusted in a relationship akin to when you stick your hand in a sink of water: your hand goes in and the water adjusts around the hand. Similarly, our perception of reality (a more brutal world) adjusts.

For the terrorists, possibly food for thought.....

I'll be watching.

MORE: Kevin at Wizbang, as usual, offers comprehensive coverage of this awful story, with many links, for those who want to keep track of the video (if one is released).

UPDATE (07-08-04): According to this report, the Hassoun kidnaping and beheading threat may be a hoax. I have no way of evaluating the story, other than to say that in the pictures released, Hassoun did not look nearly as stressed as the previous captives.