Today, I share with y'all an article I wrote almost a week ago (because that's how the publishing thing works on a site like Everyjoe), where I shared my initial thoughts about the real challenge that the Charlie Hebdo attack highlights.
Over the past week, my predictions proved to be right, but not to have gone far enough. I had not expected such a quick turnaround among some, showing their true colors literally before all the bodies were buried, and writing disgusting articles claiming Hebdo should shoulder blame for what happened, that their work was offensive, or that they should not have been allowed to publish their work in the first place.
But, I also didn't expect as enormous a level of ongoing support and commitment from people. This is not something people just dropped in a day or two (I was, I'll admit, almost worried when I wrote the piece that by today it would be seen as totally 'old news' that no one was talking about anymore; I'm glad that worry was unfounded).
I think that in some ways Charlie Hebdo has been a watershed. It has set a clear line in the sand. There's no more hiding behind half-hearted statements of any variety: either you absolutely defend Charlie Hebdo's right to exist (regardless of whether you like their offensive satire), or you do not.
You either are Charlie Hebdo, or you killed Charlie Hebdo.
RPGPundit
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Or you just don give a damn and listen to Cambalache 😋
ReplyDeleteYou know if we are allowed to poke fun in Christianity and various other religions we should be allowed to poke fun on Islam. Instead we treat it as if such a act is forbidden and that Islam should get separate treatment. I don't think so. I think we should add in Islam, poke fun at it, and let muslims poke fun at our religion. I guess I am just crazy like that.
ReplyDeleteI just hope that the same spirit of "freedom of speech" would be followed when the same kind of satire and criticism is leveled at Judaism and the State of Israel. Here in Israel people are conditioned to scream "antisemitism" at anything which is critical or satirical of the State of Israel, not to mention Judaism. So we all end up crying "wolf" all the time - seeing antisemitism even where none exists. This makes treating actual antisemitism much harder as the real antisemitic slanderer can just say "well you Jews are just paranoid, see how you responded to X or Y".
ReplyDeleteIf someone would publish a front-page caricature lampooning Moses in the same way they did Muhammed, the newspaper titles here in Israel would scream bloody murder and "HORRID ANTISEMITIC SLANDER" and articles might even start talking about a coming pogrom/holocaust... Even if said caricature would be nothing but poking fun.
A shame man ever invented god.
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