mama cass
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2004
- Messages
- 6,293
An absolute tragedy and a disgrace. Deeply saddening and troubling. Just getting a chance to read all about this now and it's just awful.
We should note that it's hard to talk about a story like this without addressing the rampant Islamophobia in France, and we need to remember that satire can still be racist. Freedom of speech is extremely important. But there's a responsibility we need to make sure we have when employing satire, and from what I've read Charles Hebdo may have shirked that responsibility. Am I saying they deserved any of this? Hell fucking no. But in describing this as a tragedy, it's probably important not to jump "This is a tragedy that never should have happened" to "This is a tragedy that never should have happened, and I fully support Charles Hebdo because they satirized everyone."
Charlie Hebdo was firebombed in 2011 due to publishing cartoons portraying Mohammed, the sadly now late Stephane Charbonnier (editor and cartoonist "Charb") had been living under police protection for years due to the threats and he was on the Al Quaeda wanted dead or alive list... sure they pushed the boundaries of satire, but they were standing up to bullies, and they refused to be intimidated as a matter of principle... humour is a precious freedom - you can't have bullies dictating what you can or cannot laugh at... religion can be incredibly ridiculous, and Charlie Hebdo was not afraid to put the spotlight on this (and every other issue known to humankind LOL)... otherwise what? will we just end up living in fear? pulling films from movie theaters??
and i'm not sure i would say "rampant Islamophobia", not among non-FN supporters for sure, we're not quite there yet, thankfully, i hope!!