Wednesday, January 7, 2015

After Paris Jihadist Attack, I'm Speechless. Just The Way They Want Us.


But it can't end here. If we let it, they have truly won.

Posted on the Charlie Hebdo website, right after the attack.

I'm no warmonger, and I urge no more war here. But bravery without war is called for. They came for our values. Yes, I know. Bush/Cheney had already trashed them. If you're not sure, read this trash from Marc Thiessen.

There went our honor, squandered in the deserts, in the black sites, in Gitmo.

Next goes our freedom of speech. Not just ours, the civilized world. Worse is that the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris has driven a wedge between native Frenchmen and quite nearly all its immigrant population, heavily Muslim as it is. But why stop there? The Romani? The Greeks? The Bulgarians? They should all go home! will be the cry.

The Rightists like Marine Le Pen will have their answer in coming elections not just in France but across Europe.

If freedom of speech is a core value, and if we are not cowards, then every newspaper, magazine and website in the free world -- that phrase has meaning again -- needs to reclaim it. Charlie Hebdo's original sin was a graphic depicting Muhammad, followed by many others. Publishing these, en masse, should be the singular response across the freedom loving world.

Here's my contribution, a highly controversial Danish cartoon that sent the cartoonist into hiding:


Of course, I've discovered I've already got cover, with Huffington Post well out in front. Let's all do our bit. And part of that bit is to move away from those, like the Bush/Cheney apologists, that see trading our honor for slim, if not vaporous, tactical advantage is a misbegotten tactic. Stand tall for our values, without war, without torture.

I've long since established my anti-religious feelings, thinking that religion is not only archaic and superstitious but also responsible for a great deal of the misery and death around the world. But, hey, keep your religion, I honestly don't care, but don't go around imposing it on others.

RIP, mes amis de Charlie Hebdo.  Maintenant nous sommes tous Charlie Hebdo.


The Jihadists don't know yet the line they crossed. But they've already lost. It's just a matter of time now. Or so, in our brave world, I would hope.

Update. WaPo cartoonist shows strength and class. Je suis Charlie!

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