Nous sommes tous Charlie

I was on my walk yesterday morning when I first heard the news of the murders at Charlie Hebdo, the satirical weekly based in Paris. At time of writing, twelve people had died in the act of terrorism, which targeted four of the main cartoonists, but killed eight other journalists and two police officers as well. One of the latter—wounded on the street—was finished off by gunman for no apparent reason. Except that he could.

The newspaper has ridiculed politicians, religion, business and anything and anyone else worthy of deflation. A lot of what they publish is offensive to a lot of people, which of course is the job of satire. This has been a particular burr under the saddle for Muslims, who have many precedents when it comes to expressing their offendedness through violence. The editors have had to defend themselves in court, and they’ve received death threats and survived a firebombing a few years ago.

(Basically: "Flush all religions")

So far I’ve not heard of Opus Dei or Haredi operatives being associated with such events, but the thugs with Kalashnikovs and masks over their faces who literally shot their way into Charlie Hebdo’s office yesterday were heard to shout, “We have avenged the Prophet.”

There’s been a global tsunami of response on social media, most of it outraged by but some in support of the attack. I’ll let you guess how that breaks out demographically. The graphics and cartoons hashtagged #JeSuisCharlie have been passionate and heart-rending.

"Grab your weapons, comrades!" (Francisco Olea)

(Loïc Sécheresse)

"There is no freedom without freedom of the press" (Tomi Ungerer, who as a boy lived through the German occupation of Alsace, and thus knows from repression and terror.)

(A 2012 New Yorker cartoon)

And one that truly captures the ethos of Charlie Hebdo:

"Oh, no..not them..." (Tommy Dessine)

There have also been spontaneous demonstrations of sorrow and solidarity in cities around the world. Including Paris:

Berlin:

Strasbourg:

London:

Dublin:

Tunis:

Pristina, Albania:

Rio:

Myself, I can’t seem to stop crying, because—aside from the ghastly human loss of each of those lives—the attack on freedom of speech and thought is downright anathema to any definition of civilization.

This is what happens when people have closed minds and open access to weapons. It’s the triumph of the barbarians—in this case the ones who want us all to return to those golden days of the 7^th Century.

As for the cry that we must respect religious sensibilities, if your God is so utterly lacking a sense of humor and so easily affronted that satire is somehow a capital offense, then s/he should not have given humans a brain capable of critical thinking and articulate expression.