I am all for freedom of speech until that speech becomes hate speech. Some may defend Charlie Hebdo by saying their publications are merely satire meant to provoke society, but which part of society are they provoking? What happens when you publish racist and Islamophobic material is 1)you get an already marginalized and hated group in society placed under further attack in this society that already hates them and 2)an increasingly xenophobic society which is taught everyday to mock Islam until they actually grow to fear Islam because of retaliations like the terrible event on Wednesday. Charlie Hebdo is not the thought provoking satire you would see on American satirical shows which mock broken and corrupt systems, Charlie Hebdo is closer to propaganda and hate speech under the guise of freedom of speech. There is enough hatred towards Muslims in France, and through Charlie Hebdo and other publications exercising their freedom of (hate) speech, the issues with anti-Islam will only get worse in France, not better as is the purpose of satire. Islamic extremism SHOULD be discussed, especially in France, but not this way. Not through mocking and condemning all Muslims. The fact that the victims died because they exercised their freedom of speech should not stop anyone from openly criticizing what they were doing and their methods in doing so. Freedom of speech means also the freedom to criticize. If an Islamic extremist were to murder Rush Limbaugh one day, I would condemn the attack, I may even mourn the passing of another human being, but I will not make him a martyr for freedom of speech. I will not venerate a hateful person while simultaneously silencing the suffering of his marginalized victims.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 05:52:30 +0000
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