Je Suis Charlie... Being French as well as a writer myself, and a strong advocate for freedom of speech and freedom of press, I thought I ought to write a few words regarding the recent horrific attack on a French newspaper that killed 12 people. First of all, any attack as such is a horrific act against our freedoms and it is trying to instillate hate and anger and I strongly believe in not letting these affect us in such negative ways but still it should unite everyone who does believe in these freedoms and principles to stand up and stay strong against totalitarism and extremism. “To hold a pen is to be at war” ~ Voltaire These cartoonists who were killed are what I would describe as today’s society’s resistants. Charlie Hebdo was, is, a magazine that always stayed true to itself. No matter the financial difficulties (they closed for years), no matter the threats ( the editor in chief had been living under police protection for the past few years), they never stopped to do what they were doing. They never stopped believing in these principles of freedom of speech, of being able to laugh about anything and everything. Everybody has to understand as well, that France in particular has a very very long history of satire and caricature when it comes to either the people in charge or religions but also to bring awareness to social issues for example. Stephane “Charb” Charbonnier had recently done shockingly humourous cartoons to bring awareness to the animal cause for instance... French artists and writers have used such tools for hundreds of years, and we all grew up with these, my grand dad was a big fan of Cabu and Wolinsky and I always saw their cartoons growing up, and in many regards they have influenced who I am today; why I think it is so important to not turn the other way when injustice occurs, why you should use whatever gift you have been given - be it drawing, writing, singing, speaking... - for the greater good and to help others. But why do I think that this is an important issue to raise? What does it have in common with Whisper n Thunder? Well, in this day and age, I believe everything is interconnected. As Martin Luther King said Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. These guys believed in denouncing what is wrong with the society, and they paid with their lives for it. For not playing the game some medias are playing: creating sensationalism, censoring other news. The truth is, we are deeply affected by what the media tell us. And we can easily be manipulated. I think little independant magazines or ezines like Whisper n Thunder are very important as they bring a balance to this big money making machine that are the media. Why is that that crimes happening on some reservations are not talked about? Why is that that Native American women disappearances are not on the 8 o’clock news? Why is that that they don’t mention the living conditions that are endangering people’s lives and that we help with funds such as EREZ? Why is that that... I could keep going but this is unnecessary I guess. You got the point. And so all of this is why I do strongly believe that we can make a difference, we have to unite, without borders or nationalities, we have to stand strong together, peacefully, and make our voice heard. Every little thing matters. Everybody’s life matters! Every one of these freedoms that we take for granted matters. Or we will only realized we had them when we don’t anymore! As British author Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote: “The pen is mightier than the sword” . #JeSuisCharlie #CharlieHebdo #Freedom I would love to see Je suis Charlie (I am charlie) translated in some Native American languages too! Stephanie Deplanque Editor Whisper of Art Ambassador Whisper n Thunder whispernthunder.org Like us on facebook Whisper n Thunder Fan Page Do what you like, like what you do. Ambassador Free China freechina.ntdtv.org/helpfreechina/
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 02:44:53 +0000
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