I am so disgusted and sad about what happened in Paris. 12 people killed because of the cartoons that appeared in a local newspaper called Charlie Hebdo. The killers were armed to the teeth and dressed in all black. That first picture shows one of their victims. He was a police officer. And his death was caught on videotape. I watched it. It was sickening. He was wounded on the ground. One of the gunmen walked up to him. The officer raised his hand begging for his life. The gunman didn’t even break stride. He just shot him in the head at point blank range and kept right on walking. He didn’t even look back. It was frightening because there was absolutely no emotion. One of the suspects has turned himself in. But the second picture shows the two brothers who police are still looking for. What happens to these people? What makes them think it’s okay to kill someone just because they don’t like their cartoons that poke fun at the prophet Muhammad? Since when is that a crime punishable by death? According to witnesses, the gunman forced their way into the offices of Charlie Hebdo. They went up into a meeting room. They knew who they were looking for. And they killed them. The New York Times quoted one person who was at the meeting. She texted her friend and said: “I’m alive. There is death all around me. Yes, I am there. The jihadists spared me.” And this is from another person who was across the hall from where it happened. He ran into the meeting room as soon as the shooting ended. The Washington Post quoted him as saying: “When we got inside, it was an absolute carnage. There were survivors. We carried out CPR on them. I touched one person lying on the ground. The body had no pulse.” As the gunmen were shooting they reportedly said: Allahu akbar! Hey! We avenged the prophet Mohammed! We killed Charlie Hebdo.” There has been so much reaction to this. That third picture shows one of many large rallies today. And what got me was the sign saying Not Afraid. There has also been some powerful reaction on social media. One person said: As a Muslim, I find the murder of innocent people more despicable and offensive than any cartoon could ever be. #CharlieHebdo Another said: I do not agree with what you have to say, but Ill defend to the death your right to say it. Voltaire #CharlieHebdo #JeSuisCharlie And a third person said: In my Islamic upbringing I was taught that the pen is mans strongest weapon. These extremists must know that they can never silence freedom of speech. It is a stronger weapon than any theyd dare to carry. True Islam condemns such attacks. Long live freedom of expression, religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence. My heart goes out to all of those people killed or injured. And I will assume if you hit “like” that you feel the same way. I’ll leave with this tweet that I saw from a woman named Emily Koch. It sums up my feelings exactly. You can kill journalists, cartoonists. You cant kill the freedom of the press. You have only made their message stronger. Pictures courtesy Reuters and Heathcliff OMalley/The Telegraph
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 09:10:13 +0000
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