Don’t let them silence you
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]llegedly a new year marks a new beginning, yet the Charlie Hebdo massacre is more of the same. It only marks an escalation in damage done to the freedom of expression and human lives over the last few months.
Threats of terrorism and cyber-attacks in response to Sony Picture’s release of The Interview have evolved into actual terrorism and murder in response to Charlie Hebdo’s satirical cartoons of the Islamic faith. Though different in almost every other way, these two events share one similar theme: terrorists try to silence artists because they find the subject matter of the art too offensive.
It must be said that the journalists and cartoonists killed on the 7th of January are martyrs of free speech, which is why I find the act of paying tribute to them through a minute of silence to be painfully ironic and ever so slightly inappropriate.
The workers of Charlie Hebdo were shot because a group of Islamic extremists wanted them to be silent.
They had to die because someone’s supposedly uncompromising faith in a deity was compromised from seeing the satirical product of a pen. Clearly this way of thinking is as cartoonish as the pictures that Charlie Hebdo is known for. Yet holding a minute of silence, regardless of the commendable sentiment behind it, mimics the act that these hypersensitive extremists wanted from the French publication.
Yes, a minute of silence is the accepted method of expressing one’s solidarity for the victim of an atrocity. But when the victims suffered for refusing to stay silent, this response from the public feels like a knee-jerk reaction at best and, at the very worst, a reflection of a superficial society that grieves over a tragedy because it is trending on twitter.
So what is to be done? Next time you take to social media to show support for the victims at Charlie Hebdo, post one of their satirical cartoons instead of a hashtag (even better, draw one of your own).
If you feel compelled to hold a rally of solidarity, don’t get your group to stay silent. Have conversations with one another about the merits of unrestricted expression and feel free to say whatever is on your mind to each other.
The flow of ideas and the freedom to challenge views of the status quo is the beauty of democracy. It is a disgrace to kill another because their ideas offended you, but the ultimate disgrace is to let the fear of any repercussions silence your opinions. The journalists that worked at Charlie Hebdo knew that, which is why, after the publication was firebombed way back in 2011 for their satirical cartoons, Editor-in-chief Stephane Charbonnier said: ‘This may sound pompous, but I prefer to die standing up than live on my knees’.
Comments (1)
check your privilege before you call a bunch of dead racists “marytyrs”