Charlie Hebdo
15 Jan '15 23:23I've been observing this phenomenon in the media since the killings in Paris hit the airwaves. There seems to be mainly one camp of thought on this, and it has the well-meaning umbrella of "freedom of speech" especially among journalists. I, for one, do believe in "freedom of speech", since I am American and this is spelled out in our First Amendment to the US Constitution.
That being said, I'm also a firm believer in the concept of "living peaceably with your neighbors" and that you don't go around just doing everything you can to piss people off just "for the lulz". Charlie Hebdo, on its cover, even calls itself "Irresponsible Journalism". They are admittedly an atheist organization, a "mouthpiece", if you will, for the atheist cause. Apparently this also involves making fun of every other religion under the sun, "just because they can". Mohammed is just its latest victim in this regard, and they paid a very serious price for "pissing off" the wrong people.
Even though I do believe in "freedom of speech", and more to the point, "freedom of the press", I also believe there is a fine line here involving basic respect for your fellow man. Religion has long been one of those things that people are taught not to denigrate in polite society. Another is race, another is gender. Race was probably the first of these to fall by the wayside; now calling someone a "racist" is usually considered "fighting words", and you better have a good reason for calling someone out for this, witness the common phrase "I can't believe you used the race card." As women know, feminists have been calling men "sexist" for years now, even to the point where men now seem to ignore this label, or to even wear it with pride, but we're getting closer all the time. It is slowly but surely becoming socially unacceptable to be a "sexist".
Pope Francis recently went on record on the Charlie Hebdo issue. This is a piece of an article that appeared in The Huffington Post:
Pope Francis On Charlie Hebdo: 'You Cannot Insult The Faith Of Others'
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis said Thursday there are limits to freedom of speech, especially when it insults or ridicules someone's faith.
Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one's mind for the sake of the common good.
But he said there were limits.
By way of example, he referred to Alberto Gasparri, who organizes papal trips and was standing by his side aboard the papal plane.
"If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch," Francis said half-jokingly, throwing a mock punch his way. "It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others."
His pretend punch aside, Francis by no means said the violent attack on Charlie Hebdo was justified. Quite the opposite: He said such horrific violence in God's name couldn't be justified and was an "aberration." But he said a reaction of some sort was to be expected.
Many people around the world have defended the right of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to publish inflammatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in the wake of the massacre by Islamic extremists at its Paris offices and subsequent attack on a kosher supermarket in which three gunmen killed 17 people.
Others, though, have noted that in virtually all societies, freedom of speech has its limits, from laws against Holocaust denial to racially motivated hate speech.
Recently the Vatican and four prominent French imams issued a joint declaration that, while denouncing the Paris attacks, urged the media to treat religions with respect.
Francis, who has called on Muslim leaders in particular to speak out against Islamic extremism, went a step further Thursday when asked by a French journalist about whether there were limits when freedom of expression meets freedom of religion.
"There are so many people who speak badly about religions or other religions, who make fun of them, who make a game out of the religions of others," he said. "They are provocateurs. And what happens to them is what would happen to Dr. Gasparri if he says a curse word against my mother. There is a limit."
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What I'm saying is that we need to show a little more respect for others. We've made serious strides in earlier decades, first regarding race, then gender, then sexuality, now we need to do the same for religious choice.
While all the leaders of the free world getting together in a rally showing support for freedom of the press is a good thing, putting a similar effort behind religious freedom and not treating others as somehow less than human just because they have a different religion than you is an issue whose time has finally come.
I find it just too bad that in order to get our voices heard, we have to rally behind a magazine who has made it their business to make fun of others because of their religion.
That being said, I'm also a firm believer in the concept of "living peaceably with your neighbors" and that you don't go around just doing everything you can to piss people off just "for the lulz". Charlie Hebdo, on its cover, even calls itself "Irresponsible Journalism". They are admittedly an atheist organization, a "mouthpiece", if you will, for the atheist cause. Apparently this also involves making fun of every other religion under the sun, "just because they can". Mohammed is just its latest victim in this regard, and they paid a very serious price for "pissing off" the wrong people.
Even though I do believe in "freedom of speech", and more to the point, "freedom of the press", I also believe there is a fine line here involving basic respect for your fellow man. Religion has long been one of those things that people are taught not to denigrate in polite society. Another is race, another is gender. Race was probably the first of these to fall by the wayside; now calling someone a "racist" is usually considered "fighting words", and you better have a good reason for calling someone out for this, witness the common phrase "I can't believe you used the race card." As women know, feminists have been calling men "sexist" for years now, even to the point where men now seem to ignore this label, or to even wear it with pride, but we're getting closer all the time. It is slowly but surely becoming socially unacceptable to be a "sexist".
Pope Francis recently went on record on the Charlie Hebdo issue. This is a piece of an article that appeared in The Huffington Post:
Pope Francis On Charlie Hebdo: 'You Cannot Insult The Faith Of Others'
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis said Thursday there are limits to freedom of speech, especially when it insults or ridicules someone's faith.
Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one's mind for the sake of the common good.
But he said there were limits.
By way of example, he referred to Alberto Gasparri, who organizes papal trips and was standing by his side aboard the papal plane.
"If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch," Francis said half-jokingly, throwing a mock punch his way. "It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others."
His pretend punch aside, Francis by no means said the violent attack on Charlie Hebdo was justified. Quite the opposite: He said such horrific violence in God's name couldn't be justified and was an "aberration." But he said a reaction of some sort was to be expected.
Many people around the world have defended the right of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to publish inflammatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in the wake of the massacre by Islamic extremists at its Paris offices and subsequent attack on a kosher supermarket in which three gunmen killed 17 people.
Others, though, have noted that in virtually all societies, freedom of speech has its limits, from laws against Holocaust denial to racially motivated hate speech.
Recently the Vatican and four prominent French imams issued a joint declaration that, while denouncing the Paris attacks, urged the media to treat religions with respect.
Francis, who has called on Muslim leaders in particular to speak out against Islamic extremism, went a step further Thursday when asked by a French journalist about whether there were limits when freedom of expression meets freedom of religion.
"There are so many people who speak badly about religions or other religions, who make fun of them, who make a game out of the religions of others," he said. "They are provocateurs. And what happens to them is what would happen to Dr. Gasparri if he says a curse word against my mother. There is a limit."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What I'm saying is that we need to show a little more respect for others. We've made serious strides in earlier decades, first regarding race, then gender, then sexuality, now we need to do the same for religious choice.
While all the leaders of the free world getting together in a rally showing support for freedom of the press is a good thing, putting a similar effort behind religious freedom and not treating others as somehow less than human just because they have a different religion than you is an issue whose time has finally come.
I find it just too bad that in order to get our voices heard, we have to rally behind a magazine who has made it their business to make fun of others because of their religion.
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