Garry Trudeau, creator of the comic strip “Doonesbury,” gave an acceptance speech for a Polk journalism award at which he criticized the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists for creating work that was insensitive to Islam, crossed the line, and thus brought a “world of pain” upon France.
Jihadi Art Critics Circle
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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If you draw a pentacle on the ground and the Devil comes to take you is it really the Devil’s fault?
Boohoo, poor hypersensitive Muslims. I can relate. Anyone that mocks my beliefs anywhere in the world should die. Maybe soon they’ll be totally off-limits just like Jews! They can dream I suppose.
How silly of Trudeau.
It wasn’t the cartoons that brought a “world of pain” to France.
It was their bombing of Libya and other mass murders in Islamic nations.
I guess a few million dead here and there are easy to forget in the heat of a nationalist propaganda inspired passion.
And then again France has not even received a “world of pain” comparable to what they gave, so what is all the fear and trembling about?
Charlie Hebdo was not an innocent victim. Free speech is great, but it should not be considered protected free speech to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater; neither is it free speech to engage in propaganda and psychological warfare. Remember the saying: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” If you try to dehumanize an entire group of people and take away their dignity, you’d better be prepared for a fight! Charlie Hebdo was proud to be an instrument of racist, colonialism and imperialism. That being said, there are very suspicious false flag indicators surrounding the whole CH affair.
These CounterPunch articles provide more clarity:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/19/lessons-from-the-charlie-hebdo-shootings/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/27/im-still-not-charlie/
Messrs Larsson and Vltchek do indeed make som valid points in the Counterpunch articles to which you link above, prolecenter. But to my mind, Robert McLiam Wilson, «the Irish guy who writes for Charlie Hebdo», makes equally valid points in this recent New Statesman article : http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/04/if-you-don-t-speak-french-how-can-you-judge-if-charlie-hebdo-racist….
I strongly suspect that Mr Wilson’s take on Charlie Hebdo is more accurate and based on greater knowledge of both the magazine and the environment in which it works than that of, say, Garretson Beekman Trudeau….
Henri
Charlie Hebdo was not an innocent victim. Free speech is great, but it should not be considered protected free speech to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater; neither is it free speech to engage in propaganda and psychological warfare. Remember the saying: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” If you try to dehumanize an entire group of people and take away their dignity, you’d better be prepared for a fight! Charlie Hebdo was proud to be an instrument of racist, colonialism and imperialism. That being said, there are very suspicious false flag indicators surrounding the whole CH affair.
Andre Vltchek wrote a couple of interesting and enlightening articles about CH on CounterPunch that are worth checking out.
On the one hand, I fully endorse the right of free speech – on the other, they should have known they were playing with fire. That doesn’t mean they should necessarily STFU, just realize that it’s a good way to get burned.
Andres Serrano got death threats for “Piss Christ” is that so very different? (“Of course it is – MY religion is The One True Religion and everyone else can go to hell”)
But what of Garry? He’s been picking on gun nuts fer ever. Is that punching up or down? What if someone takes offense and shoots him for it? Did Garry cross the line? Or did he cross someone else’s line? I seem to remember something about GBT getting death threats himself at some point – but I can’t verify it in the small amount of time I’m willing to devote to the project.
CH did for France what 9-11 is still doing to America. I wonder what they will choose as an “Underwear Bomber” substitute? Once that initial PB is opened, there is no liberty that a corporately hijacked, false-flag upgraded government cannot steal from you.
DanD