I'm so exhausted

[frenchani]

Such violence, so many dead people already.

As if the situation weren't stressful enough, I just read that, apparently many people (especially Americans) are spreading lies about Charlie Hebdo on the Internet, either on tumblr or twitter, calling it a racist newspaper that "had it coming", not understanding at all what a satirical magazine is

Comments

[enigmaticblues]

Thank you for posting those links. I have to admit that I am a bit jealous of France's strict separation of religion from political life. I feel that it is a very positive thing, and I think it important that free journalism be able to mock anything and everything. I appreciate the chance to learn more.

[frenchani]

You know in all the years it existed Charlie Hebdo published much more cartoons mocking Roman Church or Catholicism than anything else and they were often sued by Catholic groups for that and were never convicted. They were sued by other religious groups as well, and every time justice protected the right to laugh at religions.

But in a way our Freedom of Speech is much more limited than yours. Hate speech is illegal in France, racist or anti-semitic speech are especially forbidden by law since 1945. Law, of course, is the product of our values and our history. We experimented first hand what racist speech causes.

the same Charb who was Charlie's top editor, was killed on Wednesday and who drew so many cartoons satirizing the Church and offending Catholics also worked from time to time for a Catholic newspaper called La Vie, and his colleagues liked him there, because they knew there was no hatred in him.

[frenchani]

But you see the KKK couldn't exist over here. Any kind of racist speech is strictly banned, especially antisemitic speech. Hate speech is illegal if it incites racial hatred (not necessarily actions)which is already considered as violence.

It is also forbidden to draw svastikas for instance, and Mein Kampf isn't allowed to be neither published nor sold

[falafel_musings]

I've had a hectic first week back at work, so I haven't had much time to watch, let alone react, to the attacks in Paris this week. But I've been following all your posts and thinking of you and your nation in the wake of these sickeningly evil murders over cartoons. I wish I knew what to say, besides Je Suis Charlie . But also if the aim of this massacre was silencing satirical voices, guess what? The voices just got a 100 times louder.

[frenchani]

Those people are just not rational. As we say here "they treid to kill Charlie Hebdo, they actually made them immortal".

[frelling_tralk]

Thanks for those links :)

[frenchani]

You're welcome.