Thursday 8 January 2015

Je suis Charlie

Match tragique à Charlie-rit-des-églises : Liberté 0 -, Barbarie 12.
J'étais déjà en deuil - je le suis doublement.

I was already in mourning - now more than ever.
Learn more here - if you don't already know.

14 comments:

Kate said...

People of the world who value human life and freedom of expression are in mourning with you and stand in solidarity with the people of France. May the outrage and outpouring of sympathy be in some small measure a comfort to the families of those who were slain. It is my hope that the wounded respond to excellent medical care and regain their health as soon as possible.

William Kendall said...

A shocking day yesterday. It left me feeling angry at the cowardice of those responsible.

The thoughts of many around the world are with France.

crederae said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jack said...

You are not given more than you can bear. I am saddened about your mother and about the Charlie murders. But, you are strong, Nathalie.

Anonymous said...

Suis comme toi très triste...
TA VOISINE

claude said...

Ich bin CHARLIE AUCH.
C'est effroyable ce qui vient de se passer mais je n'en fus qu'à moitié étonnée. Pour tout dire après l'incendie je me doutais qu'un jour ils connaîtraient le pire.
Comme l'a dit Lou Ravi chez Bichel, les "Charlie" et les bougies, ne feront rien à l'affaire.

Thérèse said...

Puisse tout le monde s'entendre et ne pas se dechirer comme cela se passe deja au gouvernement...
Reflechir: oui, agir: un oui necessaire.
De tout coeur Nathalie.

Tilia said...

Pensées attristées pour tous les proches des victimes décédées.
Et pour toi aussi, Nathalie.

Bob Crowe said...

I am appalled by the violence and share the mourning of France. We had our share. But still I question the wisdom pissing on what others hold most sacred. This is a question without a clear answer.

Jane Hards Photography said...

This image is my fb profile pic at the moment. My partner is a UK political cartoonist. This really hit home with us hard. More than ever though, I want him to continue and he responded like so many cartoonists through images http://www.tribunemagazine.org/2015/01/je-suis-charlie-2/

Nathalie, Avignon said...

@ Bob - The thing is, this paper had a tiny readership and never should have gotten the worldwide attention it received.
It really started as nothing more than a nihilistic college student paper and in spirit never got much beyond that. For God's sake, let them have fun over the Pope, Mahomet and whoever else. Who cares? With the kind of readership they had, the damage was so low!
Why did these bloody terrorists pay attention in the first place? Now the whole world knows and gets upset. Who else could organise this massive Muslim uproar but a bunch of people whose only purpose is to create chaos? I don't blame it on Charlie, I blame it on them.

And now I just subscribed to Charlie Hebdo. I read it very occasionally before but if anyone wants to strangle them, I want to be one of those who will defend them.
Oh well, that's how I feel.

Bob said...



Thank you for giving me your view. I’m not suggesting that the newspaper’s content in any way justifies the wicked, brutal behavior. Yes, people in France and the US and many other countries have the right to express themselves like juveniles and idiots. That doesn’t mean it’s a wise thing to do. For example, your mother died recently. The 40th anniversary of my mother’s death was a few days ago (breast cancer, young). Someone would have the right to make savage statements about them and their lives but it would be a brutal, stupid thing to do.

I like my humor sharp, but there is a school of humor the is based on embarrassment and humiliation that makes me cringe. I couldn’t take Borat after 15 minutes. Even Fawlty Towers makes me uncomfortable. I wish people like the Charley staff would think more of what they do to others. I wish the murders would go to hell. There are bright points but we are a sorry species in so many ways.

Bob

Nathalie, Avignon said...

What is distressing is the fact that lots of people believe the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists are bad guys who just enjoy fuelling feuds. Not so. In fact everyone who knew them well said they were the kindest and most peace-loving people you could think of - especially someone like Cabu, whose motto was "love, peace, reflexion, education". And precisely because of this hope for a better world they wanted their freedom to criticise fanatics of all kinds. But Cabu was killed just the same, along with the rest.

After the terrorist attack the surviving team did have a debate - should we apply self-censorship in the name of "peace"? And their answer was no, because the said peace would only be a lion's peace : "I'm stronger, you do what you're told or I'll hit you again". And they refused to see their actions dictated by fear. Brave. You say lack of consideration. I say there's no freedom if you start drawing only what terrorists think is acceptable.

Perhaps you didn't like Borat. Do you think censorship should have prevented the movie from existing? Or should have the film director himself decided not to make the movie in case some people didn't like it? Or should have the film director and most of his crew been killed for making it? Of course the answer to all these questions is NO. So it is with Charlie Hebdo. You don't like it? Don't watch it. But there's nothing there worth applying self-censorship for.

Like or not, caricatures are part of our culture. You always have the choice not to read the paper if you don't like them.

In fact the people I'm really angry with are the media, not Charlie Hebdo. If the media would stop giving Charlie the worldwide coverage it doesn't deserve, people in Pakistan or Iran would get on with their normal lives and we would too. It isn't Charlie Hebdo's job to think of whether people in Pakistan or Iran will be offended by their caricatures (kind ones at that, everyone agrees on that). There's no such thing as a worldwide sense of humour. We all understand that what Russians think is funny is not necessarily what Mexicans think is funny. NO, it's not Charlie Hebdo's job to try to be so politically correct that no-one in the worldwide community will be offended. NO. Question the media's role if you must. To me, we could dig much deeper in that direction. Apart from the terrorists whose objective is to create worldwide terror and chaos, who benefits from the ongoing story? The media of course, and especially the 24-hour news media who are on the constant prowl for stories that will keep people hooked. They know a good story when they see one so they keep their teeth clenched into it and they won't let go. Not in the name of worldwide peace, oh no ! This is "information" !!!! Could there be such a thing as responsible information? If anyone should apply self-censorship, why not them?


Nathalie, Avignon said...

@ Bob - and it would be a false analysis to say that the Charlie Hebdo team could ever "make savage statements" about my mother's death or yours, or any other as you suggest. Their headline "all is forgiven" is testimony to the contrary.

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