I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
These words, incorrectly attached to Voltaire but actually written by biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall, have rarely seemed so pertinent.
Charlie Hebdo published crass cartoons, designed to cause a reaction. That’s what satire does. Some of the French magazine’s illustrations seem quite obviously offensive, particularly when it comes to religion.
There’s no point in debating the cartoons, or the publication though. People’s sense of what is too far and upsets them is, naturally for us humans, varied.
People are free to call out, criticise and lambast whatever they do not like, whatever they disagree with.
It’s like Benedictus de Spinoza said in his Political Treatise: “That in a free state every man may think what he likes, and say what he thinks.”
That quote is more than 300 years old and yet it feels sadly depressing to have to defend its principle today, in 2015.
I’m no expert on French magazines but those who I’ve spoken to who know a great deal more than me say Charlie Hebdo did not discriminate in its religious targets. A cursory glance through some of their covers illustrates that.
They are anti-everybody. Multiple targets, not single. Offend all. And you know what? That’s great. It’s very healthy be able to poke fun at and criticise people and institutions, no matter who they are, how powerful they are, or what pedestal they put themselves upon.
Great satire, think Spitting Image, shows no distinction between its targets. No one is let off the hook. So, how do you respond when you find something offensive?
You don’t have to like Charlie Hebdo or what it published.
As with any commercial entity, you are perfectly entitled to hate it, find it deeply insulting, refuse to buy it and encourage other people to do so too in the hope it goes bust because of business reasons.
What is unacceptable, under any circumstances, is to try and silence through violence and murder.
Taking offence at something which has been written or drawn is no excuse to kill and maim. Not now. Not ever.
Atrocities are committed across the world because of conflicting beliefs and people’s refusal to be silenced with alarming frequency. Those carrying out such acts shame whichever faith they claim to follow.
It may be we only start to pay attention when the casualties are closer to home. Paris has brought attempts to suppress free speech through the worst kind of intimidation to our immediate attention.
We must stand tall. We must resist. We must speak our minds. Being Charlie Hebdo isn’t about agreeing with its views. It is about having your own and being able to speak them without fear or favour.
Je suis Charlie.
BACK IN Holyrood and things kicked off again after the Christmas break, although the excitement proved a little too much for the parliament’s Presiding Officer.
Welcoming MSPs back at 2pm on Tuesday, Tricia Marwick provoked laughter as she mixed up afternoon and evening before wishing all a happy new year.
Thankfully she saw the funny side, adding: “It is too much drink.”
AT WESTMINSTER, it would seem some blue sky thinking took over during the winter period with a blog post by Steve Vaughan, head of media monitoring from the Cabinet Office, uttering tripe worthy of satirical comedy The Thick Of It.
There was lots of excellent stuff but the best was this nonsense: “Don’t be a ‘poo in the pool’. There are people who may prevent you from jumping into the pool of creativity by failing to embrace your ideas with their reductive thinking. Don’t be that person. Be expansive.”
I suspect we’ve found the floater needing fished out.
AN INTERESTING titbit from Alex Salmond’s exclusive interview with this paper revealed his belief for David Cameron’s reason for signing up to the Edinburgh Agreement.
Apparently it’s because his aides predicted Yes would be lucky to achieve 30% of the vote. “I absolutely know this, for reasons I won’t specify,” said Mr Salmond. Hmm.
FINALLY, A bit of a football and politics mix up happened this week in The Courier offices.
It was quite the shock to see Alex Neil trending on Twitter on Wednesday, leading this journalist to question what the former Health Secretary had done to turn himself into an internet sensation.
Of course, it turned out the man being referenced across the UK was not the SNP man, but the Hamilton Academical manager, who landed the Norwich job.