“100 lashes if you don’t die of laughter!”
But as a Twitter friend of mine said,
The pen might be mightier than the sword, but the sword needs to get a god-damn sense of humor. #JeSuisCharlie
— Blue Girl (@BGinKC) January 8, 2015
Of course, editorial cartoonists around the world picked up their pens to “fight” back. Here are a few that jumped out at me:
David Pope of Australia
Dutch cartoonist Joep Bertrams
Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff
Dutch cartoonist Ruben Oppenheimer
Francisco Olea of Chile
Indian artist Satish Acharya
James Walmesley of the UK
MacLeod of Evansville, Indiana
Rob Tornoe of the Philadelphia Daily News
Washington Post’s editorial cartoonist Tom Toles
America’s Tom Tomorrow
The Independent’s cartoonist Dave Brown
Lalo Alcaraz of Los Angeles
There are a lot more here, all the product of the artists’ personal stories rather than their usual subjects in the news. This is about them. And that’s what makes these drawings so poignant.
As for the cartoons that inspired the terrorists to kill, some may find them offensive. What’s offensive to one is funny to another. It’s in the eye of the beholder. The problem with these misguided zealots is that they think that their beliefs apply to everyone and that their religious freedom only exists by denying others of their beliefs. Kind of like Hobby Lobby and the religious right here.
Vox has a great roundup of some of Charlie Hebdo‘s most iconic covers and its history, which you should read here.
But as I’ve read article after article today about the American TV networks and cable channels that won’t show any of those cartoons, I’m ever more determined to post some of them here. So, click over and read the article, but first check out a few of the covers that may offend not only Muslims but people of all faiths…
An Orthodox Jew, the Pope and an Imam yell: “Charlie Hebdo must be veiled!”
In 2010 its cover went after the Pope Benedict XVI’s shifting stance on birth control. He was depicted holding a condom aloft and saying “this is my body” — a reference to holy communion — with the caption “the Pope goes too far!”
In 2006, the magazine mocked France’s reality-TV habit with an image of Jesus on the cross, saying “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!
Sadly, the zealots don’t seem to get that all are fair game. Instead, they fight back against images like this one, that tells us “Love is stronger than hate” by hating… and killing.
“Love is stronger than hate”
Today on the show, we talked about all of this, and I shared commentary by Jon Stewart, Bill Maher and others. The best discussion came courtesy of Ayman Moyheldin.
(Interestingly enough, MSNBC did NOT post this clip. I had to find it on YouTube, uploaded by someone else. Hmmm)
Meanwhile, in Boston, jury selection has begun in the Boston Marathon Bombing trial. Russ Baker of WhoWhatWhy.com has been questioning the official story we’ve been told, as the investigative journalists they are. Their ongoing coverage is here.
Russ joined me this morning to talk about the latest on that case and, as we watch events in Paris unfold, talk about the Bush family’s involvement in 911, the 26 secret pages from the official 911 commission report, and his book on the Bush family history, Family of Secrets.
And finally, She’s History‘s Amy Simon joined me to talk about the legacy of the late Bess Myerson.
Tomorrow, we’ll wrap up the week with more news, comment, and information, a musical blast from the past, and a new conversation with the legendary Graham Nash… radio or not!
