Grahame Arnould: Thoughts from a cartoonist on Charlie Hebdo and the Paris attacks
I am a cartoonist. However, I do not pretend to risk what Charlie Hebdo's cartoonists risked. As it became so terrifyingly apparent, that risk amounted to everything.
From this great distance, I could only observe with horror the events of last week in Paris.
French cartoonists have a long history of risking everything. Honoré Daumier is perhaps their most famous example. He was jailed in 1832 for his biting visual commentary. In his case, it was against a tyrannical emperor. That emperor, Louis-Philippe, and his lickspittles, realized the power of cartoons.
That power still exists. And the radical elements who claim to be Muslims also realize that power. But be clear. Islam has no monopoly on the perversion of religion. Where there is power, there is corruption.
Charlie Hebdo plans to publish this Wednesday (January 14), stating that some of the cartoons within will feature Mohammed. Clearly, the magazine's staff remains defiant. Their right to publish freely is in their very bones.
Furthermore, their cartoon images are not limited to criticizing radical Islam. Their targets run the gamut, included radical elements of other religions.
Aiming a klieg light on the gross misuse of power in any form is why they exist.
I claim no insight into evil. But when powerful men with uncontested influence upon the young (sometimes very young) preach deadly violence as part of some twisted manifestation of belief, I come very close to thinking that I am observing true evil.
Comments
5 Comments
JC
Jan 13, 2015 at 7:56am
The sad part is that millions of 'ordinary' Muslims were okay with the killing.
Atoll
Jan 13, 2015 at 8:20pm
JC:
Most NATO countries including France itself are also ok with the killing. Your tax money have been used to fund and arm ISIS for several years now.
As bad as Hebdo was, it is nothing compared to the atrocities committed by "freedom fighters" in Syria and all the other manufactured destablization conflicts out there.
Dissent
Jan 13, 2015 at 9:33pm
There isn’t a single “mainstream” cartoonist in Western Europe, including the communists at Charlie Hebdo, which has been labeled an “equal opportunity offender,” that is willing to mock Jews. In fact, Charlie Hebdo fired one of its own cartoonists for “anti-Semitism” who was also taken to court and charged with “inciting racial hatred”:
http://www.occidentaldissent.com/2015/01/10/charlie-hebdo-fired-cartooni...
So can the BS and false praise OK?
sicntired
Jan 14, 2015 at 1:58am
The French magazine was said,by people that had worked there,to be racist.A writer was fired for saying the wrong thing about Israel.I'm not saying the killings were not tragic.they were.I'm just saying that the French are using this complete failure at every level of their security state.To try to turn the incident into an attack on free speech.Something that France isn't all that concerned with the rest of the year.The photo op,and all the musing about who should have been there and who wasn't.Was a rogues gallery of imperialists,war mongers and profiteers and friends to fascists.Every one had been party to the creation and support of ISIS.All were equally responsible for the demonization of muslims and the killing of muslims they don't agree with.Topping it all off is a headlong rush to capitalize on the deaths of their comrades by once again picturing the profit on their cover.I understand it's half the size and they're printing millions of copies for world wide distribution.Capitalizing on the death of friends says more about this magazine than any cartoon that claims to represent some profit.
Charlie Hebdo profited from insulting Islam
Jan 14, 2015 at 7:55am
It must be great to be able to rationalize xenophobic, adolescent satire as a defense of the free press and liberty. Hebdo assaulted the most oppressed minority of France. Hebdo fired one of their own cartoonists for a silly insult of Sarkozy's son (the son had married into a Jewish family and the cartoonist wrote "He'll do well". It is far from the truth that Hebdo satirized all equally. Their repulsive, racist characterizations of Islamic-African "welfare queens" alone reserves for them a place in Goebbels heart. Obviously no one deserves to be shot for making disgusting cartoons, but please cut the crap and admit what Hebdo was doing.