This will not be the first thing you read about the terrorist attacks in Paris, which began with an attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. All told, seventeen people have died, twelve at the newspaper, four at a kosher market and one policewoman. The people in the market were killed because where they shopped, and it being a kosher market does suggest that there were anti-Semitic reasons for the venue, the people at the paper because they made some controversial jokes and cartoons about religion that depicted Mohammed.
Freedom of expression is something which the media holds dear because it’s our job. This is why you will see a lot of ink dedicated to Charlie Hebdo specifically, because for us it hits closer to home than anything else. It wasn’t the only target in the attacks, but it was an example of a publication silenced because what they were saying was viewed as wrong by violent people, using the pretext of religion in order to kill them. It hits hard for us because we aren’t that different. Even if I am not a controversial figure myself, I still make my living by saying things, the idea that something I say could lead someone else to decide that I should no longer live remains a terrifying idea.
One can certainly argue that Charlie Hebdo knew what they were doing was controversial – one of the murdered men did have a body guard due to previous death threats – but that is not the point. Whether you agree with what they published or not, the reaction to it should not be a violent one, even if they are being deliberately antagonistic it is still not worth death.
But the other attacks in Paris should not be overlooked. The people in the grocery store were killed because of where they chose to buy groceries that day, the policewoman was also killed because of her job. It comes back to attacks within Canada as well, where soldiers were killed because they were soldiers and politicians narrowly escaped being harmed because they were politicians. People just doing their jobs, going about their life, likely never thinking that their various choices in their daily lives were inspiring someone else to take up arms.
People who are Jewish deserve to be able to live their lives without feeling as though doing basic tasks will put them at risk. Police officers and soldiers know they’re in a risky occupation, but it was still an unacceptable loss. Politicians should worry that voters will kick them out of their office via an election, rather than worrying that someone will try to shoot them as they go about their work.
You will read a lot about Charlie Hebdo because every single person who writes is affected by these attacks. We might not be French satirists, but we are still people who are charged with expressing ourselves, and the spectre of people with guns who want us to only say things which they approve of is going to be something which affects all of us. Expression is about more than just words, just cartoons or just art. It’s about being able to live your life in a way that shows who you are and what you believe. It’s natural that people won’t always agree, that is fine, disagreement is as much an expression as anything else. We should not have to live in fear because of all the ways we express ourselves.
