itrus

Jan 10, 2014

 

THE CHARLIE Hebdo killers might have achieved their immediate goal, but they also unintentionally ticked off a surprising ‘situation’.

A much-awaited situation for Hebdo itself. 

 

Consider this: On January 6, 2015, few people outside the French-speaking world had even heard of Charlie Hebdo, the Paris-based satirical magazine that was the scene of a mass shooting on the seventh, apparently in response to several cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet, Mohammed. Of those who had heard of it, most were not regular readers and some, no doubt, did not read it at all—perhaps because they didn’t like the content. Now, Charlie Hebdo and its cartoons are known all around the world, and free speech advocates everywhere have suddenly discovered their funny bones. 

 

Many people have mixed feelings about the response to this whole episode. There is a saying in journalism that if you have enemies then you must be doing something right. The best political columnists have been accused of being both a shill for and an enemy of every major party on the political spectrum. This is because the good ones can spot boloney when they see it, and aren’t afraid to point it out no matter who is serving
it up.

 

Millions upon millions of people have seen the cartoons now. A month ago, a good number of these people would have considered some of them tasteless and insensitive. Though to the artists who drew them, this was the mission. It is, after all, a political satire—a branch of journalism that is committed to comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. Islam was not their only target; they were equal opportunity offenders. 

 

Being tasteless and offensive is a lot of things, but is not a capital crime. The artists did not deserve to die. However, if shown these cartoons the day before the shooting, many, who are now in the euphoria of praising Charlie Hebdo, would have agreed that the cartoons were in bad taste. Those who are supporting Charlie, because they support free speech,
would also agree.

 

Hence, with the martyrdom of the staffers, the shooters have succeeded in making these cartoons respectable and Charlie Hedbo, suddenly, a household name. Paradoxically, the terrorists have ensured that the images they found so offensive reached a wider audience than they ever would have reached on their own. 

There’s another saying in journalism: Never pick a fight with people who buy their ink by the barrel. 

 

These guys did. And the response from the global journalism community speaks for itself.