My thoughts are with the victims. Not just of this atrocity but of all atrocities.
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Words such as condone and condemn have very different meanings. I have heard that the actions of a few are not ‘condoned.’ I have yet to hear that the actions of the past weeks have been ‘condemned’ by any group. Words are being carefully chosen, text is being carefully sanitized, articles have been carefully ameliorated to protect feelings rather than to preserve human rights. We publish names of the innocent and names of the accused but we cannot convey the full meaning of an event, a tragedy, an atrocity if the language used has been softened to protect feelings….
To not report news, in full, because it might offend “somebody” is to fall far short of being fair, honest and open to all and this includes those who may be offended. (There is a long tradition of not putting true images of prophets, gods and others…. on paper. A 2,500 year old [a guess at the number of years that have passed since Buddha discouraged the manufacture of his likeness] discouragement of representations of Buddha is an example.) When did the lawyers decide that news must not be offensive? News, to be considered news, is a reporting of offenses and the results of offenses! To do otherwise is truly offensive.
“‘To be explicit, easy, free, and very plain’ was the ideal set down for himself by Daniel Defoe… No wonder he was one of the most popular journalists of his own time [18th century].” Murray Sheehan, Hints of News Reporting (Little Blue Book No. 342), 1922. Daniel Defoe wrote Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe as well as many other books in addition to being a 17th/18th century journalist.
Deuze, Mark. 2005. What is Journalism? Professional Identity and Ideology of Journalists Reconsidered. SAGE Publications. http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/mamer/files/What-is-Journalism1.pdf
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My French and Spanish are extremely poor. I do not know any Arabic, however, this will not stop me from purchasing a copy of the next edition of Charlie Hebdo (which will be published in French, Spanish, Arabic and English) whether or not I find a copy in English. My purchase will be in support of those who have died, in support of those who continue to work at this newspaper, and in support of a future with greater freedom and greater protection of human rights for everyone. I plan on this being only my first copy of Charlie Hebdo. We need to continue to support these very brave people after the headlines disappear into history!
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Access to education is our single best bet!
Pritchett, Lant. 2004. Access to Education. Chapter 4 in Global Crises, Global Solutions. Edited by Bjorn Lomborg. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KQ2_zplu8mUC&oi=fnd&pg=PA175&ots=Ti0qUOHBh7&sig=z_uNHU9enIXwR7KyUqDenIu88fQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
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Please add links to articles, blog posts, anything… that supports the victims of these atrocities and the human right to safety for all.
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