Better to Light a Candle than Curse the Darkness
First of all, beyond any intellectual ball-kicking, my heartfelt sympathies go to the families and friends of this week’s outrage in Paris where 11 people were shot dead for publishing cartoons, or in the case of the caretaker and visitors, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As the chaos spread, the fatalities rose to 17, with many others wounded and traumatised. Indeed the whole nation is in shock and mourning, and the ripples of this latest terrorist atrocity is being felt around the world. Today’s mass rally in Paris is the culmination of a tumultuous week which has left France reeling, yet defiant, and a corresponding outpouring of sympathy and camaraderie from across the globe, with even the President of the US stating: ‘Vive La France!’
Charlie Hebdo is a long-running satirical magazine with a tendency towards the more extreme spectrum of topical caricature ��� Private Eye meets Viz perhaps. Certainly more Gerald Scarfe than the witty captions of Private Eye. The editor, Stephane Charbonnier, (aka ‘Charb’) and many of the magazine’s top cartoonists were ruthlessly targeted and gunned down for publishing images deemed offensive to some who call themselves followers of Islam (though many Muslims have spoken out against the attacks, and indeed two of the victims were Muslims ��� a police officer and a staff member). Further casualties and fatalities resulted from the tense fallout leading to a double hostage situation ��� a crisis which the French police force dealt with impressively. Who would have wanted to have been a French gendarme this week? The two brothers who executed the Hebdo attack did so with military precision and ruthlessness. In the name of Al Quaeda Yemen they did their best to start a war ��� let’s hope they do not succeed.
Yes, the attack on Hebdo was an attack on free speech. France is a Western democracy, not an Islamic State ��� people are still allowed to speak their mind. We might not agree with what they say but we defend their right to say it. In a civilized society if someone causes offence then those offended can engage in a debate at best, at worst, file a law-suit. Only barbarians resort to violence. Let it be said: Violence is the recourse of the stupid. It is never a solution. This goes for all parties concerned. Violence begets violence, and he who lives by the sword die by the sword. There is always another way, and those with intelligence will find it. Those who are using the attacks to fuel hateful Islamophobia are just as bad as the thugs with guns.
Yet the attack was against writers and artists ��� and as a writer and artist myself I feel an affinity with the Hebdo staff in that regard at least. I hold my creative freedom as a writer sacrosanct. I encourage my creative writing students to feel the same. When we start self-policing then the Fuckers have won. I am against censorship, but at the same time I believe with creative freedom comes a degree of responsibility. We should mindful about what we cast out into the world with our efforts. As a Muslim cartoonist interviewed on Al-Jazeera said this week (a breath of fresh air amidst the xenophobic soundbites), it is easy to create a crude cartoon that causes offence, it is harder to create one that makes people think ��� that balances the message with an awareness of the impact it might cause. As a Muslim, he finds a middle-ground ��� negotiating a tricky position with skill ��� so why can’t the rest of us? We live in a complicated, joined up world. Nothing is in isolation. We have to be aware of the consequences of our actions, of our art. Take some moral responsibility.
However, I do not wish to defend the reprehensible actions of terrorists, or any driven to violence in the name of whatever justification they choose for their thuggery. So, here are a few final points I wish to make:
Nothing is beyond criticism.
Any organisation or insitution lacking a sense of humour (about itself) is extremely dubious.
A sense of humour is essential equipment for living on planet Earth.
Planet Earth is big enough for everyone’s paradigms but not everyone’s prejudice. Learn to get along. Negotiate the complexity.
There are those instantly ready to be offended, and to resort to violence. Both are mindless kneejerk positions. Get civilized.
Creative freedom is sacrosanct.
With creative freedom comes responsibility.
Violence is the recourse of barbarians. Use your brain. Prove you’re a human being with intelligence.
Bombs are boring.
Guns are for guys with small dicks, or women who secretly crave one.
Happiness is a warm pen.
What I found heartening about Saturday’s march of sympathy in Paris were the placards which read not simply ‘Je Suis Charlie’, but ‘Je Suis Contre Le Racisme': I am against Racism. This I think is a more mindful message. Yes, our sympathies are with the family and friends of those killed; but that does not automatically mean we hate all Muslims, only the hateful few who resort to such desperate extremism. They, and those that support them, deserve nothing but our contempt. I hope one day they choose to rejoin the human race; and that we can learn to work out this whole mess together in a civilised manner.
The human spirit is dauntless, and the human imagination limitless, so I believe it is possible:
A blank page is an invitation to change the world.
