Nothing's easier than being for free speech -- today

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Updated On: 1/9/15 at 09:50 PM

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Updated On: 1/9/15 at 10:13 PM

Thank you for the images, Joey. I've seen the old German equivalents but little of late.

I am shocked, of course, but, needless to say, not surprised.

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Updated On: 1/9/15 at 11:32 PM

Arthur Goldhammer urges people not to do a Dead Joan Rivers on Dead Charlie Hebdo. But it's probably inevitable.

Was surprised at the civil tone in the comment section of Al Jazeera America.
Let’s not sacralize Charlie Hebdo

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But this is all kind of easy, right, as Maria Bustillo pointed out in the first link I posted?

I mean, are we to stand in solidarity with KKK cartoons of pickaninnies eating watermelon? Of white supremacist cartoon depictions of Ferguson, MO?

Could it be one day that #WeAreTheKKK?

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No, I mean it's easy for us, here, to speak so boldly and brashly and basically simplistically about what's happening over there. Meanwhile, there are plenty of issues right here like, for instance, white Americans and our inability to deal with race in this country. It's easy to put up Arab caricatures of craven hooked-nosed Jews to (what, exactly?) demonstrate our commitment to freedom of speech and solidarity with a notion like "free speech" when it may be more contextually accurate for us to be putting up Klan caricatures of shifty black teenagers getting mowed down and to exclaim "There are no sacred cows!"

It's just fascinating to me what people feel solidarity with, or think they feel solidarity with. But for you and me and I guess this, my thread, there are definite echoes of the Joan Rivers sainthood drama. I was repulsed by her need to make a Woody Allen crack every time she saw a yellow outfit as I am repulsed by much of the humor of Charlie Hebdo. I would never stick up for Joan, I would never stick up for Dice Clay, I would never stick up for Lisa Lampanelli, I would never stick up for Charlie Hebdo and I would never stick up for murder.

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Updated On: 1/9/15 at 10:03 AM

It is not unrelated. French media reports that Amedy was radicalized by the same Islamic Cleric and that he was a likely accomplice of the Kourachi brothers in Wednesday's attack.

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Updated On: 1/9/15 at 10:53 AM

On the contrary, it reads "Gaza in solidarity with Paris."

Thank, Liza.

I just translated it on babelfish.

I deleted my original question re: the meaning of the sign.

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