December 19, 2020

"'I am Charlie' gave birth to 'I am not Charlie,' giving rise to a question that demands picking camps: Are you or are you not Charlie?"

"The answer puts people on either side of France’s major fault lines, including freedom of speech, secularism, race, national identity and, of course, Islam... Today, someone who is Charlie is likely to be white and supporter of the caricatures’ publication. At its extreme, the person may back a strict secularism that at times is a cover for anti-Islam. Someone who’s not Charlie is often nonwhite and opposes the cartoons’ publication. The person could go as far as justifying Islamist terrorism or a ban of all criticism of religion. Once a slogan that transcended political cleavages, 'Je Suis Charlie' has now been largely embraced by the right and created splits on the left.... This fall, in the wake of the three recent attacks, Mr. Macron emphatically defended the republication of the caricatures as the 'right to blasphemy.' That stance led to protests in Muslim nations, was met with criticism or silence in the West, and left France isolated...."

62 comments:

Xmas said...

France is doomed. Either that or the collapse of government enforced secularism is going to lead to a new Catholic Crusade.

Retail Lawyer said...

"The future must not belong to those who would slander the Prophet Mohammad" And by slander he meant draw a picture or tell the truth.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

They did it to themselves and their elite continues to demonize those who point out the obvious. No sympathy from me.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

The American White Left are desperate to export their Woke BS.

Capitulate! Free speech must be curtained because all must cave to the "offended"

If you utter something that offends, the offended GET to murder you by chopping off your head. The American White Woke Left insist.

Ken B said...

I disbelieve what the NYT tells me, especially on topics like this.

Ice Nine said...

I pick the "I am Charlie...and I carry" camp. Pity that is not an option in France, where it would fix that attack problem right up.

TickTock said...

Je suis Charlie

Wilbur said...

To no real elucidation:
I notice on posts like this, where the Left has a bright light shone on their nonsense, the Ingas and Readerings studiously avoid commenting.

At least Howard or Cook will dip their toe in, to their credit.

robother said...

I was taught that one should say. "Je m'appelle Charlie." Pas "je suis..." Identity politics infecting even French grammar.

Lurker21 said...

You have the right to.

But you should have the brains not to.

I thought France got over all this with Voltaire.

Fernandinande said...

Antarctica would be the most polarized country if it was a country.

"Emmanuel Macron has waded into a row over a schoolgirl whose attack on Islam[sic] has divided France, insisting that blasphemy is “no crime”."

"On Tuesday, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told the National Assembly that Mila and her family were under police protection."

Wince said...

"Once a slogan that transcended political cleavages, 'Je Suis Charlie' has now been largely embraced by the right and created splits on the left."


A different slogan that thinks your way, and they call it – Charlie!

Kinda young, kinda now, Charlie!

Kinda free, kinda wow! Charlie!

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Insult Christians, murder Jews, murder Christians...(which happens around the globe) All A-ok!
I certainly think it should be legal to insult Islam. Why is Islam so sensitive? Why is Islam so special? Can't take a little difference of opinion? Can't take some much needed criticism? Where is Islam's collective ability to look inward? why can't Islam explain why they are NOT the religion of hate?

When the reaction to "speech you don't like" is to slice off heads and murder people - many might think Islam is a religion of hate.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

In America - Antifa and their corruptocratic party are like radical Islamic Supremacists. untouchable and above insult.... and above the law!

Michael K said...

Wilbur nails it.

Greg Hlatky said...

"An increasingly polarized society"? When did Trump become President of France?

Achilles said...

This is why "Right" and "Left" and "Conservative' and "Liberal" are nonsense terms in today's context.

This is really about how much you support other people's freedom and liberty.

There is no discussion about the real issues involved because people are all hiding behind labels. People are still calling Inga and Readering Leftists without any real thought about what goes into the term.

This leaves "Leftists" free to blow off the criticism because it comes from "Trumpists" or "Righties" or some other nonsense term. Stop using stupid nonsense words to describe people. Describe what they do.

Inga and Readering and the not Charlie side support the killing and persecution of people that disagree with them just like Hodgkinson.

Anonymous said...

'Je Suis Charlie'

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

I'd like the F*ing left to explain how and why it is OK to slice off someones head ... because you are offended and you heard words you do not like.

Achilles said...

Greg Hlatky said...

"An increasingly polarized society"? When did Trump become President of France?

Polarized in this context means that you believe the elites should be held to the same standards as everyone else in society.

Paco Wové said...

"The American White Left are desperate to export their Woke BS."

One element in this is that the French realize how much is coming from America.

"Indigenist, racialist and “decolonial” ideologies (transferred from North American campuses) are very present [in French universities], fueling a hatred of “whites” and of France; and a sometimes violent militancy attacks those who still dare to defy the anti-Western doctrines and the multiculturalist preaching.

...it is time to name things and also to realize the responsibility, in the current situation, for ideologies that have arisen and are spreading. in college and beyond. The importation of Anglo-Saxon communitarian ideologies, intellectual conformism, fear and political correctness are a real threat to our universities. Freedom of speech tends to be drastically restricted there, as recently witnessed by numerous censorship cases by pressure groups."


Taken from here, translated with a little help from Google. In France, le Wokeisme can be stigmatized, even by university professors, as yet another Anglo-Saxon perfidy.

Achilles said...

BidenFamilyTaxPayerFundedCrackPipe said...

I'd like the F*ing left to explain how and why it is OK to slice off someones head ... because you are offended and you heard words you do not like.

We are in this situation because most of you think about what you would like to have instead of what you have to do.

Anonymous said...

When Macron came to power, he seemed to me to be like Obama, an empty vessel into which people poured their hopes. Though I don't care for much of his policies, he HAS developed some backbone defending France's secularism approach.

A new Charles Martel will be needed if France is to survive.

tcrosse said...

Je pense donc je suis Charlie.

daskol said...

Safetyism in French is still safetyism, and still pernicious. There is no right not to be offended, and it's quite possible the increasingly long in the tooth millennial types need a punk rock type revival to remind them of that, good and hard. There's a reason early punks favored taboo symbols such as swastikas, and it wasn't usually because they sympathized with Nazis.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Paco - thank you - that is interesting.

Poisoning the campus is how the Woke White Left spread their insanity.

Narr said...

I don't cover my distrust, disdain, and dislike of Islam and its practitioners with secularism.

Narr
Vive le secularisme

LordSomber said...

Charlie don't surf.

Jason said...

The news fraw Moidart cam' yestreen
Will soon gar mony ferlie;
For ships o' war hae just come in,
And landit Royal Charlie?

Come thro' the heather, around him gather,
Ye're a' the welcomer early;
Around him cling wi' a' your kin;
For wha'll be king but Charlie?

Come thro' the heather, around him gather,
Come Ronald, come Donald, come a' thegither,
And crown your rightfu' lawfu' king!
For wha'll be king but Charlie.

The Hieland clans, wi sword in hand,
Frae John o' Groats' to Airlie,
Hae to a man declared to stand
Or fa' wi' Royal Charlie.

The Lowlands a', baith great an' sma,
Wi' mony a lord and laird, hae
Declar'd for Scotia's king an' law,
An' speir ye wha but Charlie.

There's ne'er a lass in a' the lan',
But vows baith late an' early,
She'll ne'er to man gie heart nor han'
Wha wadna fecht for Charlie.

Then here's a health to Charlie's cause,
And be't complete an' early;
His very name out heart's blood warms;
To arms for Royal Charlie!

Come thro' the heather, around him gather,
Ye're a' the welcomer early;
Around him cling wi' a' your kin;
For wha'll be king but Charlie?

Come thro' the heather, around him gather,
Come Ronald, come Donald, come a' thegither,
And crown your richtfu' lawfu' king!
For wha'll be king but Charlie?

Mark said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mark said...

Of course this is from the divisive and partisan Piece of Shit NYT, trying to make this a racism thing and justifying killing innocent people -- including innocent Black people.


#JeSuisNadine
#JeSuisSimone
#JeSuisVincent
#JeSuisSamuel
#JeSuisCharlie

Mikey NTH said...

Sonds to me that "Je suis Charlie" is exactly the clarifying thing needed in France. I suspect that the Left is bothered by that.

hawkeyedjb said...

Blogger daskol said...
"There is no right not to be offended..."

Well, you're not university material...

JPS said...

robother,

"I was taught that one should say. 'Je m'appelle Charlie.' Pas 'je suis...'"

I see it differently. There is a difference between saying, "I call myself Charlie" and "I am Charlie." I think "je suis Charlie" isn't being sloppy, it's meant to convey a deeper sense of identification with the victims.

Kevin said...

Today, someone who is Charlie is likely to be white and supporter of the caricatures’ publication. At its extreme, the person may back a strict secularism that at times is a cover for anti-Islam.

As for those who are not Charlie there is no extreme.

The person could go as far as justifying Islamist terrorism or a ban of all criticism of religion.

See, as far as they may go, they are not extreme at all.

Inga said...

“Inga and Readering and the not Charlie side support the killing and persecution of people that disagree with them just like Hodgkinson.”

‘I'd like the F*ing left to explain how and why it is OK to slice off someones head ... because you are offended and you heard words you do not like.”


This is the USA, not France. The comments in quotes above sound like projection or some fantasy from those not rooted firmly in reality. Lots of hysterical rhetoric, it’s your right to make it, but it should embarrass you to do so.

Joe Smith said...

"At its extreme, the person may back a strict secularism that at times is a cover for anti-Islam."

Shouldn't everyone be anti-Islam when Islam in France is manifesting itself as a terrorist cult?

How is that extreme? Sounds sane to me.

m stone said...

BidenFamily... said:

"Poisoning the campus is how the Woke White Left spread their insanity."

I vividly recall Jerry Rubin of the Chicago Seven spreading his hate on the campus in an address to students at the university I attended. Rubin was on a campus tour. It was 1968.

His keynote was that the radicals would infiltrate the college campuses, and target education. That was their strategy.

He was right, a devilish prophet.

Check his bio on Wikipedia. He was an early investor in Apple in the 1970s and made his millions before a fitting death. He was never convicted btw.

m

Big Mike said...

Althouse believes something published in the New York Times. Don't ever change, lady.

Joe Smith said...

"There is no discussion about the real issues involved because people are all hiding behind labels. People are still calling Inga and Readering Leftists without any real thought about what goes into the term."

We use labels as shortcuts.

The above mentioned are, indeed 'left' in the conventional usage of the word.

They support and promote the ideology and policies of the liberal (even radical) leftist Democrat party.

They are therefor leftists.

They are certainly not 'center' or 'right.'

You're making far too much of this.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

The collective White Left use the same over-wrought emotional blackmail and bullying to oust alternative thoughts and speech they do not approve of. France- USA - tho, mostly it's a USA problem.

Weather the common white left make excuses for murderers - or fire everyone on staff who allowed Tom Cotton to speak his mind. It's all the same stew of toxicity.

Good for Macron. It's time to tell the woke left to pound sand.

Achilles said...

Joe Smith said...

"There is no discussion about the real issues involved because people are all hiding behind labels. People are still calling Inga and Readering Leftists without any real thought about what goes into the term."

We use labels as shortcuts.

Shortcuts in thinking.

You are calling Inga and Farmer the same thing.

They are not the same.

Achilles said...

Inga said...


This is the USA, not France. The comments in quotes above sound like projection or some fantasy from those not rooted firmly in reality. Lots of hysterical rhetoric, it’s your right to make it, but it should embarrass you to do so.

Inga said Steven Scalise should stop supporting the second amendment after he got shot by Hodgkinson.

All her words and gestures are empty.

She supports the attacks on her enemies.

This doesn't make her a "lefty." It is stupid to call her a "lefty."

J Melcher said...

Ich bin a jelly donut

tommyesq said...

Be with Charlie or not with Charlie based only on what you believe, not on who else os with or without Charlie.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

So the natural, common-sense reaction to people being killed, after insane people get ahold of it and work themselves into a tizzy, is to call it "rightist." I guess that's a good reason to be called a rightist, then.

mikee said...

Religion inspired violence is an outdated concept. If you must use violence to promote your ideology, it is very likely an incorrect ideology. These days, you can use much less force, and social media, and commerce, to coerce entire populations into behaving as you wish. The Chinese understand this much better than do the Islamists. After all, it is a million or more Uighurs undergoing re-education in slave labor camps, not a million ethnic Han. It is Disney and the NBA kowtowing, not Xi. It is the Pope letting the CCP choose Catholic Bishops, not Xi listening to sermons. Had Osama Bin Laden organized the commerce of Moslem countries, he'd have a legacy worth remembering, and probably a statue in half the countries of the world.

Remember, be Charlie for the Islamists. Remember, also, China is asshole.

Joe Smith said...

"You are calling Inga and Farmer the same thing."

The only real difference between Inga and Farmer is Farmer is smarter than Inga...but to be fair, almost everyone is.

Joe Smith said...

"Shortcuts in thinking."

How much thinking do I have to do to label AOC a leftist?

Kamala?

Obama?

Sometimes a leftist is just a leftist...

Michael said...

Of course I Am Charlie. There is nothing else I can be.

Drago said...

Achilles: "Inga said Steven Scalise should stop supporting the second amendment after he got shot by Hodgkinson."

Interestingly, to date, Inga has never commented using Hodgkinson's name, ever, nor has she ever decried islamic mass murder terrorist attacks. In fact, she has a solid 5+ year track record of blaming western Christians for every islamic terrorist attack.

She opposed the justified killing of Iranian terror leader Soleimani as well.

This is par for the course for all democraticals and FakeCon LLR's.

doctrev said...

It sounds like Je Suis Charlie is something the left frantically WANTS to shut down, but can't. Even Macron, who depends on leftist and Islamic voters, has to pander before the French people elect a nationalist government. Not being Charlie is increasingly regarded as not being French, no matter what your documents tell you.

Despite the afflictions facing French society, the fact France is still an actual nation means a much better prognosis in the coming decade.

tcrosse said...

Hier bin Ich Charlie, hier darf ich sein.

Inga said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Inga said...

“Interestingly, to date, Inga has never commented using Hodgkinson's name, ever, nor has she ever decried islamic mass murder terrorist attacks. In fact, she has a solid 5+ year track record of blaming western Christians for every islamic terrorist attack.”

Drago, every time you make this assertion I tell you it’s pure garbage. I am a Christian, I am a western Christian. I don’t, nor ever have I “blamed Christianity for terrorists attacks”. Why do you continually lie about this? I have blamed terrorist acts on extremism and I’ve said many times, extremism is a scourge on humanity.

Inga said...

And before you open your yap, indeed Islam has extremists. I never said they didn’t.

Narr said...

Ich bin Charlie, ich kann nicht anders.

Narr
Protestant atheist

Rosalyn C. said...

When you invite millions of people into your country who believe that insulting "the prophet" is a capital offense -- their beliefs become the norm, not an extreme. As far as explaining to them that your country values secularism, that doesn't matter in the least to religious people.

The great irony of the tolerant left is their insistence on diversity and promoting the mass migration of intolerant people with different beliefs and different values. Those immigrants will accept the wealthy country's welfare but never its beliefs which are considered degenerate. Muslims don't think secular societies are superior, absolutely the contrary. It amazes me how tolerant people can't be bothered to do any research on Islam. Of course many Muslims in the West assimilate and adopt a more secular approach to society, but the dogmas of their religion don't change.

There was a study done about the rise of terrorism in Europe and how it correlated with the percentage of Muslims in the population. Those countries with low Muslim populations had the least terrorism activity. As Muslims became more of a majority they naturally felt the strength to demand recognition of their beliefs and practices. And violence is considered another method of transformation.

Drago said...

Inga: "Drago, every time you make this assertion I tell you it’s pure garbage. I am a Christian, I am a western Christian. I don’t, nor ever have I “blamed Christianity for terrorists attacks”."

Just another sad untruth you must tell to try and "reset" yourself in the moral highground to lecture others.

But do go ahead and provide a post from the last 4 years where you criticized Hodgkinson, islamic terrorists or violence from the left.

Then, after you realize you cannot do that, maybe spend a bit if time thinking about how it is you've convinced yourself you had when you hadnt.

LOL

Dont worry though Little Collusion Truther, we wont be holding our breath...

Jupiter said...

Diversity is our strength. And cancer is our health.

Jupiter said...

"The person could go as far as justifying Islamist terrorism or a ban of all criticism of religion."

Even though it's a hypothetical, that's a lie. Muslims have no problem at all with criticism of any religion other than Islam.