Twelve people were killed and another eleven were injured yesterday after an attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, France by Islamic militants. This was clearly a revenge killing of these brave French editorialists for the repeated illustration of the Prophet Muhammad and Islamic leaders in a negative light.
These journalists had the courage to republish the controversial Danish cartoons a few years ago, which drew the ire of Al-Qaeda and put them on the terrorist’s “most wanted list”. Almost all of the other news organizations in the world did not show these controversial yet newsworthy pictures over fear of a backlash. The editors of Charlie Hebdo practically stood alone in defiance to Al-Qaeda’s fear mongering. Yesterday, these same individuals were left lying alone in puddles of their own blood.
Immediately after this violent attack, people all around the civilized world suddenly rose up in vocal support of these journalists. Citizens all over the planet stood as one and shook their fists at these violent extremists. Good finally stood up defiantly against evil…. and it was all for nothing.
These journalists needed our support while they still had a pulse. They required our unity while they were still breathing. Retroactive bravery requires no actual courage. If anyone out there wants to honor the memory of these brave reporters, then I have a simple suggestion. Let these fallen heroes rest in peace for now. You should instead plan to vocally support the next courageous individuals who come along and stand unwavering in the face of terror.
I actually did not know about these cartoonists. I vaguely remember hearing about cartoons in the past that made fun of Muhammad but did not know the particulars of who did it. These murdered victims of a terrorist attack will rest, regardless of the actions of the living, but I disagree with waiting to support the next group of people who stand up against Islamic radical theocracy. People need to be disgusted and angry and use that anger to take action now and speak out against and if necessary, eliminate these savage, barbarous sub humans. Hopefully, these people will not have died in vain. Hopefully, the younger generations (and our generation) will wake up and realize that as long as this theocracy is taught and tolerated, we are all in danger.