Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie
Look at this farce of a “Je Suis Charlie” (I Am Charlie) march of hypocrites. It is designed to look like our brave leaders have millions marching with them. In all forms of mainstream media, it is supposed to look like these stalwarts of freedom are leading the march itself. This is a complete distortion and manipulation of reality. How symbolic then is the above photo? It is ironic that this group of the greatest abusers of free speech and human rights on this planet stand on an empty, heavily-guarded street. They are not marching with anyone. They are not leading anyone. If anything, they must be extremely cynical to think nobody would notice their situation. Alas, most people have not noticed, I believe.
Which of these supposed world leaders participating in this march in Paris are really committed to freedom of speech? Find out for yourself with this handy, interactive group photo created by The Guardian. It’s based on the Reporters Without Borders press freedom ranking. Now, Reports Without Borders itself is not unbiased, but they do make some valid points about press freedom.
Since this Parisian march “defending freedom of speech,” French comedian Dieudonné, along with dozens of others have been arrested for allegedly defending terrorism among other crimes of speech. Jonathan Turley, law professor at George Washington University, said it best. “The greatest threat to liberty in France has come not from the terrorists who committed such horrific acts this past week but from the French themselves, who have been leading the Western world in a crackdown on free speech… Speech has been conditioned on being used ‘responsibly’ in France, suggesting that it is more of a privilege than a right for those who hold controversial views.”
C’est ça Charlie ? Alors, je ne suis pas Charlie. (Is that Charlie? Well then, I am not Charlie.)
