An editor at the British newspaper the Financial Times wrote on Wednesday that the cartoonists who were murdered by gunmen at the offices of satirical paper Charlie Hebdo had a history of being “stupid” by “baiting” Muslims.
“Charlie Hebdo has a long record of mocking, baiting and needling French Muslims,” wrote the paper’s Europe editor, Tony Barber, in a piece published just hours after 12 people were killed at the satirical newspaper’s offices.
He went on to accuse the paper of “foolishness,” but paused to note he was not excusing or minimizing the loss of life.
“This is not in the slightest to condone the murderers, who must be caught and punished, or to suggest that freedom of expression should not extend to satirical portrayals of religion,” the post read.
“It is merely to say that some common sense would be useful at publications such as Charlie Hebdo, and Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten, which purport to strike a blow for freedom when they provoke Muslims, but are actually just being stupid,” Barber continued.
Jyllands-Posten is a Danish newspaper that received threats and sparked protests published several cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005.
h/t HuffPo
There’s not a law against ‘stupid’, dude
There would be a lot more dumbasses in prison in the US if that were the case.
So religious extremists should be placated at all times?
No law against stupidity, but don’t complain when it comes back to bite - or overbite - as in the case of this outrageous mass attack. Charlie Hebdo’s attitude was a perfect example of criminally stupid amoralism under the guise of free speech.
K_ub_VA: “Placated at all times?” Straw man question.
With all the images of God, Jesus and Buddha around, it’s easy to see that Judeo-Christians don’t understand that the image of Muhammed is considered sacred and not to be reproduced. Mocking it in cartoons is like waving a red flag in front of a bull - and those right wing Muslims are bulls, and worse. A cartoon putting Muhammed alongside a rabbi, as if they were equivalents, is particularly insulting, and reeks of outright bigotry. I would have expected Josh Marshall, as a Jew, a people that have been subject historically to the worst sort of bigotry and much worse, to understand that, but apparently the ideology of “free press” rules over basic human decency.
I have to edit down my immediate reaction, because honestly the horse this guy rode in on didn’t actually do anything to deserve it.
I now accuseTony Barber of being stupid.