Comments

1. peterh says

   January 7, 2015 at 8:00 pm

   These brutal savages have given a gold mine of material to cartoonists, satirists and thoughtful people all across the globe.

2. John Morales says

   January 7, 2015 at 9:26 pm

   peterh, sticks and stones,

   (Bullets and rockets, in this case. But close enough)

3. AJ Milne says

   January 8, 2015 at 6:15 am

   Well, speaking as someone always happy to see the delegitimization of authoritarian religions in general, I’d like to thank the Messrs Kouachi and Mourad for their contribution in this regard, anyway.

   I mean, it’s always been a bit of a grind, honestly, patiently explaining epistemological problems with ‘revealed wisdom’, and so on. And while I can try to walk people through the natural tensions between former imperial religions and would-be representative systems of governance the hard way, there’s really nothing quite like the visual aid they just provided.

   So:

   Sirs: you may or may not have ‘killed Charlie Hebdo’, as per your boast the other morning. I predict you will find this victory a mite pyrrhic, even if so.

   I mean, what, you believe you have avenged your ‘prophet’?

   Interesting. Your victims’ colleagues, however, will remember them, Charb and staff, and all you could give them as an answer. And satirists, while frequently disparaging even of the notion of vengeance, will continue in the way they do.

   So I don’t know that calling it vengeance is quite right. But you may again wish they were as limited as are you, and that this were all they wanted.

   As they will continue to mock you, and all you stood for, long after you are dead and gone. And around the world, we will be reading their work, and laughing with them. Long after you have run out of bullets and breath for more shouted demands and threats, that laughter will remain.

4. Funny Diva says

   January 8, 2015 at 10:03 am

   Ophelia,
   there’s something funny going on on your front page.
   Nothing loads after the Jesus and Mo post–none of the navigation buttons, no previous posts (the newer post does come up as usual).
   No comment box for that post, and no “comments are turned off” note. I can understand why you might not want comments enabled on that one, but something seems to have gone sideways if that was indeed your plan.

5. Ophelia Benson says

   January 8, 2015 at 10:34 am

   Not my plan at all; I don’t know what’s wrong. Not a good time to have a problem of that kind. [gnashes teeth]

6. Ophelia Benson says

   January 8, 2015 at 10:40 am

   Figured it out. Fixed.