“The very existence of Charlie Hebdo is a manifestation of gross privilege”

The writer Monica Byrne presents us with an example of well-meaning but confused reasons for objecting to an award’s being given to Charlie Hebdo. The example is interesting because I keep finding the objections and protests under-explained and under-motivated, so I remain curious about what exactly the protesters think they’re protesting.

She titles her post “The PENAmerican award I wish I could give tonight.” Ok, but wishing you could give a different award is nowhere near a reason for protesting one actually being given, especially under these particular circumstances. [Read more…]

Judicious use of “controversial” plus scare quotes

The Guardian’s report on the PEN gala and the award to Charlie Hebdo is – predictably – much nastier than the Times’s. The Guardian throws them under the bus in the first sentence.

Charlie Hebdo magazine received a controversial freedom of expression award from American PEN on Tuesday night despite the vocal opposition of many of its own high-profile members.

That’s not only nasty, it’s bad writing – it sounds as if “members” of Charlie Hebdo vocally opposed the award. Hacks. But let’s focus on the nasty – they have to inform us instantly that the award is “controversial” and that many important people were vocally opposed. They have to load the dice, poison the well, frame the story. [Read more…]

Ovation, standing

Good; that’s exactly what I was hoping for – a loud standing ovation. The New York Times reports that’s what Charlie got.

Two members of Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine, took the stage to a thundering standing ovation at PEN American Center’s literary gala on Tuesday night, capping a 10-day debate over free speech, blasphemy and Islamophobia that started in the cozy heart of the New York literary world and spread to social media and op-ed pages worldwide.

Good. I was afraid the misinformed and self-righteous protesters would make enough of a dent that the reception would be shamingly, painfully tepid, which would have been dreadful. [Read more…]

PEN Gala

The Pen gala is just about to start. #PENgala.

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Via Twitter

Guus Valk ‏@apjvalk 2m2 minutes ago
PEN-voorzitter Andrew Solomon op #PENgala : “The suppression of controversial ideas does not result in social justice.” #CharlieHebdo

Karin Karlekar ‏@karinkarlekar 4m4 minutes ago
Stirring opening speech by @Andrew_Solomon at @PENamerican #PENgala on behalf of defending #freeexpression at home and abroad.

Tina Susman ‏@tinasusman 5m5 minutes ago
At #PENgala, PEN prez Andrew Solomon opens event with rousing defense of Charlie Hebdo and its “mission of satirizing sacred targets.”

Electric Literature ‏@ElectricLit 7m7 minutes ago
.@Andrew_Solomon addresses “the whale in the room.” “We defend free speech above its content.” #PENgala

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Rachel Zucker ‏@rachzuck 9m9 minutes ago
“Muteness is more toxic than speech.” Andrew Solomon #PENgala

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Liam Stack ‏@liamstack 4m4 minutes ago
Tonight’s @PENamerican Gala raised $1.4 million for the organization, 15% more than ever before. #PenGala #CharlieHebdo

Liam Stack ‏@liamstack 3m3 minutes ago
Tonight’s @PENamerican Gala is the most highly attended one ever. There are 250 more guests than in previous years. #CharlieHebdo #PenGala

PENamerican ‏@PENamerican 2m2 minutes ago
“Writers disturb the social oppression that functions like coma on a population.”
―Toni Morrison #PENgala

Neil Gaiman ‏@neilhimself 1m1 minute ago
At the #PENgala. Thrilled to be at the table next to Tom Stoppard. Humbled to hear about writers fighting censorship and oppression.

Lisa Mueller ‏@MuellerLisa6 2m2 minutes ago
Powerful defense of Charlie Hebdo honor by PEN board president @andrew_solomon at
@PENamerican #PENGala

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John McMurtrie ‏@McMurtrieSF 2m2 minutes ago
Charlie Hebdo editor Gérard Biard and critic Jean-Baptiste Thoret with Salman Rushdie at the #PENgala. (AFP/Getty)

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Gus ‏@arlenguillaume 13m13 minutes ago
Le #pengala célèbre la liberté d’expression. w/ Gérard Biard & Jean-Baptiste Thoret. #CharlieHebdo #nyc

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John McMurtrie ‏@McMurtrieSF 25m25 minutes ago
“We defend free speech above its content.” — @Andrew_Solomon w/ Charlie Hebdo’s Gérard Biard at #PENgala (Getty)

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Liam Stack ‏@liamstack 3m3 minutes ago
#PenGala is beginning it’s tribute to #CharlieHebdo

Tina Susman ‏@tinasusman 2m2 minutes ago
Video recounting attack on Charlie Hebdo at #PENgala as magazine’s staff prepares to accept freedom of expression award.

Amie Stepanovich ‏@astepanovich 2m2 minutes ago
The #pengala award to Charlie Hebdo.

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BGrueskin ‏@BGrueskin 3m3 minutes ago
From the #PENgala memorializing #CharlieHebdo

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Karin Karlekar ‏@karinkarlekar 3m3 minutes ago
Alain Mabanckou and the head of SOS Racisme present #freeexpression courage award to #CharlieHebdo at @PENamerican #PENgala. Vive la France!

Katie Freeman ‏@foxyhedgehog 4m4 minutes ago
Alain Mabanckou intro’ing Charlie Hebdo award& remembering Bernard Maris: “encouraging us to hold strong in our quest for freedom” #PENgala

Philip Gourevitch ‏@PGourevitch 4m4 minutes ago
Dominique Sopo – president of SOS Racisme makes surprise appearance with @amabanckou at #PenGala in tribute to anti racist #CharlieHebdo

Philip Gourevitch ‏@PGourevitch 3m3 minutes ago
Dominique Sopo addresses #PenGala in French: Charlie Hebdo worked against racism – for immigrants – and it is important to know what it was

Karin Karlekar ‏@karinkarlekar 1m1 minute ago
Dominique Sopa, head of SOS Racisme, delivers stirring defense (en francais) of #CharlieHebdo at @PENamerican #PENgala.

The United States continues its descent

A press release from Save the Children:

The United States continues its descent in the global rankings of best and worst places for mothers, slipping to 33rd out of 179 surveyed countries, reveals Save the Children’s new report, “State of the World’s Mothers 2015: The Urban Disadvantage.” Norway rose to the top of the list, which was released today, while Somalia remained last for the second year.

32 countries do better than we do.

That could be all right – somebody has to do best, and it’s not written in the stars that it should be the US. But we’re a very rich country, so, really, if we’re that far down the table…we’re doing something wrong. Not that we didn’t already know that. [Read more…]

All of them are traumatised

According to the UN, more than 200 of the girls rescued from Boko Haram are visibly pregnant.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said that 214 of the rescued girls were “visibly pregnant”, according to the International Business Times.

The online magazine said the claims followed reports that women and girls kidnapped by the insurgents were routinely raped and forced to marry their abductors.

…

Turai Kadir, who helps in the internally displaced people camps in the city, said the former hostages were “not in great condition”. “All of them are traumatised,” she added.

So that’s their lives ruined.

 

Extraordinary people

The Guardian tells us about the people replacing the boycotters at the PEN gala this evening.

Now award-winning fantasy novelist Gaiman, acclaimed cartoonist Bechdel, Maus creator Spiegelman, Reading Lolita in Tehran author Azar Nafisi and American author and journalist George Packer have been named as new hosts at the event, which PEN confirmed would have heightened security. French-Congolese novelist Alain Mabanckou, meanwhile, will present the award to Jean-Baptiste Thoret, the Charlie Hebdo member of staff who arrived late to work on 7 January, missing the attack that killed 12 people.

Mabanckou told the Guardian he had decided to present the award because “I’m a big reader of Charlie Hebdo, because I know that it’s not a racist magazine. I decided to do it in memory of all journalists and cartoonists who die because they have the courage to pursue their work. Finally, I decided to do it because among the members of Charlie Hebdo who were massacred in January 2015 was a friend of mine, the economist and journalist Bernard Maris, who was an extraordinary man.”

[Read more…]

Guest post: By pushing an almost totalitarian narrative of white guilt

Originally a comment by veil_of_ignorance on A new way to weasel.

Two things:

(1) It was indeed absurd and cynical how Western governments (and their MENA allies including the KSA) have exploited the CH massacre for empty lip service to free speech. However, this is a common phenomenon which is not limited to CH. We see it anytime when the political agenda allows it: from Raif over Pussy Riot to Liu Xiaobo. This does not mean that those people do not deserve to be honored or are some kind of neoliberal US-imperialist fifth column. Or to inverse the argument: the fact that Edward Snowden is now best friends with Putin – not due to the latter’s universal commitment to free speech but for obvious political reasons – doesn’t mean that Snowden should be accused of enabling Russian, neo-Stalinist nationalism and conservatism. [Read more…]