Charlie Hebdo - Freedom to Live, and not Freedom of Speech!!!!

I don't support derogatory cartoons, and last year I was opposing the series made by Aseem Trivedi, which shows our national symbols in a very derogatory way. But I can never support terrorism and killing people! I have problem with lots of people who post loads of rubbish on their wall, say insulting things in newspapers or TV etc. But I don't go out and kill them! I don't support Charlie Hebdo, but I strongly oppose the attack and murders! 

Charlie Hebdo is a magazine, which runs to earn money. They publish things which increase their sale. They have not drawn a line of respect for others. Its not only Islam they have made fun of, but there are other similar cartoons published in that magazine. They don’t publish cartoons; they use this unique tool to insult others. Being satirical is different from being insulting.  

Take the case of Aseem Trivedi’s cartoons. These were not satirical, but clearly insulting our national symbols. He was not a cartoonist, he was in it for some quick fame, and that’s what he got. Later on, he used this fame to earn money by getting into Big Boss show. There were people supporting his work based on freedom of speech, and I remember having long conversations with such friends on this topic. We had difference of opinion, and we debated. We did not kill each other. We did not kill Aseem as well. That’s what freedom of speech means. 

Clearly Charlie Hebdo does not understand the true meaning of cartoons. They were using it to make quick money, that’s it. Controversy sells, and they knew how to make money using controversial cartoons. If I have to quote an example of real cartoonist and their cartoons, I will take names like R. K. Laxman or Mario Miranda. They did not insult anyone, but presented true picture of our society in their cartoons. R. K. Laxman always used very few words which can co-relate with the reader. You can imagine the entire story from these little few words and one picture. They never had to draw a terrorist as dog pissing on our constitution to make a point. They knew the difference between humor and insult. 

When you insult someone, religion or culture, it becomes racism, and not satire. That’s what Charlie Hebdo is doing. This can not be covered under freedom of speech. But it does not mean that someone has the right to kill them. If you are really offended, there are means to protest. You can go to court, get them punished by law, boycott them, make them apologies, but you can not harm them physically by any means. That’s not protest, that’s terrorism, pure evil terrorism and nothing else. 

Another recent example I can quote is from NY Times cartoon depicting Indian culture in a derogatory way, in celebration of Mangalyan’s success. Below is the cartoon they published. 

Later, after protests from readers, they posted apologies for this cartoon. The cartoon was not very offensive, but kind of crossed the line of racism. Below is their apology for this cartoon. 

This is the right way of protest. It will teach them a lesson for future, and ensure that they never cross that line again. But killing them in a way justifies their cartoons. 

I don’t support this French magazine, but I am supporting them now, because they have been killed. I can not stand with terrorists, so I am standing beside Charlie Hebdo. I support their Freedom to Live, and not their Freedom of Speech.