Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo shooting. What is your opinion on the freedom of satire in general and the satire of religion in particular?
I think most people would agree with the following: even if you feel the cartoon was in poor taste or was âpunching down,â the shooting was a terrorist act that just served to reinforce the worst stereotypes about Muslims andâironicallyâthe offending cartoon itself.
Opinions can vary about the cartoon, but thatâs the point of defending satire and free speech; whatâs completely indefensible is violence that clearly isn't in the service of self-defense. People who quibble about the definition of self-defense and even skirt the idea that the terrorists in this incident had a right to do what they did, in my opinion, are likely either sophomoric contrarians or bad faith actors intentionally trying to muddy the waters, akin to some far-right militia members on conservative subreddits.