Michael Weiss gets it about right, except that he should mention that Charlie Hebdo published regularly much fiercer cartoons lampooning Christians or Jews. Not to speak of embarrassing every politician in France. They were equal opportunity satirists, who didn’t respect any sacred cows. And whether we may appreciate their fierce and disrespectful sense of humour or not, our civilisation is what it is because we have this kind of freedom and we should use it, or it will get atrophied. It’s strange to read calls for self-restraint from the same pundits who celebrate America’s free speech, including the right to belong to a nazi party and exhibiting swastikas, as well as possessing and ostentating lethal weapons with very few limits – which is forbidden in France and most of Europe. So, we have cultural differences, but at least we can discuss them, rather than murder people because they refuse to obey our religious or cultural canons.
As to some of the comments they are, as often, hair raising:
But as long as Washington can’t cure itself of its terrible — maybe even fatal — case of Enemy Deprivation, Muslim population will have to stand in. Blowback be damned.”
My reply: You do bandy around the word “genocide” and “gendercide” as if it was something that actually happens, to be taken for granted – you obviously believe the propaganda you read without bothering to check any of the facts. The only cases of genocide in the Middle East are conducted routinely and systematically by IS, murdering members of tribes and sects they disagree with. Wars provoke victims – and it’s debatable whether they are right or wrong – but, as far as I can tell, no part of the Muslim world is near extinction, quite the contrary, Muslim population is growing exponentially, most of all in the regions where they are supposed to be the object of “genocide”. As for “gendercide”, presumably you are referring to the one practiced by the virtuous Muslims of IS, who enslave women and sell them for a few dollars, whether as wives or prostitutes, to be exploited and murdered at will?