{"id":464,"date":"2015-01-09T23:00:35","date_gmt":"2015-01-09T23:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lordre\/?p=464"},"modified":"2015-01-09T20:13:42","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T20:13:42","slug":"to-be-or-not-to-be-charlie-hebdo-when-being-a-politically-correct-coward-is-brave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lordre\/2015\/01\/to-be-or-not-to-be-charlie-hebdo-when-being-a-politically-correct-coward-is-brave.html","title":{"rendered":"To be or not to be Charlie Hebdo: when being a politically correct coward is brave"},"content":{"rendered":"

Au bout d’un ou deux si\u00e8cles d’exploitation se produit une v\u00e9ritable \u00e9maciation du panaroma culturel<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

With\u00a0one or two centuries of exploitation comes\u00a0a thorough emaciation\u00a0of the cultural landscape.<\/p>\n

Frantz Fanon<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

All of us regret the tragic loss of life in the shooting of staff and police officers at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo<\/a>. The social and political consequences are more problematic and dangerous to predict than our compassionate reactions to this immediate tragedy from all levels of society.<\/p>\n

I deplore the portrayal of the resulting political controversy as something where\u00a0Islamophobic\u00a0so-called free speech is being suppressed, with the buzzwords in the debate typically being: censorship, self-censorship and the idea of politically correct “cowards” who are afraid to criticize Islam. These were the terms in which the controversy has been portrayed by many libertarians and rightists, who have been given 3 out of 4 platforms in the mainstream media to promote their hate to us all. That’s right: those\u00a0of us who say the community should not have its sensibilities offended and be torn apart by religious libel and violence are to be smeared as “cowards” by these “brave” militant rightists and so-called free speech enthusiasts, obsessed with listening to their own vitriolic criticism of Islam.<\/p>\n

I would argue that the\u00a0real ones suppressing our freedom of speech are not the Muslims, but militant rightists and nationalists who capitalize on this violence to vilify, caricature, blame, and attack sections of their own society. These rightists, who are goose-stepping us against members of our own community, are trying to drive French society and the rest of European society into no less than a sectarian bloodbath. It is not “cowardly” to want to stop this disaster. Rather, is\u00a0is sound and – politically (i.e., concerned with social\u00a0cohesion and the public interest) – correct.\u00a0<\/em>It is also brave, especially at a time when there is such blatant demagoguery and libelous claims against people holding that sound position.<\/p>\n

This attack indicates nothing about race, or even religion. However, if we must address those subjects, let me state the following in response to the bulk of the reactionary arguments in circulation right now. It may well be true, much as the Front National and its British equivalents,\u00a0the BNP and UKIP (take your pick) have always claimed as their core thesis, that Europe’s decision since the 1950s to open the doors to the peoples of Africa, the Middle East, and all other regions it brutally colonized was a wrong decision. However,\u00a0the decision\u00a0has already been made, and now all our politics take place against the backdrop of that road to diversity already being a fact on the ground.<\/p>\n

That influx of migrants\u00a0has already profoundly transformed society and eradicated the so-called “nation”, leaving no political viability\u00a0for a restoration of monoculture or\u00a0European nationalist politics\u00a0to the outdated so-called “nation”. What the racists and Islamophobes advocate as a solution isn’t the rebirth of the Western civilization as they portray it, but a bloodbath like nothing seen in Europe since the 30 Years’ War. We already know that conflict ended with reconciliation through the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, so why repeat it? There is simply no reason to march through these same bloody steps again simply to arrive at the same conclusion. We already have that peace. Why not simply maintain it?<\/p>\n

We have to stop portraying this controversy surrounding the shooting at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo as something\u00a0revolving around\u00a0courage and freedom of speech versus religious dogma. It is rather about community cohesion. When it comes to community cohesion, being a “coward” is morally the right thing, and I would welcome this\u00a0insult\u00a0in a context such as this. I’m a big coward about the possibility of provoking the community into a sectarian civil war in Europe, and I’m “brave” enough to admit it. On the other hand, the individuals\u00a0who claim to be “brave” by insulting and hurting the sensibilities of the Muslim community\u00a0repeatedly are clearly (as we can see\u00a0in the aftermath of this attack in France)\u00a0not willing to die for what they are doing, but they are willing for everyone else to die for them. They are willing for a country like France to commit national, political suicide over this controversy and gnaw at its very own flesh.<\/p>\n

Europe might not accept diversity, but it must. This is the only lesson that can\u00a0actually\u00a0be learned from events like the recent killings in France. The alternative could be an endless cycle of violence and internecine conflict. That isn’t my cup of tea, and I would be even less willing to invite society to drink of it. What sin could it really be, to advocate cowardice\u00a0in the face of that threat? As a\u00a0response to the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, I encourage the law in France and Britain to implement\u00a0harsher measures\u00a0against\u00a0Islamophobia in all its forms, in the interests of the community. I fully endorse so-called\u00a0“cowardice” and “political correctness”\u00a0as the solution to prevent all\u00a0future terrorist attacks, just as I encourage our\u00a0defeat and the\u00a0capitulation\u00a0of our overseas “allies”\u00a0as our\u00a0best defense against global terrorism.<\/p>\n

Problem in these times isn’t fear of attacking #Islam<\/a> but fear of attacking #Islamophobia<\/a>. Europe might not accept #diversity<\/a>, but it must.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Harry J. Bentham (@hjbentham) January 9, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

None of this so-called war on terror (or war on Islam?) perpetrated by our government and media is in the public interest. The defeat of the government in this conflict will be\u00a0victory for us all.<\/p>\n

For more materials belonging to this school of thought, get my collections at Amazon. This helps make an impact by donating towards further publications authored by me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I hope to soon have a new op-ed out at the recently redesigned and enhanced\u00a0website of Press TV<\/a>, wherein I criticize\u00a0the hypocrisy of US foreign policy and point out US\u00a0parallels with the similarly named IS (so-called Islamic State), for both seem\u00a0equally prepared to kill us all and offer our bodies as human sacrifices\u00a0to their bizarre ideologies, and\u00a0both of them self-righteously pronounce\u00a0that the whole world must submit to their concept\u00a0of the State. I see both of these crazy extremist groups\u00a0as hideous, arrogant terrorist entities that should be defeated\u00a0and overcome by humanity.<\/p>\n

\n

By\u00a0Harry J. Bentham<\/a><\/p>\n

\"HJB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Au bout d’un ou deux si\u00e8cles d’exploitation se produit une v\u00e9ritable \u00e9maciation du panaroma culturel With\u00a0one or two centuries of exploitation comes\u00a0a thorough emaciation\u00a0of the cultural landscape. Frantz Fanon All of us regret the tragic loss of life in the shooting of staff and police officers at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. 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