His point are rather "meh", altho I share his criticism of France.
His piece sure as fuck shows why Freedom of Speech should be protected and sacred in any democratic and free society. Which is a sentiment Chomsky shares.
http://www.sabhlokcity.com/2014/02/...-in-usa-has-been-increasing-through-activism/
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Cultural thing. Look up the history of Satire and you'll (perhaps) understand why it's specifically protected by the constitution in countries like Germany and Italy and in general in most other democratic societies.
I know what satire is, and have grown up with Western media and entertainment all my life. Given the series of cartoon covers directed at terrorism/the Prophet by Charlie Hebdo, I find it difficult to believe it is purely 'satirical'. But on my part at the end of the day those are just cartoons, if you don't like em don't read em.
I think the issues at hand are:
1. As a journalist/cartoonist/anyone that yields any power in media, can you really draw/write something that will not offend? No, unless you play really nice or are completely objective, which is very unlikely.
2. Is it wrong for readers to be offended? Some think people are 'too serious' and the like, but I think it is easy for us to judge from our comfortable chairs - perhaps there are people out there who have been personally victimized from racism etc., and have truly suffered, and things like Charlie Hebdo cartoons just won't help your case.
In a way I can relate. I'm a Muslim in an Islamic democratic country, which comprises of 3 mainly different races and religions. When the media starts churning out stories about some radical Islamic organisations in Malaysia on the front cover of the paper, these people probably make up 1% of the Muslims in Malaysia - the rest of us don't think the same way, yet they are given the attention to be on the front page news, and it starts a chain/domino effect where the media then starts playing it up. These stories get shared on Facebook and I see my non-Muslim friends making comments about how Islam is radical and people are stupid who cannot think for themselves. How does this reflect on me and my family? My mother and sisters are sucessful in their careers, and wear the hijab on their own accord - they definitely do not 'believe' or 'think' blindly - yet because of some irresponsible journalism, people will already have judged us or have a certain perception towards us. I have a good friend who even wears the veil and she is one of the funniest people I know who watches 30 rock etc. But would anyone know that? No, because these people who usually comments on Muslims,
don't really have or know a single practising Muslim as a close/good friend. But of course, they're the ones who know best right?