Been thinking about the whole process leading up to the crime committed in Paris last week.
No one comes out looking good, do they?
A snotty French rag that specializes in smug, self-absorbed printed lynchings of "the other" publishes a series of poorly rendered drawing mocking the founder of a world religion. Oddly enough, the world religion is one which has an unusually large subset of followers who have no real problem with shooting people in the head who make fun of their religion.
So, after multiple efforts at pissing off this subset, the subset finally went and did the expected thing.
I will put this in terms of the high school experience here in the good old USA. I think that this is where a lot of folks here in the US draw their societal worldviews.
In every high school, there is a group of preppie kids. Parents are rich. The drive the nice cars, wear the hipster clothes, and make a habit of sneering at and mocking those whose parents aren't rich, whose car is unimpressive (or even lower on the food chain, nonexistant), and whose wardrobe leans towards Sears and JC Penneys. This is Charlie Hegbo.
In that same school, there is an outsider, kinda big, kinda strong, and just a little bit off his rocker. He has had "issue" with fighting. He stays off with the parking lot crowd, and everyone (except for his friends) kinda steers clear of him.
Well, one of the preppies decides to impress his friends by walking over to the outsider and going through their little ritual of hazing and humiliation. The first time this happens, the preppie wins big points among his preppie friends and status is thus raised.
So, a little time goes by, and the preppie, feeling that his friends aren't paying enough attention tries the process again. Sometimes the process plays out as before. Sometimes another result happens: The outsider beats the living shit out of the preppie.
Look, freedom of speech is one thing. But mocking someone for beliefs different then yours is just never a good idea. Making fun of other folks beliefs is not the mark of an adult. Making fun of someone who hold a gun is the mark of an idiot.
