Charlie Hebdo (Charlie Weekly) is a French satirical weekly magazine. As you might have heard from the news, it was recently the target of a terrorist attack in Paris, which left 12 dead, including Stéphane Charbonnier, who was the director of publication.
Charlie Hebdo was always provocative, but it was provocative to everyone. Part of the reason this attack caught so much attention from world media is because Charb and his mates where the equivalent to the Jon Stewarts and Stephen Colbert of the U.S.A. Stéphane Charbonnier and his crew were public figures who often appeared on television sets and were widely loved. The magazine was a strong symbol of freedom of speech, not just in France, but in the world.
As a kid I would secretly take my uncles copies of the magazine and surreptitiously read through them. The harsh humor was a tool that helped me mature at a young age, and the far left, anti-theologian, and anti-racism, magazine helped shape my values as a young person. The news of the attack was a tough personal blow.
What makes me most angry at the action of these people is that it gives validity to the ideology of France’s very racist extreme right party, “Le Front-National”.
The cartoons that came soon after the attacks show the true character of the men and women of the Charlie Hebdo organization. I am sure that Stéphane Charbonnier and his team would be very proud to know that they died for the cause that they have supported their entire lives.
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