CFN – No, I am not Charlie. I am not a hero nor a coward. I am a struggling journalist that works in a world where the poor do not get served legally, and are rarely if ever protected; at least compared to the Rich.
I have no hate for any group. I do not like those that lie and abuse; that are cruel, hate and kill.
The World has never been perfect and we have never had Free Speech. That is an illusion. Yesterday in Paris, as 12 journalists were murdered, it was not the first time that this simple truth was proven.
Free Speech only exists if you have enough AK 47’s or legal AK 47’s. While yesterday gripped many the bottom line is that the lack of true free speech leads us down many paths. Today the people most afraid after what happened are Muslims themselves as most in our Western societies will feel the blow back.
Three men chose to kill many. Their deaths will not bring those murdered back. For the bad guys it was a great trade and the symbolism is huge.
The very talented Roy Berger sent a cartoon challenging me to publish it.
His quote to inspire its publication was:
Use my real name. My father ran up Juno Beach. Hitler said, do not make fun of Nazis, better obey. Be not afraid. Only be afraid you can not die twice.
I chose to not publish it. Not because I couldn’t, but because I felt it was purely inflammatory to the bad guys. That it was based on anger and hurt. That it was a challenge. Frankly though I am more concerned about elements of our local police and bad guys than I am from any area Muslims. Sometimes it takes more courage to not to say or write something purely to provoke someone than simply to do so.
You see when it comes to Free Speech for every George Carlin or Richard Pryor, there are Lenny Bruce’s and Dick Gregory. There are those that we never hear about. Those that champion Free Speech that aren’t as entertaining rarely are heard about, and very very few are ever glorified and almost none of them have been supported or protected.
Each year people are killed for saying and writing things. There is no real Free Speech, and we all know that when we work in journalism. Editors, owners, advertisers, governments, spouses….it all impacts on Free Speech.
Not all issues are as black and white as the Charlie Hebdo case. I get that some people say if you show this or type this we will hurt you. So the Charlie Hebdo’s of the World do exactly that. That was their choice and the bad guys made theirs. At the end of the day was it truly about Free Speech or was it simply a deadly game of Scissors, Paper, Stone? And there will be pay back, especially after the way the Paris police officer was killed in the street.
There are thousands of issues related to Free Speech that occur right here at home. I myself am being sued by a School Board because I shared that I thought it was racism for a Principal to not take down images of a Swastika in a High School in a timely fashion. That School Board, using tax dollars, is trying to muzzle that opinion which I shared in this newspaper. That’s the government of Ontario for you.
There are no solutions. Free Speech will always be about Might Makes Right. People can try and live under that illusion, but Free Speech is more random luck, piss off the wrong bad guy and you’ll see a ramification. It’s not about the truth. It rarely ever was.
We live in a scary world filled with scary people. Like the herd racing by the lions; many of us may not ever get eaten, we may never even see the lions, but there will always be some that do.
That doesn’t mean we should choose to capitulate. It doesn’t mean that we should give up. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t truly challenge, like I have in my case against the Upper Canada District School Board, but it does mean that we should respect the power and value of Free Speech and use it judiciously and responsibly.
I don’t honour those twelve that fell in Paris. I feel sad that they lost their lives. I feel more for their friends and family. Mostly I feel for those that truly stand for the truth and issues whose voices and words we will never hear.
Time makes people forgetful. Cemeteries are full of wildly interesting people that nobody has ever heard of.
Are you Charlie? You can post your comments below.
(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)
Comment policy reminder
CFN has a new comment policy. You must use your real first and last name. As well if your email bounces we will terminate your posting privileges.
We value all input from our amazing CFN viewers and are always trying to improve the viewer experience which includes making this a safe, informative, and entertaining platform.
If you have any questions please email info@cornwallfreenews.com
This morning I praised you (for the rink issue) now I criticize. Despite your verbose explanation, I think you’re chicken. I want to see the cartoon. I want other Canadian citizens to see the cartoon. Satirical cartoons of other religions do not incite violence and murder. That’s the difference.
Do not be intimidated. The New York Times showed a cartoon and obscured Mohammed but not that of the satiricized Jews or Christians. There’s only one common denominator here. The murderers are winning. If you’re afraid and wish for an armed guard, I will provide that for you, personally. Email me if you want that. Watch the Magnificent Seven this evening if it helps to gain some perspective.
Excellent article Jamie. I agree we have never really had Free Speech. To me it is a misnomer. It’s Free Speech until someone disagrees. Then all hell breaks loose, as we’ve seen in France the last few days. Will the world ever truly have Free Speech? Will the world ever have peace? I seriously doubt it.
Hi Shawn,
I’ve gave a lot of thought to my position. I do support Free Speech. The Charlie Hebdo scenario involves multiple issues. It isn’t simply just about Free Speech.
Again, as someone that lost family in the Holocaust I have always wondered how people could choose to walk to the slaughterhouse as sheep. I had family that went through that nightmare, and I had family that fought as guerrilla fighters starting in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Believe it or not sometimes it takes more courage to go against the grain. I see these Je Suis Charlie people as a pack reacting in fear and hate, in anger and defiance to mystical dark places we should never have to go to. I find it an emotional reaction. I don’t believe in those. I prefer to sift through the facts and take the appropriate action, whatever that may be.
I totally respect your position and appreciate your offer though. I can take criticism.
There are days that I’ve felt I needed security here in Cornwall like when the police officer tried to intimidate me.
There are many more ways of standing up for what you believe in that simply picking up a sign because others do.
I totally agree with Admin / Jamie on his last post (January 9, 2015 at 3:26 pm). The Je suis Charlie could also seen as pack mentality as the now thing to do. We see it a lot now.
You are absolutely right….there is no free speech….especially when it comes to CFN.
When you say a post is “moderated” is nothing more than selective censorship. If a comment does not agree with your perspective…its gone. Man up….publish all points of review regardless of yours. If you can not respect the opinion of other, whether you agree or not, respect for your opinion is not justified.
Free speech cost me dearly several years ago when I wrote about a well known crooked Ontario ex-politician. Nothing I wrote was untrue, but there was no way I could afford a $1000/hr lawyer to defend me in court. Our legal/court system is set up for very wealthy people. The moral of the story: Be careful of what you write unless you have deep deep pockets.
That’s one problem in Ontario…..the rich know how use / abuse the legal / court system. Youmay be right, but if you can’t afford to defend yourself they win no matter if you were right or not.
OK Jamie. Agree that the outraged-today-but-Kim-Kardashian’s-boobs-tomorrow crowd are to be despised. However, I spent much of my life reading everything I could about the holocaust, trying to understand the political pressures and failures that allowed it to happen, trying to think of how I could help prevent a recurrence. In point of fact, and not insignificantly, our Chretien Liberal gun registry is arguably a carbon copy of the pre-Nazi era gun laws ( http://www.independent.org/guncontrol ) that helped to disarm German Jews and political disidents. Therefore, I choose to fight the trend right now, long before anyone has to resist from within a ghetto, deprived of arms, food, finances, and all other critical resources. These murderous thugs are modern-day equivalencies of 1930s brown-shirts throwing rocks at Jewish store front windows and burning books-of-enlightenment in the street. Stand for truth and liberty now. Not later.
I have to agree with shawn. I was not raised to run and you also stand up for your friends/allies and if France is not an ally of Canada in today’s world especially after our forefathers blood stained the beaches of Normandy and Dieppe more specifically then I do not know who is. Also after raising sheep for a few years I find your lion comment rather absurb. We have the means and tools to shoot the coyote chasing and killing the sheep as we do the radical Muslims. I shot a lot of coyotes I also shot one of the guard dogs by accident in the wee dark hours of the morning… Shit happens innocents will be caught in the crossfire and i feel for the victims and the families. I also stood in the cemeteries in Belgium the crosses row on row.. So many shows what the true cost of early inaction is. I stood in the Anne frank house to and if the pictures hanging in those upstairs bedrooms of nazis patrolling the streets while they hid for their lives does not infuriate a man then perhaps he should stand aside with the sheep and let the justified lions do their work
To say nothing, is to say one is for it. A no vote is still a vote. Non action is still action. Over reaction can be worse than no action at all, but history proves that as long as we sit back and watch Rome burn, we will be next. There is no escaping, not even by imitating an ostrich, which has its head in the sand.
We can all argue and debate about what would be the right or wrong way of going about to handle this issue. The cartoons in my view were asking for trouble, but what else can human secular reasoning come up with. I don’t need to attack Mohammad, or belittle him, when I have the Lord Jesus Christ to show off and exalt, as He is beautifully set forth in Word of God.
The West is so willfully ignorant or just plain blind. Or even worse under the judgment of God – God has given us over to “the will of our enemies”. Give the Muslims democracy, prosperity, and yes -free speech, and we (not I in particular) can’t understand why they, the Muslims do not love our democracy, our freedom, and just settle down and enjoy! Isn’t that what Europe hoped for, but what did they get? See Germany, Denmark, others – their reaction to Islamic radicalization and colonization. Is it too late for a peaceful solution? Count on it the Muslims will never give an inch! Diplomacy will never work when looking down the site of an AK47.
The West doesn’t understand the religious mind set – it is a Holy War. It is never integration but colonization when it comes to immigration – soft jihad. Islam wants to bring all of us into submission – Sharia must become the law of the land. It is voluntary submission, or submission at the point of a sword – or AK47! Now what I have just written is not out of hate for any Muslim, but facts will be facts, even in the most Liberal type of journalism. But it is important how we interpret these facts, and act accordingly.
Back in Hitler’s day, Europe overall did not believe how dangerous Nazism was, or even what it would come to be. But Europe turned “the other cheek” and thought that if they gave in to Hitler’s demands, he would be satisfied, and curb his aggression. But with such a weak knee, no back bone response only encouraged and invited Hitler to take more! Is history repeating its self?
The solution? What would you rather have: The Christian God of love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and yes holiness, or a god of the Sword? Now I understand the mind set of the secular humanist who thinks they are god, and wants nothing to do with “religion”. Such is the average Westerner in these days – “The fool has saith – No God to rule over me”. But, like it or not we are facing a Holy War, that has to be fought with Holy armament, which the secular humanist has none. A Holy War! I am not asking for a Holy Crusade – never, but I am asking that God will have mercy on us, even as we, the West have forsaken Him, and is now ripe for divine judgment. And be not surprised if God doesn’t us Islam to teach us a hard lesson – they that forsake God, God forsakes.
“Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah”(Psa 9:19-20).
I am ambivalent re publishing “offensive” cartoons aimed at religious groups. I have no use for any religion and all that BS, and I think they should all be subject to fair criticism and even ridicule when warranted. But at this time in history, publishing cartoons that are guaranteed to inspire terrorists is probably not a good idea.
There is a time and place for heroics, and perhaps, as Shakespeare suggests… “The better part of valour is discretion”.
Mr Jamie
Thank you for taking the time to write this article
One of the dead Journalist said it best quoting Che Guevara “‘I’d rather die standing than live on my knees’: Charlie Hebdo”
Was going to say you were wrong about Free Speech but then I thought of Mp Guy Lauzon, who only has Free speech if the PMO says its OK
thanks
Mel
Shawn, your analogies are without merit, and of the sort used to drown real argument, only stirring passion over thought.
MacNaughton, your rationalisation of innocent casualties is about as sound as the logic of your perceived enemy.
Two persons railing at the wind might be dismissed… but the path to destruction starts with that first step, so allow me to trip you up right away.
In the meantime, pick up a copy of Mein Kampf and you’ll be surprised at, whose thoughts yours parallel.
Mel part of free speech is the part of choosing not to speak. It’s not about being afraid. Confronting something; and I’ve been known to do a bit of that, is about taking a stand on an issue. I have never purposefully tried to be offensive on CFN; not a once. I’m sure that I have been to some, but that was never the primary goal. Silence doesn’t always mean acquiescence. I’m also not being silent. I, like the rest of the World condemn what happen and condemn those that would harm someone simply because they express beliefs that they don’t agree with.
Roy Berger and others who are so brave and want Jamie to run that cartoon Why don.t you.s pay the freeholder or seaway news to run it for you,s.O Ya don.t forget to put your names under the cartoon.In cornwall its always easyer to talk(behind closed doors) than to do.
Marc it really isn’t an issue of bravery I have looked at Mr. Berger’s cartoon. It’s awesome. It’s clever, thought provoking, and humorous. I made a choice and am owning that choice. It has nothing to do with bravery or fear on my part or his own.
Lots of Bravado shown by some commenters.Jamie, I feel yours was the prudent choice.
Furtz and Simon sum it nicely.
What does Simon say about this perceived enemy? What does he say about the women and children killed by ISIS? I for one would rather stand behind, I can’t say beside because I am not there, the Dillion Hilliers of this world on this war. What about the firebombing of Dresden and the Battle of Britain and all those innocents in the holocaust Simon? Yes innocents will die in a war like the ones my former neighbor bombed in the English channel upon returning to base in WW2 because They shot at him first now they were not civilians they were British sailors. He landed was told the tragic news and did his job again the next day. In today’s world this great man would be court marshaled and hanged by today’s media instead of a spade being called a spade and reality seen for what it is. I hope shawn stirs more passion up as well our enemy seems to have lots of it
I respect Jamie. To me, radical Islam is similar to nazis. I’m not a big fan of reasonable accommodation anymore. Cartoon is somewhere here near the top of the page.
https://www.facebook.com/roy.berger.336
Furtz and Simon while I believe that I understand in essence what you both are saying this is not a time in our history to duck and cover. We need to stand fast united for the purpose of protecting what man has sought through the ages, freedom.
David, throwing gasoline on the fire isn’t a particularly brave thing to do, especially from the relative safety of Canada. I’m sure if you lived in close proximity to a bunch heavily armed religious nut-bars, you’d think twice before publicly ridiculing their imaginary god.
@Furtz
.
We have an Islamic Institute teaching well-heeled foreigners the ways of jihad a mile or two outside of Cornwall. They are planning on building a Muslim “gated community”around it..
.
Admin doesn’t need to post pictures. They are everywhere.
.
Only Sun News has been brazen enough. I’m buying more guns.
Those were our literary brothers and sisters that got snuffed out. Furtz I publically ridicule particular specific people and departments that work in Canada from that illegal South African funded spy Stephen Harper to his anti-veteran troll Fantino and his 007 man Arthur Porter. They out gun me, they surround me, they out number me. I refuse to think twice about their reactions to my pen. In that same breath and context I say that there is something fundamentally wrong with being a Muslim or having Islamic values. The religion is an incorrect one and an insult to human life. In the past we have invoked the Enemy Languages Act and interment camps. Easier to understand why now, isn’t it?
@ Wow!. I gather that you have been drinking a cool-aid concoction prepared by a nut-bar preacher who lives in South Stormont.
Who is to say what religions and values are correct?
What a question Hugger1? Doesn’t at least human intelligence give you a clue? Creation, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. God considers such witnesses sufficient so that you, and I, an all us are “without excuse”.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard”(Psa 19:1-3).
“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”(Rom 1:19-20)
@ Hugger. They’re all nuts. Except, of course, the Dudeists and Pastafarians.
PTN…just because you believe it doesn’t mean the rest of us do or have to. Arghhh!!!
Furtz….at times I agree with you. That’s scary!!
Hugger, what’s scary about agreeing with the wisest and most reasonable person on the planet? 🙂
Furtz, Hugger, Jamie and folks I want to stress something here and that is that there are so many different religions much more than what you all know about and not one agrees with the other. There have been wars upon wars since the beginning of time over religion. There are many different sects of the Islamic faith and not one agrees with the other. A well known journalist by the name of Mae Shediak in Beirut was almost assassinated by the leader of Syria and the former PM of Lebanon was assassinated and his family is living in Paris France to escape. Not all the Islamic people are bad not at all but you make those cartoons of their prophet or whoever and there will be trouble without a doubt. You have them in Cornwall and I live in Ottawa where we have the most Arab people of all North America – please keep quiet. I live in the area where the most live. It is the NWO that let them in and to cause trouble and yes the NWO exists.
It is like this Hugger1- Mark 16:16 “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”.
It’s like agreeing with Jules….unnatural.
I find trying to discuss things with PTN is like talking to my dog….always an answer, but seldom the right answer. I find it irritating when he constantly quotes scripture when asked a question.
It’s like this Newton. Most sane people don’t believe your story about a talking snake in the Garden of Edan being the cause of every problem known to humanity. On the other hand, a lot of sane and reasonable people, including myself, believe that the only true god is a mass of pasta and meat sauce that orbits our planet about three times every twenty-four hours. The reason for this difference of opinion is the fact that no one has ever seen a talking snake, and lots of people have seen and even eaten a good meal of pasta with meat sauce.
Most of you here on the board belong to the incorrect religion. You must convert. Convert to a religion that no one makes fun of or draws nasty cartoons about. Join a religion that doesn’t tolerate criticism. For a small fee, Pastor Tom I can arrange for you to take a trip to the Vatican and kiss the Pope’s toe on your road to becoming Roman Catholic. Then I can introduce you to a hard core extreme radical Christian sect called the Mennonites, who build decent chairs.
As per Jules, I think we have learned that silence is death and that Churchill trumped Chamberlain.
Raise your flag as high as you can. This is our flag. No one can take it down. Swords must protect pens. Bullies love pacifists. The most committed, wins.
LOL LOL. ROLF! Roy Berger I am already Roman Catholic and there was a cartoon about the present Pope and all I did was laugh myself to pieces. I don’t mind one can make all the laughter about the RC’s and jokes all they want and it won’t make me upset at all. In fact I would be rolling on the floor with laughter. A dear friend of ours in Ottawa was the same faith as Pastor Tom and he then joined the Mennonite Brethren and we have his KJV Bible here in my drawer.
Hugger, Every dog I’ve ever known has had the ability to reason on a higher level than any religious fanatic. Same with every cow, sheep, goat, or any animal I’ve had the privilege to know. The cool thing about animals is that they don’t buy into the religion BS and all the hate that it entails. Keep talking to your dog. He/she has way more on the ball than any nut-bar bible-thumper.
Hugger I can sit with your dog and have a good conversation and he would understand me but if I get any answers back in human form then you would have to place me away at the Royal Ottawa Hospital. LOL LOL. ROLF! I love animals very much and can spend all my time with them and never get bored.
To your vile offer Roy – the hymn goes like this:
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
Refrain:
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
Hugger ARF ARF ARF ARF. I just answered you. I am laughing so hard at this end that I have to stop before I fall on the floor from my chair. It is a rare moment that we do agree on anything. LOL LOL. ROLF!
Hi, just a friendly reminder to please discuss or even debate a point, but please do not make personal attacks at any user on CFN.
thanks
Pastor Newton I just copied those words and I don’t know the song but they are very beautiful words. I will put it in my book that I open a lot. Those words are mighty true Pastor. Thank you.
I think we are all curious at to what the cover will be for the next issue of Charlie Hebdo. Will it be considered a news item? Will someone attack Canada? Will we have 80,000 cops in the street? Will hidden enemies lead to martial law? Who will fire the next round in the ‘cartoon wars’? Is this really a clash of civilizations? What roles are open for heretical infidels? What would Mark Twain say? What would a Catholic talking dog say? Critical thinking is a tough one during a hurricane of conflicting emotions and thoughts. It’s nice not to lose.
Does it matter? It won’t be a news item, but some will see it as such.
I think we are all curious at to what the cover will be for the next issue of Charlie Hebdo. Will it be considered a news item?
Canada has already been attacked. Wake up!!
Will someone attack Canada?
Do we have 80,000 cops?
Will we have 80,000 cops in the street?
Hidden enemies? With our immigration policies they don’t have to hide.
Will hidden enemies lead to martial law?
Cartoon wars? That’s a good one. There are two types of cartoons, funny ones and satarical / political. Satarical / political cartoons are the equivalent of op/eds with an edge.
Who will fire the next round in the ‘cartoon wars’?
Civilizations have been clashing for years. This is not something new. What is new is where and how it’s being done.
Is this really a clash of civilizations? What roles are open for heretical infidels?
Hard to say, he’s dead.
What would Mark Twain say
Dogs don’t talk.
What would a Catholic talking dog say?
Hugger this ISIS thing is going to go on for some years yet and what my husband read about in his papers this morning and every morning just brace yourself for a great deal more to come and a great deal worse than what happened here in Ottawa or Australia. That was nothing compared to what the evils have planned.
It never changes. Just the players and locales change.
Jules, there have been terrorist thugs roaming the planet throughout history. The fact is that we are safer now than ever before. Do a little reading up on the Crusades, or even the Lachine Massacre, and you’ll appreciate better the time we live in.
Furtz you are right on the money at what you just said. This is all part of the Crusades and we know who is behind it. I have read a few books on the Crusades while in Ottawa and everything has fallen into place. Canada is not safe nor is any other country even to those of the Middle East are not safe at all. Today the RCMP arrested a 21 year old Islamic man on terrorism. There are plenty of those young people involved in this craziness and a lot are our own “mom’s apple pie Canadians” involved in this insanity.
@ jules. Huh?