Being Charlie

Whatever you do today, don’t forget to ask yourself, “will this piss off ISIS?” 

That’s one way to live your life. 

{mosads}The citizens of ISIS-held cities like Fallujah have to live their life that way.  My understanding is, thanks to Sharia’s social welfare requirement, the Islamic State isn’t horrible to live under as long as you give them the metaphorical Death-to-America thumbs up when they walk by—whether you mean it or not.  Not the ideal way to live life, but that’s sort of the primary purpose of a caliphate.

Jump cut to Garland, Texas and AFDI’s  Muhammad art exhibit and drawing contest. 

Elton Simpson—accompanied by his roommate Nadir Soofi, some body armor, and some guns—tweets his allegiance to ISIS and attacks the contest.

But the media reactions have chided the organizers and the event as much as Simpson and Soofi. 

Offensive, brazen, outrageous.  Some call it hate-speech; others just call it stupid.  A strange reaction considering that a few short months ago everyone’s Twitter feed was declaring them Charlie Hebdo.  Remember that?  It was “Je suis, Charlie” as far as the finger could scroll.

Maybe those tweeters didn’t actually know what was printed in that magazine.  Maybe they thought suis was French for “disapprove of.”  Maybe they think free speech is uniquely French and has no business in the United States. 

Charlie Hebdo has printed pictures of Muhammad, Jesus, Pope Francis, et al, doing things so offensive they can’t even be described in a newspaper.

AFDI shouldn’t be compared to Charlie Hebdo, right?  Charlie Hebdo satires all religions equally whereas AFDI only attacks Islam.  Their hate isn’t egalitarian enough to merit a reaction of #jesuisharlie proportions.

But for an explanation of why AFDI only focuses on Islam, one need only look at the winning entry in the draw Muhammad contest:

A pair of artist’s hands are drawing an angry depiction of the prophet Muhammad with a sword raised high above his head.  A word cloud above the prophet’s head reads in bold typeface, “You can’t draw me!”  A response word cloud coming from the unseen artist reads, “That’s why I draw you.”

Satire is like a stray cat; if you quit feeding it, it will stray elsewhere.   

Evan Kohlmann said on MSNBC, “When you provoke people and incite people, that doesn’t make violent actions right, but don’t be surprised that it happens.”

Blaming AFDI or the cartoonists or anyone who engages in satire is offensive.  How many times does it have to be explained that victims of crime are not responsible for the crime? Criminals are responsible for crime. Just as there are no clothes a woman can wear which invite rape, there is no picture anyone can draw of a deity that invites them to be gunned down by a rifle-wielding terrorist.

Years ago, it was the paleo-conservatives wanting to use the first amendment like a towel to clean up all the smut they perceived around them.  Back then, wherever there was a liberal, the catchphrase “I don’t like what you’re saying, but I’d die for your right to say it” wasn’t far behind.  If a liberal said that today, they’d be mounted on a wall at a history museum.  

The First Amendment can protect mainstream speech and assembly all day every day, and that’s super.  But when it suits up and stands against unpopular speech, that is when it shows its real magnificence.   We hate unpopular speech.  We scream! We stomp our feet! We demand that an exception be made! But the First Amendment stands tall until we drop to our knees in submission and learn that tolerance is the only option.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says AFDI is a hate group.  I can see that.  Their rhetoric is explosive and unreasonable to the point that they hurt their own cause.  I roll my eyes at their ads like most people.  They offend me. 

Guess what? Charlie Hebdo offends me too!  I’m Catholic, and their cartoons of Jesus and Pope Francis make my gorge rise. 

The Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of hate groups offends me; I don’t think it’s egalitarian enough.

I am offended by the avant-garde art movement which has produced works like Piss Christ, a urine covered crucifix, and The Holy Virgin Mary, a dung-enhanced portrait of the Virgin Mary.     

But what offends me even more than all these is the suggestion that any of them should “just shut up.” 

Being Charlie means protecting all speech.

Zipperer is a published, award-winning playwright and an adjunct English professor at Georgia College.