“I would rather die standing than live on my knees.” - Stéphane Charbonnier, editor of Charlie Hebdo
The world has well and truly gone to shit.
Once upon a time, sticks and stones may break your bones but words could never hurt you (I've previously written a whole post on such things).
Well at least never to the point where you fell off the precipice of rational human behaviour into a pit of cray cray, which saw you storming the offices of a satire magazine armed with Kalashnikovs and a rocket-launcher and the sole intent to brutally rob innocent people of their lives just because you didn’t like what they said about you.
But tragically, that is precisely what happened in Paris on Wednesday, 7 January 2015 around 11:30am.
My first reaction when I awoke to the dreadful and heartbreaking news about the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices (and subsequently the indirect assault on one’s rights to express their thoughts and opinions without being inflicted with such permanent adverse consequence) was a jumble of horror, devastation and sadness.
But then came a subliminal tinge of jaded resignation within the deepest recesses of my emotional clusterfuck because lately these inhumane, unfathomable events seem to be occurring as often as they don’t.
And then once I had processed all those tumultuous thoughts and feelings together, I began to get really mad...
When did exercising your freedom of speech (which should be a basic human right for everyone, everywhere) become an excuse for another person to murder you because they don't agree with your perspective on a topic or issue? And even worse, to cower behind a perverse veil of religion to "justify" doing so?
Voltaire once said, "I do not agree with what you have to say but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
And there has never been a time where this sentiment so desperately needs to be embraced and applied to every conversation, no matter how shallow or complex; whether it’s contesting politics, religion, societal ‘norms’ or debating whether Calvin Klein has irreversibly destroyed its brand by instating Justin Bieber as the new face of its denim and undies.
You should be able to put your two cents, five cents, ten dollars in without fearing for your life.
I have a profound love for words and I am frequently awed by the power they have to hurt, heal, help or herald the power of love and compassion; the way they can shatter silence and inspire change, encourage revolution and denounce injustice.
It breaks my heart that the writers at Charlie Hebdo were fatally punished for using their words to communicate what they believed in and how they saw the world. I have such respect for their courage of convictions; despite years of death threats (and previous attempts on their lives) they never resigned to being quiet just because it was easier, safer or more socially "acceptable".
They held strong and fierce to their words and stood by them to the end.
When I first sat down to write this post, I thought I was going to take the thematic path towards not being sure I want to birth babies into a global existence filled with such uncertainty, dread and evil.
But now I’ve changed my own mind.
Self-imposed, non-reproduction is the worst thing I could do.
Because what the world needs now is more loud voices; voices that chatter and project words of goodness and hope and positivity…voices that won’t be shut up by those who can only murmur vitriol and violence.
It's our responsibility to at least give the next generation a chance to make their mark on this world and see how far their collective voices can carry.
And we all know that any kid of mine will have plenty to say.
My thoughts are with the Charlie Hebdo writers and law enforcement officers whose lives were tragically and unfairly taken yesterday and I send my deepest condolences and sympathies to their family, friends and every person affected by this horrific event. I cannot even fathom your pain or loss.
