I plead a strong degree ignorance in writing this piece. My knowledge of
French satire or even French journalism is paltry, to say the least. My knowledge of French
cartoons is probably largely made up of "
Asterix" books and my French satire is all out of date. So, I can only write in my vague and unofficial capactity as a supporter of
freedom of speech, an observer or irrational thinking, a lover of humanity, a fan of satire and especially cartoons, a humanist, a secularist and an enemy of injustice. Nevertheless, all of these roles demand that I say something. The events of 7th January 2015 that saw 12 individuals (the editor of the newspaper, eight other employees, including two cartoonists, and two police officers) shot dead plus an additional 11 wounded at the offices of the satirical newspaper,
Charlie Hebdo, in
Paris, by
Islamic extremists in response to the newspaper's regular publication of cartoons depicting the
Prophet Muhammad prompted me to think about a lot things.
